Exit Through The Giftshop - Postcards at an exhibition....

More bootiful booty from museum and exhibition gift shops...

1) TITLE PAGE OF THE FIRST FOLIO OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S PLAYS (1623) - Martin Droeshout

I bought this in Stratford-on-Avon at Shakespeare's birthplace - it seemed the most obvious purchase really.  The First Folio was published in 1623, seven years after Shakespeare's death, by John Heminges and Henry Condell who were actors in The King's Men, the acting company that the Bard wrote for.  Although many of Shakespeare's plays had been published in smaller Quarto publications, these were cheaply produced and fluctuated in quality. 

The First Folio compiled 36 plays, 18 of which for the first time including THE TEMPEST, ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA, MEASURE FOR MEASURE, JULIUS CAESAR and MACBETH.  It is believed about 750 editions were published and is now considered one of the most important publications in history.  A copy was sold in 2001 at Christies, NY for over £3 million.  21 year-old Martin Droeshout's engraving has become the one that most Shakespeare imagery is based on.

2) PLEIN AIR (1890-1) - Ramon Casas

I bought this in the MNAC Gallery in Barcelona which celebrates Catalonian art.  In 1890 the 25 year-old Casas was living and working in Paris and his painting 'Plein Air' shows the influence of the Impressionist painters on him.

Casas' painting has a haunting quality as a smartly-dressed woman sits outside at a table in the gloaming, staring at a man across the empty courtyard who is turned away from her gaze, looking out of the gate to the town beyond.  The white of the tablecloth and the red wine in the carafe is contrasted against the black of the woman's outfit giving the viewer a focus in the surrounding muted colours.

3) MAP READING (1932) - Stanley Spencer

I bought this at Somerset House when they recreated Stanley Spencer's 19 canvasses in situ as they appear at the Sandham Memorial Chapel in Burghclere, Hampshire.  The Chapel was commissioned to honor Lieutenant Henry Sandham who died in 1920 by his sister and brother-in-law.  They turned to Stanley Spencer to decorate the Chapel with the paintings for which he drew on his memories and observations while working as an orderly in the Royal Army Medical Corps in WWI.

Over his cycle of paintings we follow Spencer's experiences from the training hospital in Bristol where he was confronted with the injured and maimed from the Front in the benign surroundings of the hospital to being an orderly in the field in Macedonia.  In "Map Reading", an officer studies a map of the Macedonian terrain while his soldiers lounge on either side of the road, some clambering among bilberry bushes for food while one sits feeding the officer's horse who stares out at the viewer with an accusing stare.  As usual, what I love about Spencer's painting is the topsy-turvy lay-out, the humanity and gentle humour that he finds in the scene, and in particular the glaring horse - is he angry about being used as a desk by the officer or at the world that has made the situation happen?

4) THE ANNUNCIATION (CELL 3) (1438) - Fra Angelico

 

I bought this at the former Dominican friary San Marco in Florence which now houses many works by the Renaissance painter Fra Angelico who lived there from 1436 to 1445.  The first floor of the friary contains a number of frescoes by Fra Angelico that make it an essential place to visit for any art lover.  As you climb the broad staircase and turn the corner to the last flight up to the first floor you see ahead of you his magnificent fresco of "The Annunciation", one of the great works of Renaissance religious art, but the first floor also has a wonderful collection of frescoes that he painted for each of the monk's cells as subjects for contemplation during prayer. 

The austere beauty of these works is reflected in this fresco of The Annunciation.  Only a few doors down from the more-well known and larger fresco that greets you as you turn the stairs, this one has a stripped down beauty which highlights the Fra's use of perspective and his genius for distilling a deep tension between his figures:  Mary kneels in a pale pink gown, disturbed from her reading by the Angel Gabriel whose multi-coloured wings hide the lurking figure of Saint Dominic who bears witness to what is about to happen.  The glowing simplicity and held moment in time dazzles.

5) SUPPER IN EMMAUS (1861) - Augusto Betti

I bought this at the Medici Chapel in Florence.  I can find no reference to this anywhere online so guess I will just have to describe why I like it!

Betti gives us a reduced almost geometric look to the scene where Jesus appeared to two of his Apostles days after rising from the dead and their rapt attention is offset by the servant who is pouring water out of a jug and the dozing, scruffy dog under the table.  Outside the evening falls...  I like the unfussy painting which stood out against some of the more florid works in the Medici Chapel.

Exit Through The Giftshop - Postcards at an exhibition....

More bootiful booty from museum and exhibition gift shops...

1) FARM AT WATENDLATH (1921) - Dora Carrington

I bought this at Tate Britain which have Carrington's lovely painting in it's collection.  It is now 23 years since the last major exhibition by the most elusive of Bloomsbury-related painters so Tate Britain really needs to pull it's collective finger out.

I love how Carrington has the Cumbrian landscape, rearing up like a whale, echoed by the brick walls which surround the farm house which is dwarfed by the countryside.  The woman and child, who form a loose visual triangle with the house and the washing hanging on the line, seem frozen in awe of their surroundings.

2) ROSES SUR FOND NOIR (1932) - André Derain

This was bought at the Musée de l'Orangerie in Paris where Derain's striking still life is in the permanent collection.

I am not the biggest fan of still life paintings but I was struck by the lovely use of light in Derain's painting; he was one of the painters who embraced the 'Fauvist' style in the early years of the 20th Century and his use of colour here is still vibrant, particularly against the black background.

3) LE VERROU (1777) - Jean-Honoré Fragonard

We went to a Fragonard exhibition at the Musée du Luxembourg in Paris but I found it all a bit underwhelming to be honest.  By far the best painting there was one of his most famous, "Le Verrou" or "The Lock" which usually is seen in The Louvre.

It was certainly the image of the exhibition as it featured on the poster and all the merchandise so I simply had to buy a postcard to get out!  It is certainly a striking painting, full of intrigue and passion: is the man locking the door to stop others getting in or the woman getting out?  Is it violent or romantic?  You decide... It would make a perfect poster design for LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES which was published only five years after Fragonard finished his painting.

4) RAMON CASAS I PERE ROMEU EN UN TÁNDEM (1897) - Ramon Casas

One of the jewels of the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Casas' large painting was originally created for the Barcelona cafe Els Quatre Gats, which was a focal point for the artists of the Catalan 'modernisme', a copy now hangs there.  The original in the museum however has been cut down by a third in the intervening years

Casas is seen at the front of the tandem pedalling into the future while the restaurateur Romeu looks out at the viewer grinning widely with the Barcelona skyline behind them. Romeu was financially backed by Casas and two other leading Catalan artists Santiago Rusinol and Miguel Utrillo.  I love Casas' spare design, almost as if he knew it would one day adorn merchandise!

5) The PARAKEET AND THE MERMAID (1952) - Henri Matisse

I bought this at the wonderful Tate Modern exhibition of Matisse's glorious cut-outs in 2014.  The  large work, measuring over 11' x 25', drew you into it's waving, magical world; a world of waving fronds surrounding the parakeet and the floating mermaid.  Suffering from failing health, Matisse still wanted to express his artistic vision so he turned to cut-outs.

Matisse painted paper with coloured gouache then cut out his individual shapes which would then be arranged by assistants until he was happy with the harmony of colours then glued them onto the white backing paper, so simple yet so vividly effective.  It's wonderful that only two years before his death, Matisse was still creating art and continuing his love affair with colour.  Another work of art I want to dive into!

Exit Through The Giftshop - Postcards at an exhibition....

More postcards from exhibitions and galleries...

1) IL PROFETA ABACUC 'IO ZUCCONE' (1425) - Donatello

Donatello's statue is packed with character and humanity, I love the excellent way he has carved the swags and falls of the prophet's robes, supposedly this was Donatello's favourite sculpture. 

I bought this at the Museo Dell 'Opera di Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence where Zuccone (Bald-head!) resides.

2) LA MANDRA (1898-1900) - Ramon Casas

Bought from the Museu Nacional d'Art De Catalunya where room after room suggests to one that Catalonian artists followed rather than instigating movements down the years, one reaches the late 19th Century rooms with a sigh of relief to come across the great works of Barcelona artist Ramon Casas.

Yes they are again following the French impressionists but they have a charm and a quality that make them memorable - here a woman lazes on a bed in a quiet room, doing anything than what she probably should be doing...  This was painted just as Casas was becoming a proponent of the Spanish Modernista movement, this included being a part owner in the famous bar Els Quatre Gats with his friend Pe Romeu which became a hub from Barcelona's artist community.

3) LES PASSANTS (The Passerbys) (1906-7) - Raoul Dufy

Yes, London art galleries and museums... whenever you finally decide to have an exhibition of Dufy I will be there.

This glorious painting is in the Courtauld collection and whenever I visit, I love to spend some time entering into the lovely world of LES PASSANTS.  It's Fauvist colours and spare setting is a world I would love to live in... can I be in red please and own the green dog?

4) DAVID TRIBUNE (1501-4) - Michelangelo

I bought this in Florence at the Galleria dell'Accademia where Michelangelo's epic David stands in solitary majesty in a stark setting.

DAVID was originally placed in the Piazza della Signoria beside the magnificent Palazzo Vecchio.  It stayed there for 369 years until it was moved to it's present location in 1873.  Like all great art, it still manages to amaze when seen in the stone despite all one's previous sightings in books, films and adverts.

5) WOODEN CRUCIFIX (detail) (circa 1412) - Fillipo Brunelleschi

A detail from Brunelleschi's wooden sculpture which you can see in Florence's Church of Santa Maria Novella - see the full length postcard in my earlier "Giftshop" blog here.

According to the biographer/artist Vasari, this was Filipo Brunelleschi's response to a crucifix he disliked that Donatello had made in the church of Santa Croce. It's simple but glorious.