Hans Holbein the Elder, The Basilica of St Paul, 1504. Staatsgalerie Altdeutsche Meister, Augsburg. I am looking forward to the exhibition Holbein at the Tudor Court at the Queen’s Gallery, and so wanted to write about Holbein today. This is by Hans Holbein, although probably not the Hans Holbein you are thinking of. Today’s paintingContinue reading “210 – Hans Holbein, already in the picture”
Author Archives: drrichardstemp
Doggedly re-posting
William Hogarth, The Painter and his Pug, 1745. Tate Britain, London. I’m not much of a dog person, but I have developed a fondness for William Hogarth’s pet pug, not least because it rejoiced in the name of Trump (no relation). This portrait – if that’s what it is – belongs to Tate, rather thanContinue reading “Doggedly re-posting”
Reverting to Type
Elisabetta Sirani, The Penitent Magdalene, 1663. Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie, Besançon. I first got to know today’s painting when I wrote about it back in November 2020, but only saw it for the first time in the flesh (flesh being the operative word) the week before last, when I was in Hamburg. It featuresContinue reading “Reverting to Type”
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…”
dr richard stemp 