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”
Category Archives: Ships
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”
Day 65 – Venice
Canaletto, Venice: The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day, about 1740, National Gallery, London. Yesterday was Ascension Day, and in Venice that always used to be one of the great days of the year. The celebration, known in the Venetian dialect as the Festa della Sensa, was associated with two historical events. On 9 May in the yearContinue reading “Day 65 – Venice”
Day 9 – The Fighting Temeraire
Day 9 – Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Fighting Temeraire, 1839, National Gallery, London. Originally posted on 27 March 2020 Isn’t this a wonderful painting? Evocative, atmospheric, rich in colour, packed with meaning – all in all, it is beautifully painted. Indeed, a few years back it was voted ‘the Nation’s favourite painting’, and has evenContinue reading “Day 9 – The Fighting Temeraire”
dr richard stemp 