Cathy's Art Diary

Beautiful exhibition at the Royal Academy featuring work by young artists aged from 4 to 18. I always try to go to see this show which is only on for a few weeks as you often see work of a surprisingly high quality. This year I made a special point of going as a friend's son had a piece in it, so a big shout out to Chip aged 11 and his zine about AI in art. It was a shame it was shown quite low down as it was all about the detail which was hard to see. Works which stood out for me this year with the hyperreal "Granny's Glassware" by Ella aged 16, a dark portrait of a couple called "Marriage" by Fimi aged 17 which wouldn't have looked out of place on Sky Portrait Artist of the Year and the cleverly composed urban landscape by Natalie aged 18. A special shout out to Inaya aged 16 for their "Political 'Sauces' Sources" a series of ketchup bottles each filled with a censored newspaper article about the world leader who was then refer...

Interesting online lecture from the National Gallery looking at picture in their collection by artists at the start of their careers. Nick Pace, gallery educator, took us through six artists from Masaccio in the 15th century to Sir Thomas Lawrence in the 18th. I must admit I got a phone call during his section on Van Dyck so I am am still a bit hazy on his early work except that I know he famously trained under Rubens. I hadn’t realised that Velazquez was only 19 when he painted the kitchen scene with an image of Christ in the House of Martha and Mary in one corner. Pace talked us through the complexity of the work which is astonishing for someone so young. Similarly, Raphael’s “An Allegory (Vision of a Knight)” painted when he was 21 shows a remarkably complex symbolism. I am enjoying these themes talks which take you across a chronological cross section of the collection and make you look at familiar pictures from different viewpoints.