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 Uffizi Gallery in Florence, the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, the Delphi Archaeological Museum in Delphi, the National Gallery in London, the National Gallery in Dublin, the National Gallery of Scotland in Edinburgh, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the Capitoline Museums and the Borghese Gallery in Rome 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 Mauritshuis in The Hague, and the Gemäldegalerie in Berlin, 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