Cathy's Art Diary

Lovely exhibition at the Jacquemart-Andre Museum in Paris comparing and contrasting the work of the two Venetian painters, Caneletto and Guardi. I liked the way it used different areas of the city as a focus to makes its points either between the two artists or between one artists young and mature work. I particularly liked one pair of the corner of the Canneregio canal as it included the flat I stayed in a few years ago!  I came out preferring the pure clear images of Canaletto. Guardi had freer brush work and a more realistic view but everything looked grub bier and less defined. I think Canaletto's figures are more expressive, with a couple of small lines he brings a person to live.    

Rather luscious exhibition at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris looking at the Impressionists and clothes. It was a very stylish exhibition with some full length life sized pictures being displayed like a cat walk and a lovely garden room at the end for pictures of the out doors but sometimes the style was at the expensive of ergonomics! Please can we have legible labels and don't put pictures on the audio tour or introduction boards in corridors!  Grumpy old lady moment excepted it was lovely to see the real dresses of the time next to the pictures and also alongside Eugene Disderi calling cards.  I had not come across Alfred Stevens before and now want to know more as some lovely small pictures of women in white. Tissot of course can out of it as a fashion star and of most note was his picture of a group of stylish men "Le Circle de la rue Royale". Reviews Telegraph  

Fascinating exhibition at the Musee D'Orsay in Paris looking at the work of the architect Victor Baltard who helped to transform Paris in the mid 19th century. The first section looked at his early life including his time in Rome and the friendships he made there with people like Ingres.  The main section was beautifully arranged along a gallery set up to look like his major work for the markets at Les Halles with rooms off one side, decorated in the style of the period, looking at all aspects of his work.  The exhibition also included some of the first architectural photographs by Charles Bossu dit Marville.  I found the section on Les Halles most interesting as our hotel,overlooks the current building work. One photo from about 150 years ago was almost exactly the view from our window albeit we have cranes. The section on the cultural legacy of the old Les Halles buildings was also fascinating. 

Nice companion exhibition tab the Louvre in Paris to their current Late Raphael exhibition.  Luca Penni was the brother to the Penni who featured in the Raphael exhibition and who also trained in Raphael's studio. He was part of a group of Italians employed to decorate the refurbished palace of Fontainbleu.  There were a lot of rather louch female nudes which can only be described as 16th century soft porn. There were a rather nice set of variations on Diana and Acteon which I liked and some great battles of nude men!  The drawings were better than the prints and there were also some designs used on other works. 

Good exhibition   at the Louvre in Paris on the later work of Raphael. It started with five large pictures and accompanying drawings including some commissioned by Pope Leo X for Francis I. A real strength of this exhibition was the bringing together of paintings and their drawings. There was a heavy emphasis on works for the popes including the decoration of the papal apartments. there was a good definition of studio of that Raphael "controlled it's quality and homogeneity".  There was also an emphasis on his legacy and followers mainly Giulio Romano and Gian Francesco Penni with a gallery devoted to each of their works. Romano was more mannerist in style while Penni was quite delicate. The exhibition saved the best till last with a room of stunning portraits many of which were old friends. Particularly beautiful was a Romano picture of a young man thought to be a Medici.  However the whole thing confirmed my suspicion that Raphael copied and imita...

Nice exhibition at the Greenwich Heritage Centre in Woolwich looking at the life of Bob Hope.  This is a travelling exhibition from the World Golf Hall of Fame and Museum and is at he centre because Bob Hope was born in the borough. There was a nice section on his early life with photos of the local houses he'd lived in.  I loved the sections on his work visiting troops over many years and on his relationships with US Presidents. There were many iconic objects such as his Oscar and Congressional Medal.  I did find it a bit full of golf but that just reflects the reason for the curation.  Best of all though was that there were lots of video clips in different areas of the exhibition so not only was the space full of his lovely voice but also visitors laughing at the jokes. A good joke doesn't date! 

Excellent one day seminar at the British Library Centre for Conservation looking at sources of funding for library and archive conservation projects and how to put together a funding bid.  There were three good speakers  Louise Ray - Programme Manager (Development Advice), National Archives, Caroline Peach, Head of Preservation Advisory Centre, British Library and Helen Lindsey, a collection care consultant.   I attended because I may need to looking for extra funding sources for a project we have undertaken at work. The day gave me lots of ideas and a chance to pick the brains of others!