Art Galleries

I've been to a number of art galleries but there are still many I'd like to visit.

In Europe, I have visited the Louvre, in Paris, the Pardo, Reina Sofia and Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid, the National Gallery in London, the National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh and the Manchester Art Gallery. I saw a special exhibition of the works of Canaletto at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich.

In North America, I have visited the National Gallery in Ottawa, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, and the National Gallery in Washington.

Galleries that I have not yet visited but want to see are, in Europe, the National Gallery in Dublin, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Mauritshuis in The Hague, and the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, plus the many galleries in Rome, Venice and Milan.

In North America, I want to visit the Frick Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Dali Museum in St.Petersburg Florida. 

Louvre, Paris

Art Posters

So many talented illustrators created some of the greatest travel and advertising poster of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Some have become iconic and are instantly recognizable, many in the Art Deco period.

Others: Busch binoculars, Saint. Ives, Orient Express - Stewart, Orient Express 1888, Glacier Express, Colwyn Bay, Lake Garda, Normandie, Santorini.

Sources for high quality reproductions are Pictorem and AllPosters.

Waterhouse Exhibition

In 2009-10 the Musée de Beaux Arts in Montreal held a special exhibition of the works of John William Waterhouse entitled John William Waterhouse: Le jardin des sortilèges (Garden of Enchantment). This was a world-wide travelling exhibition, but Montreal was the only venue in North America and had over 90,000 visitors.

Paintings displayed:
The Lady of Shalott, 1888-93
The Lady of Shalott, 1894
The Favourites of Emperor Honorius
Saint Eulalia
After the Dance
Dolce far Niente
Sick Child Brought into the Temple of Aesculapius
Cleopatra
Miranda
Consulting the Oracle
The Magic Circle
I am Half Sick of Shadows said the Lady of Shalott
Circe offering the Cup to Ulysses
The Siren
A Mermaid
Ulysses and the Sirens
Circe Invidiosa
Circe
The Love Philtre
In the Peristyle
Hylas amd the Nymphs
A Naiad
Psyche and the Golden Box
Mariamne Leaving the Judgement

I remember distinctly Cleopatra, which was captivating, the longing expressed in Miranda, the wistfulness of Dolce far Niente, and the melancholy of Saint Eulalia. I studied The Favourites of Emperor Honorius, which was my favourite, for about half an hour (at least) finding more and more interesting elements in the composition.

Dolce far Niente

Grinling Gibbons

The greatest wood carver ever, his works can be found throughout Britain. He also did stone carving, mostly marble, but I prefer his wood carvings. I saw his works at York Minster (marble); the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; and Fairfax House, York.

I want to see his other works particularly St. Paul's Cathedral, Hampton Court Palace, Petworth House in West Sussex. His work is in two churches in London: Church of St Michael Paternoster Royal, and St James, Piccadilly. His works can also be seen at the Wren Library, Cambridge University, and at the Trinity College Chapel, Oxford University. Gibbons also made the marble monument for Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, located in the south choir aisle of Westminster Abbey. There is a nice carved panel at Northbrook House, Kirtlington (near Bicester), Oxfordshire, but it may not be accessible to the public.

Outside of Britain, the Cosimo Panel, an allegory of art triumphing over hatred and turmoil, is housed in the Museo degli Argenti at Pitti Palace in Florence. The Modena Panel is a memorial for Charles II and which also features a medallion self-portrait by Gibbons. The panel is displayed in the Estense Gallery in Modena, Italy.

Petworth House

St. James Church

Trinity College, Cambridge

I purchased a recently published book Grinling Gibbons: Master Carver by Paul Rabbitts.

Other works on Gibbons:
Grinling Gibbons and the Woodwork of his Age by Henry Avray Tipping, 1914
Grinling Gibbons and the Art of Carving by David Esterly, V&A Publications, 2000
The Work of Grinling Gibbons, Geoffrey Beard, John Murray, 1989

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David Esterly is exceptional good, and is continuing (or resurrecting) the art of fine wood carving. There is a good article about and interview with Esterly in Harvard Magazine. In fact, he was commissioned to repair works of Grinling Gibbons after a portion was severely damaged in a fire at Hampton Court Palace.

Art 2022

Some highlights of the museum tours I did while on my European trip in 2022 (other than works by Vermeer and Canaletto which are covered in those sections).

Reina Sofia Gallery, Madrid

The Enigma of Hitler by Dali. I've never seen a reference to it but it is surprising that his is displaying the nightmare of Hitler in a painting done in 1939 — years before the full extent of his barbarism was known.
Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt, 1890-95 by Santiago Rusiñol - excellent
Still Life, 1926 by Dali is interesting
Volson Plan, 1925 by Le Corbusier - view of a model for urban development
The Chorus Girl, 1934 by Rafael Pellicer Galeote - very nice 

Prado, Madrid

Fountain of Grace by Van Eyck (Rm. 58A) is very good.
Portrait of a Cardinal by Raphael (Rm. 49) is an exceptionally good portrait.
Grapes of Spain by Maria Luisa de la Riva (Rm. 61A) was a very good still life.
Isabel II Veiled by Camillo Torreggiani (Rm. 61) was very good.

Thyssen-Bornemisza Gallery, Mardid

Autumn, 1875 by Frederic Church is a great landscape – I would like a copy
Cross in the Wilderness by Frederic Church is also quite good
The Abundance of Summer by Paul Lacroix is one of the best still lifes I have seen — perfect fruit!
Portrait of Millicent, Duchess of Sutherland, 1904 by John Singer Sargent is very nice
The Risen Christ by Bramantino is interesting because it has an almost Art Deco style that reminds me of De Lempika, yet this was painted in 1490!
Capriccio with a River and Bridge by Bernardo Bellotto is a very nice landscape
Winter Landscape with a Peasant Family by Francesco Foschi
Winter Landscape with Figures by Francesco Foschi

National Gallery, London
There was a special exhibition in 2022 of the paintings of Raphael.

Mr and Mrs Andrews by Gainsborough (Rm. 35) My print! I never noticed the unfinished portion in her lap that they speculate may have been for a baby that never came about. Colours are a little more vibrant than in my print.
View of the Westerkerk by Jan van der Heyden (Rm. 19) is a super realist painting that I wouldn't have expected in 1660. I do not like it — too photo-realistic.
La velata or La donna velata (The woman with the veil) by Raphael is quite good. (Its home gallery is the Pitti Palace in Florence.)

National Gallery of Scotland

Flower Still Life with Bird's Nest by Jan van Huysom, 1718. Very nice still life.

Manchester Art Gallery
(Poor lighting on a lot of paintings – awkward viewing angles were necessary to avoid highlights on the paintings!)

Balaclava by Lady Butler - powerful depiction singling one individual to represent horror of the massacre (at Crimea).
Hylas and the Nymphs by Waterhouse - not bad.
Captive Andromache by Frederic Leighton - very nice
Flowers in a Glass Vase by Jan Anton van der Baren - very good still life.
Cogitating the Poor-law Bill, 1844 by Philip Westcott
Inspiration, 1866 by John Dawson Watson
Expectation, 1900 by John William Godward

Chatsworth

Portrait of a Woman by Boltraffio - A compelling portrait

National Railway Museum, York
Surprising that a railway museum would have some simple but interesting paintings.

Second Class: The Parting, 1854 by Abraham Soloman
First Class: The Meeting, 1855 by Abraham Soloman
Return to the Front, 1862 by Robert Collinson

National Gallery, Ottawa
Portrait of an Elderly Man by Tintoretto
Portrait of a Young Lady by Veneto

Lady Standing at a Virginal by Vermeer

Autumn by Frederic Church

Balaclava by Lady Butler

The Abundance of Summer by Paul Lacroix

Captive Andromache by Frederic Leighton

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt by Santiago Rusiñol

The Risen Christ by Bramantino

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Grinling Gibbons

I had three occasions to see his work:

Victoria & Albert Museum

A large (~6ft H by 4ft W) panel wood carving illustrating the Stoning of Saint Stephen.

Stoning of St Stephens

York Minster

There was an exhibition highlighting the work of Gibbons in general and showcasing three of his stone memorials located in the Minster. Saw two of three memorial created for various clergy. (One panel was covered by another temporary exhibition!)

Fairfax House, York

On display is the first recorded wood carving by a young Gibbons, referred to as the King David Panel. Small (~ 1ft H by 8in W) and not as finely done as his later works but still quite impressive.

King David Panel

Piotr Topolski

Piotr Topolski is a contemporary painter whose style is reminiscent of 17th century portraiture. Born in 1960, he studied at the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Art in Kracow.

Canaletto

My favorite landscape or, more accurately, cityscape, painter is Canaletto. His exquisite paintings particularly of old Venice are marvelous in their detail but more importantly his use of light.

Piazza di San Marco em Veneza

I went to the exhibition of Canaletto's complete views of Venice at the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, England in 2022.

Canalettos in institutions, by country:
UK
Wallace Collection, London
National Gallery, London
British Museum, London
Sir John Sloane's Museum, London
Westminster Abbey, London
Museum of London, London
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
Westminster Abbey, London
Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester
Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Upton House, Warwickshire
Tatton Park, Cheshire
Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Birmingham
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire
Boews Museum, Barnard Castle, Teesdale
Holkham Hall, Holkham
Farnborough Hall, Warwickshire
Dulwich Picture Gallery, London
National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Penrhyn Castle, Gwynedd, Wales

Italy
Uffizi Gallery, Florence
Gallerie dell'Accademia, Venice
Palazzo Leoni Montanari, Venice
Ca' Rezzonico, Venice
Galleria nazionale di Parma, Parma
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan
Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica, Rome
Galleria Borghese, Rome
Galleria nazionale d'arte antica di palazzo Corsini, Rome
Pinacoteca Giovanni e Marella Agnelli, Turin

United States
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
National Gallery of Art, Washington
Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, OH
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO
Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
Fogg Art Museum, Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT
North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX

FRANCE
Musée du Louvre, Paris
Musée d'art et d'histoire, Narbonne
Musée Jacquemart André, Paris
Fondation Bemberg, Toulouse
Musée des beaux-arts, Brest
Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble
Musées de la Ville, Strasbourg
Musée Cognacq-Jay, Paris

GERMANY
Gemäldegalerie de Berlín, Berlin
Old Masters Picture Gallery, Dresden
Alte Pinakothek, Munich
Staatsgalerie, Stuttgart
Städel Museum, Frankfurt

AUSTRIA
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

RUSSIA
Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

SPAIN
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid
Prado, Madrid

BRAZIL
Ricardo Brennand Institute, Recife

CANADA
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

By far the greatest number (32) in a single location are those in the royal collection in England not readily accessible to the public.

I HAVE SEEN (47)
Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Madrid (6):
The Piazza San Marco in Venice (1723)
The Grand Canal from San Vio, Venice (1723)
The South Façade of Warwck Castle (1748)
In the interior of a Palace (1765)
The School of San Marco (1765)
Porta Portbello, Padua (1760)

National Gallery, London (room 38) (10):
Piazza San Marco and the Colonade of the Procuratie Nuove (late 1750s)
A Regatta on the Grand Canal (about 1740; 1 of 2 favourites here)
San Pietro in Castello (1730s)
The Feast Day of Saint Roch (about 1735)
Interior of the Rotunda at Ranelagh [London] (1754)
Eton College (about 1754)
Piazza San Marco (about 1758)
The Doge’s Palace and the Riva degli Schiavoni (late 1730s)
The Basin of San Marco on Ascension Day (about 1740; 1 of 2 favourites here)
The Grand Canal with San Simeone Piccolo (about 1740)

Royal Maritime Museum, London (special exhibition, 2022) (23):
(Almost all were from the Woborn Abbey Collection)
The Piazzetta di San Marco with the Libreria Vecchia on the left and Palazzo Ducale on the right (1731-36)
View of the Doge’s Palace at the Piazzetta seen from the Bacino (1731-36 - very good use of light!)
View on the Grand Canal with the Bridge of the Rialto and the Fondaco dei Tedeschi and the Palazzo dei Camerlenghi on the left (1731-36 - view of Rialto is good)
View of the Grand Canal from the Palazzo Bembo to Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi (1731-36 - good use of light)
The Plazza San Marco looking from the Basilica di San Marco to the Church of San Geminiano (1731-36 - good use of light)
The Campo Francesco Morosini from San Stefano with the Church of San Vitale on the right (1731-36 - don’t like)
The Campo Santa Maria Formosa with the church and campanile to the left beyond the two narrow bridges spanning the Rio di Santa Maria Formosa the Palazzo Grimani (1731-36)
The Scuola di San Marco (1731-36 - I don’t like, too much neo-classical architecture)
The Piazza San Marco looking towards the Basilica di San Marco and the Campanile (1731-36 - very nice!)
The Entrance to the Grand Canal with the Dogana and the Church of Santa Maria della Salute (1731-36 - excellent)
View of the Grand Canal with on the right the churches of Santa Croce and San Simeone Piccolo on the left the churches of Santa Lucia and Gli Scalzi (1731-36 - do not like)
The Church of Redentore on the Giudecca (1731-36 - too much neo-classical architecture)
View of the Grand Canal from the Palazzo Vendramin-Calergi to the Traghetto da San Felice with, on the right, the Palazzo Capovilla (1731-36 - okay)
View of the Grand Canal looking north from the Palazzo Contarinidagli Scrigni to the Palazzo Rezzonico (1731-36 - nice view everyday life)
View of the Grand Canal looking up from the Palazzo Corner della Ca' Grande (1731-36 - better than the above)
View on the Grand Canal looking down from the Palazzo Pesaro to the Palazzo Civran (1731-36 - great use of light but extreme realism on right side)
View on the Cannaregio looking towards the Ponte di San Giobbe (1731-36 - great use of light but everyday life scene with washing)
View on the Grand Canal looking up from the Palazzo Rezzonico to the Palazzo Balbi (1731-36 - great use of light)
The Entrance to the Arsenal with the Oratory of the Madonna dell'Arsenale (1731-36 - his only view of the shipyard)
View of the Grand Canal looking up from the Palazzo Balbi to the Rialto (1731-36 - okay)
View of the Grand Canal looking up to the Rialto from the Palazzo Corner-Spinelli (1731-36 - nice view smaller canal)
View of the Grand Canal from the Saccadi Santa Chiara (1731-36 - close up view of workers)
The Grand Canal, Ascension Day: The embarkation of the Doge of Venice (1731-36 - large view of festival. Light is a little too uniform. The scene is too busy for my taste, too much going on)

Kunsthistorische Museum, Vienna (2)
The Dogana in Venice (1724-30 – excellent overall lightness and subtle shadows)
Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice (1724-30 - too much the same lightness overall with very little gradation to shadow. It is an interesting composition but too much sky)

National Gallery of Scotland (2)
The Riva degli Schivoni looking East (c.1745 - finely detailed, well lit, but ordinary scene)
The Molo Looking West (c.1745 - finely detailed, well lit, more interesting scene than the one above)

Alte Pinakothek, Munich (2)
Riva degli Schiavoni in Venice (1724-30 - Found light too overall uniform without much gradations. Interesting composition but too mush sky. Smaller than most, approx. 24" x 18")
The Dogana in Venice (1724-30 - Excellent. Great use of light with subtle shadowing. Smaller than most, approx. 24" x 18")

National Gallery, Ottawa (2)
Saint Marks and the Clock Tower (1735-37 - fairly good but depicts disheveled stalls)
The Campo di Rialto and the Church of Saint James (1740-60 - just okay but boring. Scene shows slightly run down buildings in the centre)

Vermeer

One of the greatest painters in history, Johannes Vermeer has been justifiably regarded as the master of light.

There is a thorough biography of him on Wikipedia, with a gallery of selected paintings. But for absolutely everything Vermeer visit the Essential Vermeer website.

He can be seen in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, at numerous museums in Germany, at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Frick Museum in New York, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, at the National Gallery in London, and at the Louvre.

One of the largest exhibitions ever of Vermeer paintings will take place at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam from February 10 to June 4, 2023.

I saw Girl with the Red Hat, Woman Holding a Balance and A Lady Writing a Letter at the National Gallery in Washington. Of those my favourite is Woman Holding a Balance. I saw A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal and A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal at the National Gallery in London. The latter is not only my favourite Vermeer that I've seen but my favourite painting. I would like to get a very high quality copy. I saw Christ in the House of Martha and Mary at the National Gallery of Scotland. Unmistakably Vermeer but not as refined as other works I’ve seen, nor is it a subject matter I am interested in.

At the Rijksmuseum I saw Young Woman Seated at a Virginal. It was okay, as was View of Houses in Delft. The Love Letter and Woman Reading a Letter were both very good. But the absolute favourite was The Milkmaid which has so much more to it in person than my print shows. Just loved it! It may now overtake A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal as my favourite.
I saw again Girl with the Red Hat (after seeing it at the National Gallery in Washington years ago) and was disappointed on how course the lace on her throat is rendered, even at a proper (or greater) viewing distance. It's a though he didn't finish it.

I saw Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid at the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin. It was very good.

Woman Holding a Balance

Locations by country:

Holland
The Little Street - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Love Letter - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
The Milkmaid - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Woman Reading a Letter - Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam
Diana and Her Companions - Mauritshuis, The Hague
Girl with a Pearl Earring - Mauritshuis, The Hague
View of Delft - Mauritshuis, The Hague

GERMANY
The Wine Glass - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Woman with a Pearl Necklace - Gemäldegalerie, Berlin
Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
The Procuress - Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden
The Girl with the Wine Glass - Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Braunschweig
The Geographer - Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main

UK
Lady Seated at a Virginal - National Gallery, London
Lady Standing at a Virginal - National Gallery, London
The Music Lesson - Royal Collection, London
The Guitar Player - Kenwood House, London, England
Christ in the House of Martha and Mary - National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

FRANCE
The Astronomer - Louvre, Paris
The Lacemaker - Louvre, Paris

AUSTRIA
The Allegory of Painting - Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna 

IRELAND
Lady Writing a Letter with her Maid - Nation Gallery of Ireland, Dublin

USA
A Lady Writing a Letter - National Gallery of Art, Washington
Girl with the Red Hat - Nation Gallery of Art, Washington
Woman Holding a Balance - National Gallery of Art, Washington
The Allegory of Faith - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
A Girl Asleep - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Portrait of a Young Woman - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Woman with a Lute - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Woman with a Water Jug - Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Girl Interrupted at Her Music - Frick Collection, New York
Mistress and Maid - Frick Collection, New York
Officer with a Laughing Girl - Frick Collection, New York

Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons.