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/

 

The National Portrait Gallery Heinz Archive, a must-know-about for all art professionals.

The National Portrait Gallery Archive dates back to the foundation of the gallery itself in 1856. It was initially set up to assist those who worked in the gallery in their research endeavours. The new modern building for the archive is in the street behind the main building, on Orange Street. It is now open to the public, by appointment.

The archive concentrates on cataloguing the production of works surrounding eminent British men and women who either produced, or sat for the printed image. Icono-graphically rich in every direction you turn, the archive contains over 6,000 reproductions of images from collections all over the world. They are arranged in boxes of sitters and artists, each box crammed with rare reproductions, and details of where the work is currently located. This is a process continually being updated, and working there you can often see volunteers (some I recognise from university!) helping to catalogue the never-ending conveyer belt of works being sold at auction houses.

The National Portrait Gallery. The Heinz Archive is to the right of the main building, down Orange Street.

Alongside this resource is a reference collection which boasts more than 800,000 items, drawings, prints and caricatures among many others. If that’s not enough to interest you, then the library also stocks over 35,000 reference books, catalogues and periodicals. One of the best things about the archive is that, unlike many of the other reference libraries in London, you do not have to fight tooth and nail for a copy or wait two days for it to be taken out of stores. It is there ready at your fingertips.

Finally, I must say that the Heinz Archive is a lovely place to work, quiet and full of interesting professionals to work alongside. It is well laid out and easy to navigate. If you find your mind wandering, there is a nice Hoppner on one wall, and a portrait of Shelley on another, both there to interest and inspire. No drab concrete walls here. The staff are friendly and always go out of their way to help you and make your job easier (which is more than I can say for the staff at the British Library). So, calling all art students, researchers, and professionals, do not miss out on this fantastic resource in the heart of London!

The Heinz Archive is open to anyone needing to study works relating to British portraiture. Open by appointment only.

Open Tuesday- Friday 10.00-17.00

Enquiries: archive@npg.org.uk

Art Crush: Alexandre Cabanel

Through work I stumbled upon an artist who I had not thought about for years and who I had  briefly studied whilst at school. This artist sums up 19th Century French academic style (the kind of reserved, methodical approach that the French Impressionists believed was repressing artistic and social expression). This was of course Alexandre Cabanel, who epitomised the 'high art' ideals of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. He had won the Prix de Rome by the tender age of twenty-two and was awarded the Grande Medaille D'Honneur no less than three times. His models were Classical ideals of beauty, aloof and mystical. His most famous and iconic work was 'The Birth of Venus', 1863, which was bought by Emperor Napoleon III.

'The Birth of Venus' 1863

Although this portrait is unbelievably 'fake' and rather ridiculously sentimental, I cant help but love it. Its so other worldy, and so sumptuously painted that the Venus's body looks like icing on a cake.

'The Daughter of Jephthah' 1879

Again with the mystical beauty. Reminds me of the Pre-Raphaelite approach to their female subjects, remote, removed and never in the same realm as the spectator.

'Echo' 1887

In this work it is amazing to see how the figure's flesh can be seen through the iridescent cloth covering her body. Despite her strong pose, it makes her appear vulnerable, especially as she seems to cower against the rock.  Here are a few more:

'Phedre' 1880

'The Masked Beauty'

I could go on, I think I may be obsessed...

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

Art Crush: William Dobson

Apologies for the lack of posts recently, dissertation lock down has only come to be replaced with finals lock down! Only two weeks to go and then frequent posting shall resume.

Meanwhile, in the course of my revision I have discovered by latest artist obsession in the work of one William Dobson. Dobson was Charles I's principle portraitist who painted the monarch and his followers during the Civil War. For me, his works have a bold brilliancy that is utterly captivating. Dobson used simple compositions, quite different from the often outrageously ostentatious ensembles that were favoured by Van Dyck; who he was greatly inspired by. You can see his self portrait here:

 Dobson was clearly inspired by Van Dyck's self portrait, which belongs to the Philip Mould Gallery. Nice frame huh?!

Below is one of Dobson's portrait of Charles I's most loyal cavaliers, Colonel Richard Neville, painted c.1643. Dobson often adopted simple yet effective symbolism to show the beliefs of the sitter. Here Neville is seen swathed in the bright red cloth that showed him as an out-and-proud Royalist. His helmet and gun are ready to be picked up and taken out to the battle field which is depicted behind him. The dog represents loyalty to the crown.

Finally, this is my favourite. Check out Lord Byron's ancestor! Another clear reference to Van Dyck in the column and the horse. Here Byron is showing off the war scar on his face, and pointing down to the battle scene with his baton of office. Instead of actually joining in the battle of course.

David Hockney: Nature on Acid?

The Royal Academy’s latest blockbuster showcases a colossal selection of works by David Hockney RA, portraying his career long engagement with the natural landscape. Much of the exhibition is taken up with large-scale works depicting the landscape of Hockney’s childhood in the Yorkshire Wolds. Hockney’s manipulation of space is translated to the canvas through broad swathes of lurid colour giving the works a mesmerising, almost hypnotic effect. His fearless use of bright colours to construct the natural beauty of the British countryside is reminiscent of the Impressionists bold application of unmixed pigments.

'Winter Timber 2009'

 Hockney’s daring use of colour is joyful, full of energy and promise. Many of the works are large-scale rural scenes, and are arrangement of several canvases placed together. The work that has been assaulting our eyes from Tube posters for months, ‘Winter Timber 2009’ has every crevice of canvas filled with vivid colours, a long line of trees drawing us in through the winding path. These floor to ceiling works have an almost Rothko-esque effect. The spectator is sucked into a whirlwind of colour and movement.

'Three Trees near Thixendale Winter 2002

Several scenes are repeated a number of times, each depicting a different season. Here, Hockney’s incredible use of colour comes into its own, using blood orange and berry red for autumn, then soft lavender and palest blue for spring. The collage of paintings that depict different countryside scenes in Yorkshire create an aura of peace and tranquillity, yet the expressive use of colour gives them an energy and alertness that sums up an almost child-like enthusiasm. This celebration of a very British image seems to tap into a distinct nostalgia for a re-engagement with nature itself. Indeed these Yorkshire landscapes are reminiscent of any countryside walk in Britain, and certainly reminded me intensely of my childhood in Wiltshire. This shared experience of the natural world makes it easy for people to relate to Hockney’s work.

One of Hockney's Ipad paintings

Hockney also engages with new mediums that succeed in bringing his depiction of the natural landscape into the 21^st century. His much anticipated ipad paintings have created quite a stir. In a time when many artists are rejecting the proliferation of new media as something that downgrades the art of sketching and drawing, Hockney embraces it with open arms. With around fifty of these ipad creations increased in size and printed on paper, it is like stepping into a forest gland in a soft summer light. However, I feel these ‘paintings’ lack the intensity and passion of his oil works, and seem to be really about engaging new audiences with exciting new mediums.

Another medium I feel was much more successful was his use of video art as a highly evocative insight to the peace that can be experienced when contemplating a countryside scene. With eighteen individual video panels displaying a different time frame for the same woodland scene, the distorting movement cleverly recreates the movement of the trees being blown by the wind. In this way, it is much more indicative of the multi point vision that we actually use to see the world around us.   

Hockney has undoubtedly succeeded in reconstructing the nostalgia of the natural world for the 21^st century audience. His works do not shy away from making a statement, and his joyful use of colour effectively construct a positive nostalgia for the British countryside. The vibrancy of his works are utterly captivating, and his almost paint-by-numbers technique is a bold and modern approach to the depiction of the traditional landscape.

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/

Do the ‘First Actresses’ really take centre stage in their exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery?

By Ally Crossland

The original ‘It Girls’ have found a new stage in the National Portrait Gallery’s latest exhibition. ‘The First Actresses’ celebrates women finding fame on the stages of the West End, and in the beds of the aristocracy. The Cheryl Cole’s and Sienna Millers of their day, these women were proud and defiant of the social codes which contained most of their female contemporaries. Icons such as Sarah Siddons and Mary Robinson became manipulators of their own brand, and portraiture became their public calling card. Many even forged their own careers in writing novels and plays. In the newly forming consumer market, their potent blend of fast living and loose morals was irresistible. Many of these women came from the world of prostitution and continued to use it as leverage in their personal and professional lives. It certainly is empowering stuff for the average twenty first century girl, when freedom for women to perform on the public stage has always been a given.

Sir Joshua Reynolds' Nell Gwynn 

Take for example the infamous Nell Gwynn. She used her beauty and skill on the stage to work her way into an astonishing world of social mobility and became the most famous actress of the period. She secured the position of mistress to Charles II, and bore him two illegitimate sons. In one of her luxuriously erotic portraits, Nell casually bares both her breasts to the viewer, her head coyly cocked to one side. Like Nell, the sitters in these portraits were far from afraid of using the idea of sex to further their careers. This meant however that they became ‘fallen women’, condemned socially for their publicly promiscuous behaviour. Portraiture became a medium through which the respectability of the sitter could be elevated. In Sarah Siddons’ grand portrait by Joshua Reynolds, she represents the respectable side of theatre and art, in a dignified Classical pose, engulfed in silk and pearls.

This exhibition is the first that solely celebrates women and their public role in this period. In our post feminism culture, surely this must be a positive step forward? However, if we begin to look beyond the seductive gazes and expensive costumes in these portraits, we can uncover a far more complicated dialogue that existed in this world. Who were the people watching these women perform? Who took these courtesans as mistresses and commissioned portraits of them to hang in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition?  Who married these professional women, often forcing them off the stage and back into the private sphere of the home where they were they could be made ‘polite’ again? Could the answer be as simple as, men?

Gainsborough 'Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan'

Take for example Elizabeth Linley, who was forced off the stage by first her father and then her husband. In her exquisite portrait by Gainsborough, she reclines in an idyllic forest scene, far removed from any of the vulgarities of the working stage world.

Now I am not the raging burn-your-bra kind of feminist, but there are social issues of this period that have been glossed over by these glamorous portraits. The more sinister side of this colourful, yet fiercely patriarchal world has been discounted. The exhibition undoubtedly celebrates the beauty of women, yet fails to recognise that their beauty was the façade of a world where all forms of performance was constructed and controlled by men. These portraits are the final flourish of mans’ social authority over their female counterparts in the eighteenth century public scene.

'The First Actresses: from Nell Gwynn to Sarah Siddons' is open at the National Portrait Gallery until the 8th January 2012. Tickets £11, £9 concession.

Well I thought we could start with something pretty high brow...

The British Museum's 'Treasure of Heaven' Exhibition.


Even those who don't have a religious bone in their body, this exhibition, now in its final weeks, definitely has something to amaze everyone. The objects of religious devotion on display showcase some seriously impressive craftsmanship in an age long before our mass produced idols of modernity. The exhibition is under the dome of the central section of the museum, the exhibits surrounded by the eery echoing of choral music that gives these objects the devotional atmosphere that they are used to.

 The exquistetly crafted reliquaries, devotional images and altarpieces are often so detailed that you need to be nose-to-glass to really appreciate their full beauty. Many are intimate private objects with secret compartments, never intended to be viewed behind glass cabinets by hoards of non-believers. Each golden cross or jewel encrusted bust speaks of a rich history and tradition which has survived throughout Christianity's turbulent history to a point where it it still demands huge reverence today. This is of course despite the fact that since before Luther there has been a great distrust of the validity of most of these so called 'relics'. Whilst having to embrace the fact that I was definitely that youngest one at this exhibition by about forty years, it was and rare and enlightening opportunity to see so many exquisite objects in one place.