Netherlandish or French, The Madonna and Child with Saints Louis and Margaret, about 1510. The National Gallery, London. My first talk about the newly refurbished Sainsbury wing, this Monday, 30 June at 6pm, is entitled Opening up the North. There are various reasons for choosing this title, which I will discuss during the talk itself.Continue reading “252 – Beauty and the Beast”
Category Archives: Bible
248 – More value than many sparrows
Max Liebermann, Free Time in the Amsterdam Orphanage, 1881-82. Städel Museum, Frankfurt. German Impressionism – the subject of my talk on Monday, 19 May – was not a direct rejection of the pristine surfaces and clear, crisp colours of the Nazarenes, who I talked about earlier this week, but it so easily could have been.Continue reading “248 – More value than many sparrows”
247 – In the midst of the doctors?
Marie Ellenrieder, Christ in the Temple, 1849. Royal Collection Trust. My next stop on the journey through early modern German art will be The Nazarenes, this Monday, 12 May at 6pm. If you’ve never heard of them, don’t worry, but they are rather wonderful and should be known! Nevertheless, a striking feature of the HistoryContinue reading “247 – In the midst of the doctors?”
Revisiting the Virtues in Colour
Ambrogio Lorenzetti, Maestà, c. 1335. Museo di Arte Sacra, Massa Marittima. Siena: The Rise of Painting 1300-1350 at the National Gallery is undoubtedly the most beautiful exhibition I have seen for many years, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it this coming Monday, 24 March at 6pm. It charts, as the titleContinue reading “Revisiting the Virtues in Colour”
243 – Our most delightful Simone
Simone Martini, Christ discovered in the Temple, 1342. Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. As an undergraduate studying the History of Art, I and my fellow students held Simone Martini in especially high regard, finding our developing vocabulary inadequate to describe the ineffable beauty of his paintings. We were incredibly lucky to have a great, local treasure,Continue reading “243 – Our most delightful Simone”
240 – A mother’s grief
Raphael, The Deposition, 1507. Galleria Borghese, Rome. I will be talking about Women as Patrons in the Renaissance this Monday, 27 January at 6pm, and so today I want to take a look at one of the most famous of the relatively few works of art which actually was commissioned by a woman. One ofContinue reading “240 – A mother’s grief”
235 – Raphael, after himself
After four weeks talking about the Royal Academy’s superb exhibition celebrating the ‘chance’ encounters of Michelangelo, Leonardo and Raphael in Florence, it will be a pleasure to keep the momentum going this Monday, 9 December by including just a few of their works in my introduction the King’s Gallery exhibition Drawing the Italian Renaissance. ThereContinue reading “235 – Raphael, after himself”
Re-Announced
Raphael, The Annunciation, c. 1506-7. Nationalmuseum, Stockholm. This week I had planned to write about a drawing by Raphael after a painting by Leonardo – but as predicted, I’ve run out of time. So instead, I will re-post an entry about a drawing by Raphael which may have been made for a painting by someoneContinue reading “Re-Announced”
Renewed Devotion
Marie Spartali Stillman, How the Virgin Mary Came to Brother Conrad of Offida and laid her Son in his Arms, 1892. National Trust Collections, Wightwick Manor and Gardens, Warwickshire. There’s no talk this Monday, but as I have decided (after some delay) what will take up the rest of the Summer, I thought I shouldContinue reading “Renewed Devotion”
221 – Caravaggio: the witness witnessed
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, David with the Head of Goliath, 1606-07 or 1609-10. Galleria Borghese, Rome. I was very lucky to be able to get into the National Gallery before opening time last week, and had the unequalled opportunity to see The Last Caravaggio on my own. In terms of the National Gallery’s ‘small andContinue reading “221 – Caravaggio: the witness witnessed”