Tag Archives: Courtauld Gallery

The Power of Imagery

Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie, 12 Star Gallery, 32 Smith Square, London SW1, until 9th September 2016

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast - Atlas: A Reverie Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

Installation View: Kathy Prendergast – Atlas: A Reverie
Courtesy of 12 Star Gallery.

This exhibition features thirty-eight wall-hung images and a freestanding work.  Using the AA Road Atlas of Europe the artist has transformed the maps into what may almost be thought to be charts of the stars but in fact using white and grey dots she denotes villages, towns and cities. In doing it in this manner she raises the question of migration and settlement in both a historical and contemporary way.

 

ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/

 

A New Childhood: Picture Books from Soviet Russia, House of Illustration 2 Granary Square, King’s Cross, London N1, until 11th September 2016

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova. Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

Image by Galina and Olga Chichagova.
Courtesy of Sasha Lurye

This is a wonderful voyage of discovery into the world of Russian children’s books in the post-revolutionary period of the 20s and 30s with these works from the Sasha Lurye Collection. Much of the artwork has not been seen before and includes rare early 20th century Jewish books and hand-printed books made by the Segodnya Collective.  It is fascinating to learn that these books which told about contemporary life or traditional folk tales were influential on book design in Europe, including the UK.

www.houseofillustration.org.uk

 

Georgiana Houghton: Spirit Drawings, Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2, until 11th September 2016

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884) The Eye of God c. 1862 Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm Victorian Spiritualists' Union Melbourne, Australia (The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814 –1884)
The Eye of God
c. 1862
Watercolour on paper, 54 x 44 cm
Victorian Spiritualists’ Union
Melbourne, Australia
(The inscription on the reverse names Correggio as Houghton’s spirit guide)

Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) was a spiritualist and medium whose drawings were part of her communications with the spirit world.  Her colourful, abstract watercolours are now considered to be a precursor of abstract art.  She believed that when executing the drawings she was being guided by spirits, including Titian, Correggio and St Luke and she duly noted on the reverse of the works whose help she had received. An intriguing show indeed.

http://courtauld.ac.uk/gallery

Botticelli – two London exhibitions

Botticelli and Treasures from the Hamilton Collection, The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London WC2, until 15thMay 2016

Sandro Botticelli Centre of Hell. The full figure of Lucifer (Divine Comedy, Inferno XXXIV,2), around 1481-1495, Pen and brown ink over metal pen on parchment, 63,2 x 46,3 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Philipp Allard

Sandro Botticelli
Centre of Hell. The full figure of Lucifer (Divine Comedy, Inferno XXXIV,2), around 1481-1495,
Pen and brown ink over metal pen on parchment, 63,2 x 46,3 cm
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Philipp Allard

In 1882 the 12th Duke of Hamilton sold the collection of drawings by Sandro Botticelli which depicted scenes from Dante’s Divine Comedy as well as almost all his fabled collection of illuminated manuscripts to the Berlin Kupferstichkabinett (Prints and Drawings Museum).

Sandro Botticelli Dante and Beatrice in the second planetary sphere of Paradise (Divine Comedy, Paradiso VI), around 1481-1495, Pen and brown ink over metal pen on parchment, 32,5 x 47,6 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Philipp Allard

Sandro Botticelli
Dante and Beatrice in the second planetary sphere of Paradise (Divine Comedy, Paradiso VI), around 1481-1495,
Pen and brown ink over metal pen on parchment, 32,5 x 47,6 cm
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Philipp Allard

Now we are fortunate – and I do emphasise that – to have some thirty of them in this exhibition alongside some of the illuminated manuscripts including the stunning Hamilton Bible, which appears in Raphael’s portrait of Pope Leo X in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.

Cristoforo Orimina Genesis (in the so called “Hamilton-Bible”), around 1350-60 book illumination and gold on parchment, 37,5 x 26,5 cm © Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

Cristoforo Orimina
Genesis (in the so called “Hamilton-Bible”), around 1350-60
book illumination and gold on parchment, 37,5 x 26,5 cm
© Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Jörg P. Anders

Dating from 1480-1495 Botticelli’s drawings on vellum depict scenes from the three parts of Dante’s work. In Hell and Purgatory Dante is guided by Virgil but in Paradise he is led by his beloved Beatrice. These are powerful, exquisite works and the suffering and torment depicted in the first two parts might serve as a reminder to mend our own ways where necessary.

courtauld.ac.uk

 

 

Botticelli Reimagined, V&A Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 until 3rd July 2016

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined
(c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

This is certainly a major show covering a period of some five hundred years and includes some fifty works by Sandro Botticelli himself. Rather strangely in my opinion the exhibition starts in a rather glitzy Global, Modern, Contemporary Section which features a whole variety of works, including scenes from Dr No and the The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, which are inspired by Botticelli’s painting the Birth of Venus.

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined
(c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Botticelli was rather neglected in the three hundred years after his death but was re-discovered in the 19th century by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite group, some of whom acquired his works, and thus the second section features works by Burne-Jones, Rossetti and William Morris which reflect this interest as well as paintings by Degas and Gustave Moreau.

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined (c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Installation view of Botticelli Reimagined
(c) Victoria and Albert Museum, London

The third and final section Botticelli in his Own Time takes us to the master himself. There are some fine works, including five Divine Comedy drawings, to be enjoyed. Among the paintings is The Mystic Nativity, his only signed and dated painting and Portrait of a Lady known as Smeralda Bandinelli (c. 1470-5) which was once owned by Rossetti. I do wonder whether the stark white walls of this section were the right foil for these works and whether the layout is a bit cramped but having said that this is a memorable exhibition for the right reasons. Botticelli certainly still reigns!

vam.ac.uk

The Courtauld Institute of Art

Bridget Riley: Learning from Seurat, The Courtauld Institute of Art, Somerset House. Strand, London WC2, until 17 January 2016

This marvellous exhibition elegantly shows how Seurat has been a major influence in Bridget Riley’s artistic output.

Bridget Riley Copy after Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie, 1959 Oil on canvas 28 x 35 7/8 in © Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved, courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Bridget Riley
Copy after Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie, 1959
Oil on canvas
28 x 35 7/8 in
© Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved,
courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Fascinated by Seurat’s Bridge at Courbevoie at the Courtauld.  She copied it in 1959, not directly from the painting itself as she though it would be too intimidating but from an illustration of it in R H Wilenski’s book on Seurat.  Her version which normally hangs in her studio now hangs close by to the original in this show. The other paintings show how her distinctive style developed from her move to the abstract black and white pictures and then on to her famous stripe paintings where her use of coloured stripes broke new ground just as Seurat’s use of dots of colour had done in his time. Throughout her work there is reference to the tonal qualities and light found in Seurat.

Bridget Riley Vapour, 1970 Acrylic on linen 37 3/4 x 35 3/8 in © Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved, courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

Bridget Riley
Vapour, 1970
Acrylic on linen
37 3/4 x 35 3/8 in
© Bridget Riley 2015. All rights reserved,
courtesy Karsten Schubert, London.

courtauld.ac.uk

The Courtauld Gallery

GOYA: THE WITCHES AND OLD WOMEN ALBUM, The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2, until 25 May 2015

Francisco Goya (1746-1828) Pesadilla (Nightmare) 'Black Border' Album (E), page 20 c. 1816-20 Brush, black ink with wash and scraping 364 x 181 mm New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, 1959.13

Francisco Goya (1746-1828)
Pesadilla (Nightmare)
‘Black Border’ Album (E), page 20
c. 1816-20
Brush, black ink with wash and scraping
364 x 181 mm
New York, The Morgan Library & Museum, 1959.13

This is a very special exhibition as it brings together all the known surviving drawings from one of Francisco Goya’s (1746 – 1828) private albums. It allows us to see his interpretations and thoughts on human nature, madness, mortality, superstitions and nightmares whether they be humorous or grotesque.

Francisco de Goya (1746- 1828) Bajan riñendo, (They descend quarrelling) 'Witches and Old Women' Album (D), page 1 c. 1819-23 Brush, black and grey ink 235 x 143 mm Private Collection

Francisco de Goya (1746- 1828)
Bajan riñendo, (They descend quarrelling)
‘Witches and Old Women’ Album (D), page 1
c. 1819-23
Brush, black and grey ink
235 x 143 mm
Private Collection

These albums, there were eight in all, were created after a near-fatal illness at the age of fifty which left him deaf.  Even though he continued as the Spanish court painter his life and work changed after this.  The albums were never meant to be seen outside a small group of friends and so as one might expect they have a greater freedom of expression.

Francisco Goya, (1746- 1828) El sueno de la razon produce monstruos (The sleep of reason produces monsters) 'Los Caprichos' 43, in the Cean Bermudez trial (first edition) set, 1799 c. 1797-98 Etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin 217 x 153 mm London, The British Museum, 1975,1025.420.48

Francisco Goya, (1746- 1828)
El sueno de la razon produce monstruos (The sleep of reason produces monsters)
‘Los Caprichos’ 43, in the Cean Bermudez trial (first edition) set, 1799
c. 1797-98
Etching, aquatint, drypoint and burin
217 x 153 mm
London, The British Museum, 1975,1025.420.48

Dr. Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen, Head of The Courtauld Gallery says: “I am sure that visitors will be enthralled by this view of a very private and personal Goya.” I couldn’t agree more, it is an exquisite show.

Francisco de Goya (1746- 1828) Hasta la muerte. (Until death.) c. 1797 - 98 'Los Caprichos' 55, trial (first edition) set, 1799 Etching, burnished aquatint and drypoint, 215 x 151 mm London, The British Museum

Francisco de Goya (1746- 1828)
Hasta la muerte. (Until death.) c. 1797 – 98
‘Los Caprichos’ 55, trial (first edition) set, 1799
Etching, burnished aquatint and drypoint, 215 x 151 mm
London, The British Museum

www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery

The Naked Body – (you have been warned)

The human body, unclothed, has long been a subject for artists over the centuries. Some, such as the new works by Paul McCarthy (Hauser & Wirth London, South Gallery, until November 1st), may prove somewhat challenging to many viewers, especially the scatological elements. However, I will share the two below for your consideration, if not necessarily approval, because they are part of our artistic heritage.

Aleah Chapin – Maiden, Mother, Child & Crone, Flowers Gallery, 21 Cork Street, London W1, until 8 November 2014

The Air Was Full, 2014 Oil on linen, ©Aleah Chapin, courtesy of Flowers Gallery, London and New York

The Air Was Full, 2014
Oil on linen,
©Aleah Chapin, courtesy of Flowers Gallery, London and New York

One may certainly think of Rubens when one sees this new body of work by Aleah Chapin. Her basis for these paintings, which shows the different stages in a woman’s life-cycle, is derived from various intellectual concepts, including Neopaganism.

One could argue that it is also a record of how people age and how different age groups relate or interact. Indeed how society reacts.

http://www.flowersgallery.com

Egon Schiele: The Radical Nude, The Courtauld Gallery, Somerset House, Strand, London, WC2, until 18th January 2015

Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Erwin Dominik Osen, Nude with Crossed Arms, 1910 Black chalk, watercolour and gouache 44.7 x 31.5 cm The Leopold Museum, Vienna

Egon Schiele (1890-1918)
Erwin Dominik Osen, Nude with Crossed Arms, 1910
Black chalk, watercolour and gouache
44.7 x 31.5 cm
The Leopold Museum, Vienna

Well there is little doubt that the word “radical” may still apply to viewers’ thoughts on seeing these works because they are certainly full on. Indeed, in 1912, Schiele was even imprisoned for two months for contravening public decency and some of his works confiscated.

Egon Schiele (1890-1918) Two Girls Embracing (Friends), 1915 Gouache, watercolour and pencil 48 x 32.7 cm Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Egon Schiele (1890-1918)
Two Girls Embracing (Friends), 1915
Gouache, watercolour and pencil
48 x 32.7 cm
Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

The thirty-eight drawings and watercolours in the show chart the years from his breakthrough as an artist in 1910 to his untimely death in 1918, during the Spanish Flu epidemic, at the age of twenty eight. A sad end since by 1915 his work was starting to be collected and just as his artistic star was about to rise high in the skies death intervened. What is certain is that he most certainly changed the way artists would depict the human figure in the 20th century and beyond.

http://www.courtauld.ac.uk/gallery/index.shtml