Forget David Bowie- the V&A’s 'Treasures at the Royal Courts' exhibition is is where the real magic is…

Queen and Lover are Re-united at the V&A’s Latest Show

By A. Crossland

The Victoria and Albert's new exhibition ‘Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and Russian Tsars’ chronicles centuries of Royal extravagance in gifts, gifts which  often travelled thousands of miles in order to impress foreign dignitaries in far away lands. From Ivan the Terrible, through the courts of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and ending with the Stuart monarchs, this exhibition displays some 150 exhibits from both Russian and English Royal courts. On exclusive loan from the Moscow Kremlin Museum is an extensive collection of disgustingly ornate silverware given to the Russian Tsars by English monarchs. The skill displayed in the execution of these colossal wine jugs, platters and serving dishes fills the red walled rooms of the V&A with a shining, glittering light. Surely no modern machinery could ever make works of art such as these.

 The glamour of the Elizabethan joust is displayed in the detailed designs for the head to toe armour worn by such men as Sir Christopher Hatton, in honour of their most beloved Virgin Queen.

A beautifully executed drawing of armour made for Sir Christopher Hatton. Unfortunately the original does not survive. Image: Royal Armouries

A portrait of Sir Christopher Hatton, with exquisite detail to the luxurious cloth used for his clothes. In his hand he holds a miniature, with the profile of his beloved Queen Elizabeth on it. Inside the outer casing of the miniature would be another painting of the Queen. Miniatures were considered to be very precious and intimate gifts.

Henry VIII’s armour is also on display, catching in the eye in a different way, as it confirms the King’s rather excessive lifestyle; and waistband.

 



Queen Elizabeth I, Image: Philip Mould

Portraits in this exhibition highlight how the painted form was used in a conscious way to confirm the sitters’ power status. In the days before any formal propaganda or public representation existed, portraits were the language of social power. Works copied and engraved were shipped across the continent to inspire and impress foreign counterparts. This dialogue of works helped to inspire artists and spread artistic development across the world.













Yet portraits could also speak the language of love. Reunited on the walls of the V&A are two figures forever bound by their historic passion for each other. I am talking of course about Queen Elizabeth I and her most beloved and adored Courtier- Lord Robert Dudley, 1^st Earl of Leicester. 

Robert Dudley, 1st Earl Leceister. The two heraldic devices inform the viewer of Dudley's fine pedigree. The dog symbolises fidelity and loyalty.



Having seen and studied these paintings separately for so long, it seems rather odd to force them together in the naturally contrived space of the exhibition. It becomes hard to imagine the real people that lived and breathed under those restrictive court costumes and behind those frozen faces. Yet the life of opulence and luxury that the Royal Court acted out during these times lives on in the objects they left behind. The gifts traded across nations speak volumes: about the style of the time, about impressive native craftsmanship, and about the cultural, political and even personal messages that they carried with them.

The Drake Jewel. Image: elizabethan-portraits.com

The same can be said for the exquisite jewels, miniatures and gems on display here, especially the Drake Jewel, which is undoubtedly one of the nation’s most precious treasures.

My only regret about the execution of this exhibition is the inclusion of rather rudimentary and simply worded descriptions to the objects. The V&A could have gone a lot further in discussing the symbolic nature of many of the elements in the paintings, jewels and other objects on display. The symbolic language of Court life during these times is surely one of the most fascinating elements of this historical period. To leave these signs unaddressed means that the underlying message of these diplomatic gifts is lost to a society that can no longer read the signs themselves.

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/treasures-of-the-royal-courts/about_the_exhibition/
'Treasures of the Royal Courts: Tudors, Stuarts and Russian Tsars' runs from 9th March-14th July 2013.
TICKET PRICES:
General admission: £14
Student: £7
Art Fund: £4.70
 

'Manet: Portraying Life' at the Royal Academy

A Review, by A. Crossland.

Edouard Manet’s artistic mission was to radicalise artistic production and make it relevant to the rapidly modernising world of Paris in the later part of the nineteenth century. Although Classically trained under the grand history painter Thomas Couture, Manet did not need to conform to the strict hierarchy of genre that usually defined artistic success at this time (do look at my entry on Alexandre Cabanel to see what kind of art usually made waves at the annual Salon). Manet had a private income of considerable means; he was a member of the affluent bourgeoisie class whose ‘leisure time’ would become one of the main and most important themes in the artist’s work.

Without needing to paint for money, Manet had the freedom to paint what he dared. He also had the means to support other artists who he felt shared his modern and progressive values. This is crucial to the knock on effect Manet would have, because without these components the building blocks of the artistic and literary world which Manet helped to foster could not have been built. Working together, supporting each other, posing for each other, buying each other’s works, buying each other drinks, by sharing this lifestyle their image of the modern world could be projected onto canvas and paper. The stagnant and repressive world of the Salon would not know what hit it. What is even more impressive is that Manet’s work was actually seen in these upper class elitist spheres that his works sought to contradict. They weren’t hidden away in the backwater atelier of an impoverished artist; Manet’s paintings were making headline news.



The Luncheon, 1868, one of the stars of the R.A.'s new show



Manet’s brashness, and his fearless application of the human form on canvas, would pave the way for artists representing the modern world for generations to come. Usually saying someone is the ‘Father of modern art’ is a rather clichéd overstatement, but in Manet’s case, it is more than likely to be true. Impressionists like Monet and Degas owe a lot of their subject matter and technique to Manet. The fact that Manet, although repeatedly asked, never exhibited with the Impressionists, undoubtedly set him apart. Perhaps he could foresee the great impact his work would have in the wider artistic sense, and did not want to be grouped into any specific artistic movement. Or perhaps he just could not bear to give up his use of black, something the Impressionists did not believe in.

The Swallows, 1873

The exhibition at the Royal Academy, ‘Manet: Portraying Life’ states that it is the first exhibition focusing solely on the role of portraiture in Manet’s oeuvre. To begin with I found this strange, as for me the main bulk of Manet’s work has used models and muses, sometimes solo and sometimes, as in ‘The Luncheon’, in groups. By default that would make any major retrospective on Manet  about portraiture. Having visited the exhibition, I actually think this was a clever way of highlighting just how much Manet was obsessed with displaying people, jobs, social positions and hierarchies, all with the aim of showing just how false a façade of the modern world this created. The inclusion of photographs of many of the sitters in Manet’s works was perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibition for me. Although it is not clear whether Manet ever worked directly from photographic stills, it is clear that he was inspired by their ‘snapshot’ quality, their ability to capture the essence of a pose, a costume, an action, and seal it forever in a two-dimensional space.

The Amazon, c.1882. This work was also at the Manet retrospective in Paris a few years ago, and so was a welcome face to me.

Critics of this exhibition have been raving about ‘The Luncheon’, which includes his son/brother/newphew/godson Léon-Edouard Köella Leenhoff. For me this works seems rather static and overworked in comparison with the exquisite ‘The Swallows’, in which Manet has perfectly captured the wind gently sweeping over the meadow, turning the windmill and making the two ladies sitting on the ground bow their heads. Or in complete comparison my other favourite from this exhibition is ‘The Amazon’, a fantastically poised portrait of a strong and confident woman. In this work black is used not to hide Manet's muse but to accentuate her feline figure and her glamorous top hat. Her reddened lips pursed, perhaps holding an even blacker whip against her blacked out body, she is the ultimate nineteenth century upper class dominatrix; and a total showstopper.

'Manet: Portraying Life' runs at the Royal Academy, London from the 26nd January to 14th April 2013. Adult gift aid £17, OAP £14, Student £10 http://www.royalacademy.org.uk/

 

Discover a little taste of the Orient in sleepy Kensington

Leighton House is a fascinating time capsule, transporting you back to the time of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, and even further afield to the lands of the Orient. The former home and studio of Lord Frederic Leighton (1830-1896), this house proved to be Leighton's muse as well his home. He turned the space into the perfect showcase to display his work and the works in his collection to friends and admirers that flocked to see this fascinating building. Over the thirty years that Leighton lived and worked here he transformed the property into his own intensely private devotional space to the aura of ancient and mystical art.

The Arab Hall with exotic rugs and a small fountain in the centre

The most amazing and justifiably famous room at Leighton House is the Arab Hall, which is lined floor to domed ceiling with over a thousand Islamic tiles, most of which Leighton bought back from his travels in Damascus. In this room Leighton would entertain his eclectic range of guests, artists, writers and musicians. I would imagine that they would have to be very careful not to fall into the fountain after craning your neck up at the stunning ceiling tiles after one too many glasses of bubbly.

The view of the ceiling of the Arab Hall, (without having to crane your neck)

Much of Leighton's life remained shrouded in mystery as he was an intensely private man. He never married, although there were rumours of his having an illegitimate child with one of his models. He was the first British artist to receive a peerage, but was also the bearer of the shortest peerage in British history, as he died the day after he was created the First Baron Leighton of Stratton.

One of Leighton's most famous works (unfortunately not in the museum)

Explore the rest of the house and you discover exquisitely decorated rooms filled with beautiful architecture and tiles, with sculptures and paintings everywhere. The museum has also preserved Leighton's impressive studio which boasts massive windows overlooking the garden. Finally if you venture outside there is a fantastic sculpture, which I thoroughly enjoyed:

!!

 I am pretty sure you are not supposed to sit on it, but it was my birthday!

Good article on the Guardian webiste about Leighton House after its £1.6m restoration:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2009/dec/22/backstairs-secrets-art-lord-leighton
Entry to Leighton house is £5 for an adult, £3 for a concession.
 

A few snaps from a recent visit to the Natural History Museum

Currently I am interning at Christie's and so get to spend my lunch breaks having a quick mooch around the V&A and the Natural History Museum. There are worse places in which to eat your packed lunch! These two photos are just two from a selection that I took on my phone, particularly love the two kids getting their photo taken by the saber tooth cat!

Whale skeleton paws

Saber-tooth cat

Invisible: Art of the Unseen 1952-2012 at the Hayward Gallery, London

Tomorrow the Hayward Gallery are opening an exhibition of 'invisible' art. However dubious I was about this in concept and execution before I went, I would say that it is definitely worth a visit. 

Yes, that right, these are framed white pieces of paper. The one of the right that you can barely see? That is a rubbed out Playboy centre fold. All three by Tom Fieldman.

Andy Warhol once stood on this plinth, could I still feel his celebrity presence? I would say no, but an interesting concept.

So is this what happens you put on an invisible exhibition, you get invisible visitors?!!!! To be fair we were at the press view, I just can't see this exhibition pulling in the crowds. Especially when you are essentially paying £10 to look at some blank walls.

'Invisible: Art of the Unseen 1952-2012' runs from 12th June until 5th August 2012. Tickets £10.

http://ticketing.southbankcentre.co.uk/find/festivals-series/invisible-art-of-the-unseen-1952-2012

Some Reflections on Lucian Freud: The Hype and the Reality

By Ally Crossland

Nowadays, the British public are bombarded with the Lucian Freud image. His portraits seem to be everywhere, making a big splash in the exhibition world as well as the auction houses. The National Portrait Gallery’s blockbuster Lucian Freud Portraits has certainly drawn in the crowds. In fact it has been the galleries most successful show ever, receiving over 175,000 visitors through its doors. Its popularity has no doubt been helped by a visit from the ever glamorous and on trend Duchess of Cambridge. Freud has long been seen as the saviour of British Art, one of the most revolutionary artists for generations. Some claim the hype of the Lucian Freud brand has outshone the brilliance of his raw and uncompromising talent. Others feel, as one online sources comments, that Freud was an ‘ugly painter, of ugly people’.

Yet, in my humble opinion, no better accomplished and talented artist could have been given the honour of almost the entire lower floor of the National Portrait Gallery, in which to hang perhaps the most important retrospectives of the last few years. Possibly not since the Francis Bacon exhibition at the Tate in 2008 has such an important retrospective focused on the work of one British artist working in the twenty-first century.

Freud's early portrait of his first wife Kitty

From the exquisitely detailed portraits of his youth, with electrically charged eyes and doleful expressions, Freud showed prolific talent. As an artist his penetrative gaze allowed him to access the inner qualities of the sitter. He revealed the secrets about them that they would rather keep hidden, laid bare and uncompromised on the canvas.

In Freud’s later portraits he did away with any pretence of formality, stripping the sitter to the bare bones and flesh that make up what it is to be human. Whether clothed or nude, Freud’s sitters are depicted in the most brutal yet sensitive way. Contorted into uncomfortable positions, their faces un-idealised, mournful and pensive, Freud’s sitters reflect real people and emotions that can be seen and felt in today’s world.

Life model Sue Tilley and 'Benefits Supervisor Sleeping'

Two of Freud's last portraits, with 'Portrait with Hound' 2011 on the right

The bodies in Freud’s portraits become swathes of raw pigment forced onto the canvas. Faces are contorted by age or an inner complexity that will never be fully realised by the spectator. What Freud achieves is a realness that other portraitists would never dare to address. He claims the subject for himself and enters into a relationship with the sitter, part trust and part animal attraction. His later works, even the painting Portrait with Hound, painted up until Freud’s death in 2011, shares this same brutal honestly. Yet it is also beautifully poignant. This unfinished portrait finishes mid-sentence, leaving the spectator to fill in the blanks. In a sense this is quite apart from the rest of the exhibition, which successfully depicts all the different stages of Freud’s life through his paintings. The paintings, which so define Freud’s life, speak for themselves, and in my opinion find a voice within the walls of the National Portrait Gallery. They may be ‘ugly’, but in the same breath they are truly exquisite reflections of the very real people that made up Freud’s world.

Lucian Freud Portraits runs at the National Portrait Gallery until the 27th May 2012.Admission £14. Concessions £13 / £12 With Gift Aid (includes voluntary Gift Aid donation of 10% above standard price): Admission £15.40. Concessions £14.30/£13.20

Ahmed Mater at the British Museum

Hajj, Journey to the Heart of Islam is a rare insight into the spiritual journey undertaken by millions of Muslims each year to the city of Mecca. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam; and is a pilgrimage that should be undertaken at least once by every Muslim, if they are able. Once they arrive at Mecca, they complete a number of different rituals over a period of days, each one bringing them closer to the prophets. One of the most visually striking is the tawaf- where millions of Muslims join as one in the sanctuary at Mecca, and circumambulate the central ka’ba, a black box in the centre of the space, seven times anti-clockwise. This tradition goes back as far as the time of Abraham and Ishmael themselves, who are said to have walked around the Ka’ba seven times after they had rebuilt it.

Pilgrims praying to the Ka'ba

 What I found most striking about this exhibition was the work of contemporary artist Ahmed Mater. His works entitled ‘Magnetism’ are wonderfully simple yet perfectly evoke the intimate connection that Muslims feel when they complete the tawaf. In his works, the Ka’ba is recognisable as a magnetic block, and thousands of iron fillings are used to represent the pilgrims, but also the magnetic nature of this most holy of objects. They form beautiful circular patterns around the central block. The large photographic images of these small installations were quite exquisite, and in themselves became almost magnetic.

Ahmed Mater 'Magnetism (Photograuve) I

http://www.britishmuseum.org/whats_on/exhibitions/hajj.aspx

The exhibition runs until the 15th April 2012. Tickets £12, free for Friends. 

Ahmed Mater's website: http://ahmedmater.com/

The Genius of Illumination at the British Library

Alice Crossland

Tucked away in a corner of the vast British Library is a collection of Royal Manuscripts, revealing over 800 years worth of literary scholarship. They have been preserved by the monarchy since the time of King Athelstan in the mid tenth century, and now 154 out of over 2000 illuminated manuscripts from the British Library collection are on display. From these works we can discover something of the relationship between the monarchy and art from the Middle Ages to the Tudors. Knowing that the monarchs of the past have handled, read and loved these treasured possessions makes them precious relics of how royalty lived, studied and prayed in these times.

In a time before pretty much every textbook, novel, and journal was available with just three clicks on Amazon, books were objects to be treasured and revered. Monks and artisans devoted their whole lives to the production of these individual works of craftsmanship. A small page of illustrations could take several weeks, or even months to complete, and potentially only a handful of people would ever see the finished work. Written in perfectly elaborate calligraphy, often in French or Latin, the vellum used was so expensive that there was no room for mistakes. It did however, provide the perfect canvas for the paint and gold leaf used, which is why so many of these manuscripts are in such good condition.

Many of the books are religious works in the forms of prayer books and Books of Hours, as well as copies of the gospels and colossal Bibles. One example (pictured), shows God the Creator standing on the Earth, gesturing up to the minutely detailed angels frolicking in the bright blue sky behind him. Others are vast history books, displaying the conquests of the likes of Alexander the Great; intended to inspire and instruct the reader. Finally, the exhibition includes manuscripts intended for the instruction of princely behavior and etiquette, often past from King to son. Take for example the book given to the nine year old Henry VI on Christmas Eve 1429; containing an amazing 38 full-page illustrations as well as 1,200 pictures in the margins.

God the Creator in a French History Bible, Bible historiale, Clairefontaine and Paris, 1411. Image: British Library Board

 The exhibition shows you the sheer skill it took to form even one of the main letterings, as well as the nature and significance of the precious materials used. You are then left to roam the colossal collection of works, most of which were left to the nation by George II in 1757. The British Library has let the books do the talking, with few long-winded descriptions and an informative but not overwhelmingly boring audio guide.

The sheer volume of texts that the British Library has at their disposal is mind-blowing. The exhibition reminds you of the sacred past of writing, and the great prestige given to these books as precious objects of material culture. Out of the 14 million books that the British Library has at their disposal, these are surely some of the most special. Due to its size, I would advise a full stomach and several hours at your disposal before you embark on this exhibition.  At £5 for a student it’s a real bargain, and as it’s a mere stones throw away from UCL, there really is very little reason for you not to go. However, if for some reason, you don’t like peering down at old and rather dusty books, I would suggest that you sit this one out. 

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination runs until the 13^th March 2012, at the British Library. Adult £9, student £5. Free audio guide.