Claude Monet, The Thames below Westminster, about 1871. The National Gallery, London. Keep looking – that’s the most important thing. If you keep looking you keep learning. I certainly do: it’s one of the things I most enjoy about writing this blog. But then, check that what you’ve learnt from what you see is correctContinue reading “237 – Monet, looking at London”
Category Archives: Landscape
236 – Rubens, before Constable
Peter Paul Rubens, A View of Het Steen in the Early Morning, probably 1636. The National Gallery, London. After five weeks talking about the Italian Renaissance I’m going to take a break and head forward to the 19th Century. There is a direct line to be drawn, I think, from Constable, via Monet, to VanContinue reading “236 – Rubens, before Constable”
216 – Between Earth and Heaven
The Master of the Aachen Altarpiece, The Crucifixion, about 1490-5. The National Gallery, London. I’m really enjoying getting to know the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool – it has a fantastic collection, with some real gems – and am looking forward to starting my online stroll around the museum this Monday, 12 February with aContinue reading “216 – Between Earth and Heaven”
213 – With Berthe in the Bois de Boulogne
Berthe Morisot, A Horse and Carriage in the Bois de Boulogne, after 1883. The Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. If you want an exhibition to help you cope with the stress of Christmas, or to get you going – gently – in the New Year, you could do worse than heading to Impressionists on PaperContinue reading “213 – With Berthe in the Bois de Boulogne”
Day 54 – Psyche V: ‘Reawakening’
Anthony van Dyck, Cupid and Psyche, 1639-40, Royal Collection Trust. This is another re-post, but somehow, and I really don’t know how, I managed to delete the original quite a long time ago. I was probably on a train with dodgy WiFi, and maybe even using my phone, all of which would generally result inContinue reading “Day 54 – Psyche V: ‘Reawakening’”
189 – Vermeer… of Delft
Johannes Vermeer, View of Delft, c. 1660-61. Mauritshuis, The Hague. As I start writing, I am on the verge of flying to Amsterdam. By the time you read this, though, I will have spent the day in Delft, visiting the viewpoint from which Vermeer saw his native city, seeing the streets he lived and workedContinue reading “189 – Vermeer… of Delft”
175 – Solid and durable
Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1886-87. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Mont Sainte-Victoire was undoubtedly Paul Cézanne’s favourite landscape motif. He painted it over 80 times, but, to keep a handle on things, today I’m just going to look at one. However, my next talk, on Monday, 24 October at 6pm, will be an introduction toContinue reading “175 – Solid and durable”
166 – From C- to Sea
Barbara Hepworth, Pelagos, 1946. Tate. As so often, things have turned out to be more complicated than I expected – and that refers not just to today’s post, but also to what, exactly, I’m going to be doing in September. This much is settled: on Monday 22 August I will be giving a talk entitledContinue reading “166 – From C- to Sea”
Return to the Rainbow
John Constable, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1830-31. Tate Britain, London. [This is my second version of this post – you may prefer to read the latest, updated – and corrected – version, The End of the Rainbow, from December 2025!] I’ve been meaning to come back to this painting for a long time, having originallyContinue reading “Return to the Rainbow”
136 – At Home with Uncle Gianni
Bernardo Bellotto, Venice: Upper Reaches of the Grand Canal facing Santa Croce, about 1738. National Gallery, London. This Monday, 20 September, I will be putting the National Gallery’s small but perfectly formed exhibition Bellotto: The Königstein Views Reunited into context with a lecture I have entitled Bellotto – The Journey to Dresden, so today IContinue reading “136 – At Home with Uncle Gianni”
dr richard stemp 