Cathy's Art Diary

A nice small exhibition at the National Gallery looking at works done by Sisley on his visits to England and Wales. I had not realised that Sisley’s parents were both British and that he was sent to London to study commerce when he was 18. There he discovered the works of Turner and Constable. On his trip in 1874 he sought out views similar to the Seine in Paris and created a series of pictures of the Thames at Hampton Court. I loved the one of the view under the bridge at Hampton Court. It was a wonderfully unusually angle for a picture. Following his marriage in Cardiff in 1897 he travelled in Wales with his wife working at Penarth and on the Gower Peninsular. There is a lovely series of three pictures of rocks which seem to act as a study in how the waves and shore interact with it. Reviews Guardian Independent Evening Standard

Small one room exhibition at the National Gallery celebrating the arrival of three Impressionist masterpieces which were bequeathed to the gallery by Simon Sainsbury. It takes the three pictures “Bowl of fruit and tankard before a window” by Gauguin and “Snow scene at Argenteuill” and “Water-lilies, setting sun” by Monet are displayed next to paintings which the gallery already owned which compliment them.

Study morning at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . This was a series of four lectures looking different themes of the show. Susan Foister, a principal curator of the exhibition, talked about how the Northern artists fitted into the themes of the rooms. Minna Moore Ede, assistant curator of Renaissance painting at the National Gallery, looked at sculpture by comparing the bust of St Constance in the first room and the marble plaque “Young couple” by Tullio Lombardo. Jenny Graham from the University of Plymouth looked at the role of artifice in portraits, why it is there and what it represents. Finally Carline Brooke from Birkbeck College again talked about the role of drawing. I thought this would be a repeat of the previous Wednesday’s lecture but although it covered similar themes it did so by comparing and contrasting the Bellini portrait of a man and Durer’s portrait of Conrad Merckell.

Another lecture at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . Given by Caroline Brook of Birkbeck College, this lecture looked at the role of drawing in Renaissance portraiture and why it rose to prominence at this time and then declines. It looked in particular at the abstract nature of drawing, claiming that the act of drawing a line on a paper is a abstraction as it uses illusion to create reality. It also looked at the different uses of drawings : as preparatory works, as works of art in their own right, as presents for friends and as means of an artist analysing himself in self portraiture.

Lecture at the National Gallery to compliment the “ Renaissance Faces” exhibition . Given by Joanna Woodall from the Courtauld Institute the lecture looked at the work of Antonis Mor, a contemporary of Titian, who features in the last room of the exhibition. She used his work to look at the question of art as imagination. In particular she contrasted Mor’s and Titian’s portraits of Philip II. Mor’s portrait shows Philip as a military leader but at a battle which he missed! Mor however pictures him in this important regal right of passage, the leading of troops in battle.

Work by the artist in residence at the Whitney Museum of American Art . This was a false room which you could view through spaces in its corners. It was a basically a work space in which the artist works with everyday objects to look at how they transform with use. The website describes it as “questioning the autonomy of the art object through a process of its constant transmutation”. Not sure I understand but I am sure I agree! Must admit the artist had gone for a short break when we were there but the thing which struck me most was the smell, as he had been baking! Review New York Times

Exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art which brings together works from the Whitney’s permanent collection, highlighting connections between art and visions of utopia. I must admit by this exhibit I was getting a bit tired and punch drunk! I hadn’t expected the Whitney to have quite so many exhibitions! Once you are there you feel you need to do them all, especially as it was our last day in New York, but by this stage the feet and brain were tired! For that reason I can only remember the highlights of this one not really anything about the theme! Anyway my favourite piece was Paul Sietsema’s “CG Room” from 2002 which was a modern room resembling one of the Dutch box paintings of a room done within a box to form a 3D picture. Review New York Times