Author Archives: drrichardstemp

209 – Rubens: a nude, with nuance?

Peter Paul Rubens, Samson and Delilah, about 1609-10. The National Gallery, London. Relatively few people get their own adjective, but as far as Rubens is concerned, that could be a good thing. ‘Rubenesque’ can be positive or negative, or an all-too-obvious attempt to be polite, I suppose, it depends on your attitude. A basic definitionContinue reading “209 – Rubens: a nude, with nuance?”

208 – Some are born great

Frans Hals, Portrait of Catharina Hooft with her Nurse, 1619-20. Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Gemäldegalerie. I have rarely been so excited at an exhibition as I was when visiting Frans Hals at the National Gallery. I was excited to go, yes, but on seeing the first paintings, the thrill increased. I’ve seen quite a fewContinue reading “208 – Some are born great”

Revisiting, too…

Sir Peter Lely, …the Virgin and Child, 1664. National Portrait Gallery, London. I will be Revisiting the NPG for a second time this Monday, 9 October at 6:00pm, and in this instalment of the survey I will reach The Stuarts. To introduce that, I am also revisiting an old post: it was originally ‘Picture of theContinue reading “Revisiting, too…”

207 – Making a monarch, a mural, and more

Hans Holbein the Younger, King Henry VIII; King Henry VII, c. 1536-37. National Portrait Gallery, London. This week I will start what might turn out to be an occasional survey of the recently refurbished, refocussed and reopened National Portrait Gallery in London (whether I get all the way through depends on what other ideas takeContinue reading “207 – Making a monarch, a mural, and more”

206 – ‘The cat will mew…’

Agnes Miller Parker, The Uncivilised Cat, 1930. The Fleming Collection. My visit to Glasgow is rapidly drawing to a close, but my Scottish September still has one last blast: an introduction to the Fleming Collection’s rich and rewarding exhibition Scottish Women Artists: 250 Years of Challenging Perception, which you can catch at Dovecot Studios inContinue reading “206 – ‘The cat will mew…’”

205 – Coming to an arrangement

James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle, 1872-3. Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery, Glasgow. Last year, in March, I wrote about Whistler’s Mother, and on Monday I will talk about Whistler’s Wife – Beatrix Birnie Philip. However, as the official title of the former is Arrangement inContinue reading “205 – Coming to an arrangement”

204 – From May to September…

Margaret Macdonald Mackintosh, The May Queen, 1900. Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow. My Elemental August is drawing to a close: thank you to all of you who attended the talks. I will miss that particular group of women with their resonances of time and place, training and travel, but it’s time to move onContinue reading “204 – From May to September…”

203 – Crivelli’s Original Garden

Carlo Crivelli, La Madonna della Rondine, after 1490. The National Gallery, London. The National Gallery’s exhibition Paula Rego: Crivelli’s Garden, which I will be talking about this Monday, 28 August at 6pm, celebrates the painting which the late, great Portuguese-born artist created for the dining room in the Sainsbury Wing when it was opened backContinue reading “203 – Crivelli’s Original Garden”

202 – Flora, from Florence

Evelyn De Morgan, Flora, 1894. De Morgan Collection. There have been a plethora of exhibitions of the work of Evelyn De Morgan in the past few years, but I am only now in a position to dedicate an entire talk to her (on Monday 21 August at 6pm), thanks to the exhibition The Gold DrawingsContinue reading “202 – Flora, from Florence”