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: Flowers
Flora: a second bloom
Evelyn De Morgan, Flora, 1894. De Morgan Collection. As I said when I originally posted this essay, ‘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’ – that was inContinue reading “Flora: a second bloom”
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”
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”
234 – Raphael, after Leonardo, and after Michelangelo
Raphael, St Catherine of Alexandria, about 1507. The National Gallery, London. After discussing Michelangelo and Leonardo, I looked at Raphael on Monday, and so we are all set up for the last of my four talks relating to the Royal Academy’s ‘perfect’ exhibition, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael: Florence c. 1504, this Monday 2 December. It willContinue reading “234 – Raphael, after Leonardo, and after Michelangelo”
Sunflowers – a repetition
Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. National Gallery, London. In 1924, a hundred years ago, The National Gallery acquired Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers. It was the centenary of their foundation. This year, the bicentenary, they are celebrating this acquisition – together with that of Van Gogh’s Chair, bought in the same year – with an exhibitionContinue reading “Sunflowers – a repetition”
220 – At the end of the day
Frederic Leighton, The Garden of the Hesperides, c.1892. Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight. After some delay I will be very happy to talk about Frederic Leighton and Flaming June at last – this Monday, 22 April at 6pm. This is a superb opportunity to focus on a painting which is widely recognised as theContinue reading “220 – At the end of the day”
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…’”
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”
Saint Francis, re-framed
Giovanni Bellini, St Francis in the Desert, c. 1476-78, Frick Collection, New York. The National Gallery’s exhibition, Saint Francis of Assisi, which I will talk about this Monday, 19 June at 6pm, is refreshingly beautiful. It includes a superb and eclectic choice of objects which are beautifully hung and expertly curated to tell a clear storyContinue reading “Saint Francis, re-framed”
dr richard stemp 