Donatello, The Feast of Herod, c. 1435, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille. Well, I’m just off out to talk about Donatello, so I’m afraid I don’t have the time to write a new post now. Instead, I’m going to revisit a post from 6 May 2020: it was Picture of the Day 49. Re-reading it, I wasContinue reading “Donatello, take 2…”
Category Archives: Sculpture
184 – A Mother by a Sister and a daughter
Andrea de Mena y Bitoria, Mater Dolorosa, 1675. Hispanic Society of America, New York. As I think I’ve said during the talks recently, I keep finding more women who were artists. Apparently there are people who think that these artists are being ‘discovered’ more and more nowadays, but don’t be fooled – they have allContinue reading “184 – A Mother by a Sister and a daughter”
171 – All together now…!
Attributed to Michelangelo, Study for one of the Medici tombs at San Lorenzo, 1524. Musée du Louvre, Paris. Gesamtkunstwerk. It’s the word that Wagner used in 1849 to describe his ideal art form, with all genres of art working together through theatre. Of course it applies specifically to opera, which involves music, drama, and visualContinue reading “171 – All together now…!”
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”
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”
165 – Sculpture Ban
Naum Gabo, Revolving Torsion, Fountain, 1972-3. Tate, on loan to St Thomas’ Hospital, London. OK, I’m not suggesting that art has been censored here, but as a fantastic embodiment of Naum Gabo’s art, his Revolving Torsion, Fountain, on long term loan from Tate to St Thomas’ Hospital, has probably been switched off in line withContinue reading “165 – Sculpture Ban”
162 – Betrayal Redeemed
Cornelia Parker, Thirty Pieces of Silver, 1988. Tate. Given that my current series of talks is called Looking in Different Ways, Cornelia Parker, about whom I will be talking this Monday, 18 July at 6pm, is a perfect choice. She sees the world in such a completely different way to most artists, and, with allContinue reading “162 – Betrayal Redeemed”
Some Virtues
Andrea del Verrocchio, Model for the Funeral Monument for Cardinal Niccolò Forteguerri, c. 1476, Victoria and Albert Museum, London. The Sculpture course Form, Function, Material and Memory is rapidly drawing to a close. The last talk will be this Monday 27 June at 6pm, when we will consider Memory – Something to Remember. This will look atContinue reading “Some Virtues”
Psyche, a coda (a repeat)
Antonio Canova, Psyche revived by Cupid’s Kiss, 1787-93, Louvre, Paris. So far in my series on sculpture I haven’t mentioned Antonio Canova, although I will this Monday, 20 June at 6.00pm, when I will discuss the very substance of art (or, at least, the different substances from which sculpture is made), in a talk entitled Material:Continue reading “Psyche, a coda (a repeat)”
159 – Michelangelo, holding a candle…
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Angel, 1494-5. San Domenico, Bologna. You would think that no one could hold a candle to Michelangelo – but everyone has to start somewhere, and the young sculptor must have learnt from someone. Indeed, today’s work is an example of the young genius responding – directly and overtly – to someone else’s work,Continue reading “159 – Michelangelo, holding a candle…”
dr richard stemp 