Ecology – dr richard stemp

RE: Lent

It is the first day of Lent – again – and somehow this year I appear to be busier than last. We must have been in some kind of lockdown. What this means is that I don’t have time for Lenten Penance (I know, that’s hardly the point, but…) so if you would like toContinue reading “RE: Lent”

Lent 2

Three more plants today – and we shall ignore the delicate black slipper and the cloth of gold hem, although the scale at which they are depicted does suggest that we are not looking at a landscape painting, even if the landscape could still play a significant part. On the left is a broad-leaf plantain,Continue reading “Lent 2”

Lent

It is the first day of Lent, and this year I will be giving up abstinence. Well, I say, ‘this year’. To be honest, it’s a sacrifice I’ve been making for the past two decades at least, but there seems no reason to give up giving up now – so much has been given upContinue reading “Lent”

An Advent Calendar – 7

‘The Floor’ – Looking down, we see that the floor is in the same condition as the walls – in a chronic state of decay, and in desperate need of repair. It is part of the setting of this religious drama, and, like the rest of the scenery, it is symbolic of the old orderContinue reading “An Advent Calendar – 7”

104 – Don’t touch!

Fede Galizia, Noli mi tangere, 1616, Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan. Great news this week, which I know some of you will have heard already. But just in case you haven’t, I’m glad to let you know that the National Gallery has managed to completely re-schedule the Artemisia Gentileschi exhibition. And not only that, but theyContinue reading “104 – Don’t touch!”

Day 29 – St Francis in the Desert

Giovanni Bellini, St Francis in the Desert, c. 1476-78, Frick Collection, New York. The sun is still shining outside my window, as it is in this fabulous painting. It captures that wonderful sense of release you get when you’ve been cooped up inside all day, and finally step out into the fresh air, take a deepContinue reading “Day 29 – St Francis in the Desert”

Day 27 – Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi

Day 27 – Melchior d’Hondecoeter, ‘Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi’, 1668, National Gallery, London. Well, here’s a curious thing! In terms of the standard classifications of art, it’s hard to know where to put it. Given its size (68 x 57 cm) and its subject matter, it should be a Still LifeContinue reading “Day 27 – Birds, Butterflies and a Frog among Plants and Fungi”

Day 26 – ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’

Day 26 – Nicolas Lancret, ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’, probably 1742, National Gallery, London. It’s Easter Monday, which is not a religious festival (unless you’re Orthodox, in which case Easter isn’t until next Sunday anyway), but a chance for the banks to have a holiday because they wouldn’t have been open yesterday anyway, so couldn’t haveContinue reading “Day 26 – ‘La Tasse de Chocolat’”

Day 6 – Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber

Day 6 – Juan Sánchez Cotán, Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber, ca. 1602, San Diego Museum of Art, California. Originally posted on 24 March 2020 If I were to give these musings a title each day, today’s would be ‘The Vengeance of the Vegetables, or, In Search of Celeriac’, and it is a response to theContinue reading “Day 6 – Quince, Cabbage, Melon and Cucumber”