Salvador Dalí, Metamorphosis of Narcissus, 1937. Tate. Salvador Dalí was a Surrealist, obviously, and, some would say, the Arch-Surrealist. In 1934 he even claimed a form of ‘über-Surrealism’ when he explained that ‘The difference between the Surrealists and me is that I am a Surrealist’ – a typically Surreal statement. As such, like all membersContinue reading “176 – All change!”
Category Archives: Flowers
169 – Michelangelo’s Lost Love
Alessandro Algardi, Sleep, 1635-6. Museo Borghese, Rome. Yes, you’re right, this is not a sculpture by Michelangelo. Nor is it, for that matter, ‘Love’. You might have realised that already from the photograph – or for that matter, simply by reading the caption. But I do love this work – and after Bernini’s flashy showpiecesContinue reading “169 – Michelangelo’s Lost Love”
157 – Florid
Caterina Angela Pierozzi, The Annunciation Miniature, 1677. Colnaghi, London. I’ve just read a wonderful article in the New York Times, A Messy Table, a Map of the World by Jason Farago, and I’m half inclined to post a link to that today (which I have) and leave it at that. It’s a richly illustrated piece,Continue reading “157 – Florid”
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”
149 – Sunflowers
Vincent van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. National Gallery, London. There can be few artists more famous or more popular these days than Vincent van Gogh, and I must confess that each time I hear about a new exhibition my heart sinks a little. But I’m glad to say, I am often wrong! The last one wasContinue reading “149 – Sunflowers“
141 – a rose, By any other…
Allan Ramsay, Margaret Lindsay of Evelick: The Artist’s Wife, 1758-60. Scottish National Portrait Gallery, Edinburgh. Context is everything. You’re a very sophisticated lot, and I’m fairly sure that most of you will have completed the above quotation from Romeo and Juliet, that tale of star-crossed lovers. It comes from Act 2, scene 2: What’s in a name? That which we call a rose,By any other name would smell as sweet. ThisContinue reading “141 – a rose, By any other…”
135 – Say it with flowers
Carl Larsson, Azalea, 1906. Thielska Gallery, Stockholm. On Monday (6 September) I will be lecturing about two great Swedish artists from the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, Anders Zorn and Carl Larsson, both of whom (and I know I’ve said this before) deserve to be better known. Aside from their enormous technical skill, theContinue reading “135 – Say it with flowers”
126 – Mary Moser
Mary Moser, Spring and Summer, c. 1780. Royal Academy, London. One of the artists I won’t be able to cover in my admittedly brief series Three Women in the 18th Century is Mary Moser, which is a great shame. Her fame is eclipsed by her contemporary Angelica Kauffman (who will, of course, be the subjectContinue reading “126 – Mary Moser”
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”
