John Constable, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1830-31. Tate Britain, London. Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to getting going straight away, and even before Christmas has officially ended. On 5 January 2026 at 6:00pm (which is the 12th Day of Christmas) I will be talking about Tate’s superb Turner & Constable exhibition, which is worthContinue reading “The End of the Rainbow”
Category Archives: Rainbow
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”
Day 83 – Landscape with Rainbow
Robert S. Duncanson, Landscape with Rainbow, 1859, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. One of the problems with learning is that you keep finding out how much you don’t know. And this week I’m finding out the full extent of my ignorance. I should probably come clean: American art has never been one of my mainContinue reading “Day 83 – Landscape with Rainbow”
Day 64 – Ascension
Pietro Perugino, The Ascension of Christ, 1495-98, Musée des beaux-arts, Lyon. Today is the Feast of the Ascension, forty days after Easter, when Jesus went up into Heaven – Jesus himself makes three references to it, before it has happened, in the Gospel of St John, and it is described in both the Gospel of St LukeContinue reading “Day 64 – Ascension”
Day 48 – Colour and Design
Angelica Kauffman, Colour and Design, 1778-80, Royal Academy, London. We’re back with the rainbow, again, after yesterday – but seen from a different point of view today. It is now a week since the Royal Academy officially announced that they would be cancelling their exhibition of the works of Angelica Kauffman, which, of all the shows that haveContinue reading “Day 48 – Colour and Design”
Day 47 – Salisbury Cathedral
Day 47 – Salisbury Cathedral John Constable, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows, 1830-31, Tate Britain, London. [This is my original version of this post – you may prefer to read the latest, updated – and corrected – version, The End of the Rainbow, from December 2025!] Sometimes a painting is asking to be talked about. IContinue reading “Day 47 – Salisbury Cathedral”
Day 37 – Noah
Paolo Uccello, Stories from the Life of Noah, c. 1447-8, Chiostro Verde, Santa Maria Novella, Florence. I mentioned, a few days back (Picture Of The Day 32) – I think it was Sunday – that I would come back to the great polymath of the Renaissance, Leon Battista Alberti. And just a couple of days beforeContinue reading “Day 37 – Noah”
dr richard stemp 