Trump cartoon

Should the British Museum's director Hartwig Fischer have resigned?

As we all know, we have a scandal involving the British Museum (BM).

According to the BBC:

British Museum director Hartwig Fischer has said he will step down from his role, after treasures were stolen from the London institution.
In a statement, he said it was evident the museum "did not respond as comprehensively as it should have" when it was told about the thefts in 2021.
Mr Fischer also withdrew remarks he made earlier this week about the art dealer who first alerted museum bosses.
He said he expressed "sincere regret" over the "misjudged" comments.

Putting aside his ridiculous handling of the antiques dealer Ittai Gradel; on the one hand, this museum - possessed of priceless treasures - failed to document, log and secure them fails in the most basic standards & expectations. It suggests that management took a complacent and slapdash approach to treasures. That no serious investigation was conducted when the issues was brought to their attention is really unacceptable. 

On the other hand, the BM - like every other major museum in the world - must have had objects leaving the back door for decades. The problem is that there is only ever a tiny proportion of the items on display. The rest are in boxes, drawers, storage rooms. Some probably haven't been seen for years. It's not easy to conduct regular audits especially with limited resources and stretched budgets.

The state of America - how to overcome Trump and populism?

America is in a serious political problem. 

My suspicion is that Trump is not particularly popular among right-wing politicians or conservatives. However, according to polls in the newspapers, he is enjoying - still - v. high approval ratings. He has a large and geographically spread out contingent of loyal supporters that will vote for him. I think this comes from populists, not conservatives; and that popularity allows them to dominate the Republican party. And they tend to be fanatical & extremely loud about it (and the elected officials who follow him also tend to be similarly dumb).

We're in an age of American populism; and it's not clear how the American political system can return to "normality" any time soon. Trump is so far ahead in the polls that he doesn't need to debate with the other candidates in the Republican primary debates. That's ridiculous. According to Tim Stanley (below), they're just been sitting back, and pledging their support to him while - no doubt - hoping his campaign implodes under his legal woes.

The American two-party system serves the established party platforms. Most people don't fit perfectly in a given camp, and tend to pick the least worst option. Both parties have populists, and they used to side with Democrats, but have recently enjoyed the Republicans. They usually sat at the back of the bus with conservatives in the driver's seat. If Trump wins the Republican nomination, then the populists will be in the driver's seat. And his polls suggest he enjoys very broad support.

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Hilma af Klint - 'The Ten Largest' - Tate Modern

This post concerns the last room of the Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian exhibition at the Tate Modern; the finale. 

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The last room concerns Af Klint's most ambitious artworks. Probably her magnum opus: the colossal 'The Ten Largest'. She died in a traffic accident in Sweden aged 81. Today she is recognized as a pioneer of Western abstract art. However, even as late as the 1970s, when her paintings were gifted to the Stockholm museum, they declined the donation. Not untypical of most avant-garde artists.

Each painting is enormous, a veritable giant. They seek to capture the essence of childhood, youth, adulthood, and old age. 

It seems af Klint was trying to "give the world a glimpse of the stages of life" through her perceptions of the spirit realm. She was supposed to have conducted séances - as a medium - and communicated to the spirits. She was even supposed to have received messages from the ethereal realm to create this devotional artwork. 

For me, I have little patience for this. I think she was either she was suffering from a mental illness or was taking part in occult quackery which, I think, has always been the plainest of lies and exploitation. But, perhaps I'm being too harsh. I know that Europe was awash with this sort of nonsense. France had Allan Kardec who convinced people he could commune with the dead through tables! And, we still have astrology in magazines and fortune-tellers (in this day-and-age!).

Nevertheless, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed these paintings.

I think there is something fascinating and even moving in them. I loved the way the colour shifts from blue to orange to lilac and then the faintest of pinks. Even as we go through the adult years, the colour itself fades. It speaks to the power of colour to evoke our emotions.  Then, there is the movement, the flowing, the floating, the motion of each painting. They are filled with collisions and movements and swirls. Cells, atoms, flora, shells all seem to point to the harmony and interconnection of life. The latter paintings are the most moving. To me, I think there is a sense of calm and order and even wistfulness about them. 

This artwork is really wonderful and quite moving. 

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Childhood

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Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: pioneers of abstract art – Tate Modern

I recently went to the "Hilma af Klint & Piet Mondrian: Forms Of Life" exhibition at the Tate Modern. I found it a really interesting journey into abstraction, and provided insights into Mondrian's work in particular. 

For me, I think Mondrian's abstractions are more interesting. I find af Klint's mysticism and spiritualism act as a barrier for me to really engage with her work. I think she's a fascinating lady, and I think she must have shocked and touched people with her esoteric radicalism.

It seems neither af Klint nor Mondrian knew one another (or their work), but this exhibition does suggest that share a common thread in their development of abstract art, moving away from the convention of representation. 

During their lifetimes, they experienced the breaking of so many new technological frontiers. All of which challenged human perception - e.g. microscopy, radiography, photography etc. The existence of invisible worlds to the human eye (in science) also touches on af Klint's spirituality. For me, this exhibition delves perhaps too much into their spiritual beliefs - but it does form their approaches to perceiving the world. Indeed, their abstraction is a means of understanding the world.

This analysis/review is in 6 parts (with separate post for Klint's finale in the exhibition).

  

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Part 1 - Incipiency

Hilma af Klint (born 1862) and Piet Mondrian (born 1872) started off their careers as traditional classical landscape painters in the late 19th century.

• The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm had only begun to accept women to study in 1864. In 1882, af Klint joined them. While studying, she became well known for her landscape and portrait paintings, establishing herself as a respected artist.
• Mondrian was associated with the 'Hague School' of realist painters in the second half of the 19th century and their focus on muted colours, loose brushwork and textured surfaces.

Lake scene by af Klint

Quite a pretty painting by af Klint. 

A sunset scene. Some heavy daubs on the skyline for clouds and the setting sunshine. The painting does have shiny veneer - perhaps the atmospheric sunset?.

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Spring Landscape from Lomma Bay by Klint

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Evening Landscape with Cows by Mondrian

One of the problems with this painting, for me, is the fact that you can feel the texture of the canvass through the painting. Otherwise, it is also a charming arcadian vista with a few cows.

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Haystack Behind a Row of Willows by Mondrian

Quite a pretty painting.

I do love this type of heavy brushwork, scrapping through the impasto. Feels expressionistic, and can be quite evocative of a summery, windy feel - even natural.

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Hilma af Klint’s botanical illustrations - Tate Modern

Further to my post Hilma af Klint and Piet Mondrian: pioneers of abstract art – Tate Modern, these illustrations were part of af Klint’s botanical collection. 

I think they’re the best ones.

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‘Towards Modernity’ - National Gallery 2023 additions: Sorolla, Degas and Bonheur

These paintings are the August 2023 additions to room 41 of the National Gallery. I covered the works from 2022 in post a few days ago. 

Those additions are works by:

• Rosa Bonheur
• Edgar Degas
• Joaquin Sorolla 

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The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur - 1855

This painting is huge.

I really like how Bonheur has painted her horses with so much vitality. In this painting, she depicted a horse sale. There is something special about that white horse. The way she has painted the bundles of muscles, tissue, and bone affects a movement to the horses in the painting. They have a force and physicality that is astonishing - in addition to the general commotion and noise of the painting.

Rosa Bonheur is a fascinating lady. She was, at the time, one of the most famous female artists of the 19th century across France and beyond. Born in 1822 into a poor family, she became a noted animalière (painter of animals). She made her debut at the 1841 Paris Salon when she was 19 years old.

She seems to have been a true nonconformist and didn’t mind standing-out. She wore trousers (which, at the time, were reserved for men & needed a “permission de travestissement” from the local police) and she had a romantic relationship for most of her life with another lady. Met Queen Victoria and the Emperor of France. Bonheur’s art seems to emerge from the Romantic movement (of the 1830s in France and England). Romanticism has a difficult relationship with nature: to inspire and terrify with nature’s intensity and serenity - by being free of social constraints - whilst also running against realism. 

According to the National Gallery, this is “probably Bonheur’s best-known composition, it established her reputation both in France and abroad”.

There is something very beautiful and pleasing in the way the horse seems to move and canter. Such a beautiful animal.

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Hélène Rouart in her Father’s Study by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas - 1886

Hélène Rouart was the only daughter of Degas’s friend, Henri Rouart. She was an art collector.

There doesn’t seem to be a lot of warm in Helene. Whilst I do like the Egyptian statutes, paintings in the room etc., she does seem to be standing behind the chair with hands resting on it. I am not sure why he painted the chair in front of her. According to the National Gallery, it was her father’s chair and Degas may have wishes to capture something of her child-like quality. The Gallery says: “When Hélène was nine, Degas had painted a portrait of her sitting on her father’s knee“.

Interesting painting around her wrists:

I like the delicate daubs of her bracelet. I like the fountain pen in her hand (was it invented?), and the ink on her fingers. It suggests to me that she was in the habit of writing stuff regularly. 

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The Drunkard, Zarauz by Joaquin Sorolla - 1910

This painting is a recent addition to the National Gallery:

The National Gallery has acquired its first painting by the Spanish impressionist Joaquin Sorolla, a huge name in his day who was once audaciously described as “the world’s greatest living painter”.

I liked this painting. I like the commonplace ordinary feel of the painting. It’s a familiar scene of ordinary townsfolk. On the one hand, it could be the boisterous and lighthearted laughter in a pub on a Friday evening; on the other hand, it could be an homage to the blight of alcoholism to the time, money and health of these lads. 

It’s hard to tell; but Sorolla gives us a pie-eyed stoned look of the central figure - starring at us - of the bacchanalian crew. It’s quite touching. His friends have leaned in to him which suggests affection.

I love the darker palettes for the trousers:

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Valencian Fishermen by Joaquin Sorolla - 1895

This painting was incredible. 

I’m excited about this Spanish artist Sorolla.

I thought I was looking at a photograph. Unlike the other impressionists - who like to have their brushstrokes create uncertain boundaries and to have objects feeling disconnected in some way to the overall painting - Sorolla likes to immerse us in the lives of the ordinary people and show us something interesting with such fastidious brushwork.

I really love this fishing-town scene. Just love it all; the crashing soft waves, the sunny weather, the straw hats, the smooth sandy beach, the seaman’s ordinariness in their clothing, and especially the azure sea. You can almost taste the salty air, and that seaside smell.

I like how the fishermen are checking their wicker traps and hardly seem to notice the viewer. The shadow is incredible. It looks so real in colour and the way it bends and glistens across the shallow waters. Makes me want to book a holiday!

The swashing waves, the white frothy bubbles, the foot transparent through the water.

Love the hat and the shadow effect

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Monet’s WaterLilies

Already covered before. But it’s just enormous and very engaging.

Poem: The Garden by Moonlight By Amy Lowell

The Garden by Moonlight By Amy Lowell

A black cat among roses,
Phlox, lilac-misted under a first-quarter moon,
The sweet smells of heliotrope and night-scented stock.
The garden is very still,
It is dazed with moonlight,
Contented with perfume,
Dreaming the opium dreams of its folded poppies.
Firefly lights open and vanish
High as the tip buds of the golden glow
Low as the sweet alyssum flowers at my feet.
Moon-shimmer on leaves and trellises,
Moon-spikes shafting through the snow ball bush.
Only the little faces of the ladies’ delight are alert and staring,
Only the cat, padding between the roses,
Shakes a branch and breaks the chequered pattern
As water is broken by the falling of a leaf.
Then you come,
And you are quiet like the garden,
And white like the alyssum flowers,
And beautiful as the silent sparks of the fireflies.
Ah, Beloved, do you see those orange lilies?
They knew my mother,
But who belonging to me will they know
When I am gone.

Beautiful poem by Amy Lowell. It's evocative, vivid, redolent, and full of picturesque language (a Monet painting). 

But the poem ends on a poignant reflection on the sense of sadness, loneliness, purposelessness, and perhaps even grief in being childless.

I think this poem was written for Amy's same-sex partner and muse Ada.

I think its the natural impulse to want to leave our prized possessions for the next generation - like our photos of grandparents, family home etc. So, there's a tragedy in having no family alive and the sense of abandonment and permanent loss that must arise. 

It's interesting for me because I don't think I want to have children; and yet I think I would feel that my life wouldn't have a meaningful purpose, in a deeper sense.

Sir Michael Parkinson dies (1935–2023)

So poor old Parky has died.

I have such fond memories of my mum watching him. He was a regular Saturday night viewing for the family.

I recently watched a Mel Gibson film; and went to watch one of his interviews. Then, I stumbled across his Parkinson interview only a few days ago; and I really enjoyed it. It was just so absorbing and engaging. Old school class. 

That's before British chat shows had veered towards being comedy routines. Parkinson would be entertaining without the scripted 'story time' routine of Graham Norton (invariably with his own jokes). Graham Norton's entire formula is "so please tell us about the time ...."  or  "... what's this funny story I heard ...". Michael Parkinson was entertaining with some class and gravitas; and allowing the audience to learning something about the interviewee.

I didn't appreciate it at the time, but television has really declined in my own time.

So, respect to the man.

'Towards Modernity' collection at the National Gallery - Monet, Cezanne and Bellows - Part 1

This blog post concerns the art in room 41 of the National Gallery. See index for the other rooms of the National Gallery.

The art here is supposed to survey the transformational force of painting - as an artistic medium - in the early 20th century.

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Misia Sert by Renoir - 1904

I think this is quite engrossing and charming.

The sitter is Maria Godebska (AKA Misia). She was known among the avant-garde of Paris, at the turn of the last century.

Renoir seems to capture the wealth and elegance of this lady. Relaxing on a chaise-longue with a golden sofa-throw. The background is an effective colour contrast - but it could also be some lush curtains. I think she's very pretty and painted with a certain grandeur. The delicate finery seems to add to her striking beauty. Renoir has given her a delicate relaxed posture with her hand. Her other hand caresses a sweet dog which is an affectionate touch. 

But there is a certain intensity to her eyes (perhaps some ruefulness) which lend a subtle interesting tone to her.

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The Skiff (La Yole) by Renoir  - 1875

I quite like this painting. It's beautiful.

Two ladies are rowing on the Seine on a gorgeous summer's day. One of them has pivoted in our direction and may be looking at us. I love her fancy hat with that little black plumage. Her friend's church-hat reminds me of Berthe Morisot's summer's day.

This does seem to have the classic impressionist stuff - a landscape, the spontaneity of river scenes, the interaction of light with objects to create engaging colour effects and that fleeting effect of natural light.

The way Renoir is able to make those iridescent watery reflections is just wonderful. Probably many layers with different textures of paint. Almost every object - from the houses to the rower - seem to have a gleaming or shimmering reflection. 

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A Nymph by a Stream by Renoir - 1869

I like this painting of a nymph creature controlling nature; from antiquity. 

I like the garland of grasses, and that stream of water in which, I think, she reflects. Grass in both hands, she rests on a soft pasture; and such lovely long hair that melts into the idyllic setting. The green-mossy of the brook makes her white flesh glow.

I like her direct carefree gaze. And what a cute nose. She also has a beautiful figure. 

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The Côte des Boeufs at L'Hermitage by Camille Pissarro - 1877

This is really good.

This hillside - called 'Côte des Boeufs' - was close to Pissarro's home at the Paris suburbs. 

Here the painting is focused on the darkness as opposed to the light.

I like the structure and composition. Huge slender trees climbing the length of the canvass are imposing over the charming background of house roofs, chimneys, clouds and hillside.

I like the little pathway and the 2 people (young lad and his aunt in a bonnet?) walking towards us. It adds a rustic charm to it. There is so much heavy brushstrokes that the verdure and shrubbery really does feel dense.

I do like that bumpy, textured and coarse 'feel' of the paints. It's evocative of nature: the woodiness, the variegated greenage, the light-dappled effect etc.

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Men of the Docks by George Bellows  1912

What a great painting, full of drama.

I was a bit surprised to see this at the National Gallery. I'd hardly seen any American vistas there (and hardly any in the story of impressionism and post-impressionism). I know nothing about George Bellows; so have to read-up about him.

According to the National Gallery, the towers in the distance are of Lower Manhattan. I do like how the painting's small brushstrokes of the skyscrapers creates such a misty feel at the towers. Just beautiful. The maroon-orange of the ship's hull contrasts beautifully with its black upper-half. I also love the water brushstrokes - especially the deeper river: that rich dark deep-blue azurey colour. And, then the sheets of ice and thick snow lining the docks. Another one with wonderful vivid colour.

Ultimately, I think we're drawn to the dock workers. There's an anxious worried look in the faces of those men at the fore. Some kind of foreboding, or some tenseness in the waiting. I think they all know each other. Something to do with work. I expect this painting is about the man looking for work, and all its attendant stress. I think Bellows has painted drama and anxiety in this scene of working-men of the docks.

It's very interesting that horses were still being used in 1912 at the docks! Incredible in fact.

Waiting for something, maybe for their friend. Hands in pockets.

Both chaps seem to be reacting to someone. I like the nonplussed look in the browner guy.

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The Umbrellas by Renoir - 1881

This is a very engaging painting with mystery.

I find the lady's gaze in our direction quite absorbing. And the little girl's sweet face turned towards us also. As if we just shouted out: "hi there".

According to the National Gallery, "Renoir began the painting using a soft, feathery style, but later reworked the left side using harder contours and muted colours." I think one can tell the different styles here. The lady is painted with much more clarity and sharpness (which I prefer). The little girl has a dream-like translucency feel.

There are essentially 2 different colours - blue and brown (I love the burgundy-red hair on the lady). I think the two figures on either side create a symmetry; and that the empty basket may be to counter-balance the top-heavy umbrellas. 

Either way, I think its interesting that Renoir paints an empty basket when he could easily have painted some bread or some such item in it. It may also explain why she doesn't have an umbrella; and there's a very subtle wistful sadness in her face. She's not upset; but she's not exactly happy. Does she know the gentleman? It's not obvious they know each other. It's also not very obvious that he's looking at her at all. Her hands seem to be holding up the edge of her dress; but why? Is it just the rain, or a step on the pavement? And why isn't she looking where she is going?

Also, the little girl's lips are upturned? As though she isn't impressed. There's drama captured in that fleeting moment of everyday Parisian life, Parisian weather, and perhaps a social statement about the lady?

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Fishermen carrying a Drowned by Jozef Israels - 1861

A moving depiction of the tragic.

I don't know who Israels is; but his painting has a sense of the epic. That subdued and dignified distress is reminiscent of the Christ being taken off the cross. The power of nature can be felt in the windswept landscape, dark atmosphere and crashing waves at the shoreline.

Israels was the leading Dutch painter of his time. I can see why.

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Hillside in Provence by Cezanne - 1890

We know Cezanne started off with the impressionist exhibitions and then moved away as he returned to the South of France. Here he depicts a region in Aix-en-Provence where he was born and spent much of his later years. 

With regards to this type of Cezanne landscape, I often feel that I like it, but also ambivalent about it. I do appreciate its historical context, and how impressionism is being deconstructed. I think his style is important because it challenges us vis-a-vis what art should do with the then rise of photography. I like how it reminds me of the physicality of the medium, and challenges the central perspective in paintings.

At the fore, the complex rock formations (with subtle shadowing) seem to have a feel and texture mirrored by nature (that lone tree). It feels like it doesn't move at all. And the rocky fortifications is contrasted with a smoother open panoramic landscape.h

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Surprised! by Henri Rousseau - 1891

This is a huge painting, and there's a lot of movement and dynamism.

Henri Rousseau was a Frenchman & painted 'Tiger in a Tropical Storm' in 1891. Though he never left Paris, the plants were inspired by the botanical gardens he worked at in Paris. There is something about the tiger which reminds me of the Japanese woodblock prints, that kind of 2-D effect.

I do like the bursts of colours. There is something really alluring in the lovely red flame-like leaves (which makes you feel the power of the storm). Then, there are the subtle thin lines of silvery translucent paint which give an amazing rendering of gusts of wind and rain. 

I like how the tiger seems disjointed in this painting; and some elements seem sweet in their innocence. The ridiculously long tail, the very thin bird-like legs, the cartoonish eyes etc. The tiger even seems floating; and one of its paws rests on some long grass - yes, grass! - for some support.

I am reminded slightly of William Blake's paean to the majestic beauty of the tiger. 

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 
In the forests of the night; 
What immortal hand or eye, 
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

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Snow Scene at Argenteuil  by Claude Monet -  1875

I really do love a good landscape painting.

There is a great atmosphere in this painting of the winter chill and cold; but also the beauty. The barren and miserable landscape is also kind of beautiful. The brushstrokes of blue, white and grey gives structure to the painting. We can see a bridge and pathway. Those curvy brown-soil cart tracks melt into the distance. So, I think this was horse-and-cart times.

I love the sight of the people trudging through the snow. To me, its evocative of some tranquillity and calm of nature.

Lots of interesting stronger colours delineate elements of the landscape; from a walled-fence, windows of a church, its spire.

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The Museum at Le Havre by Claude Monet - 1873

Terrific.

Le Havre was Monet's home town. 

I love the overcast dusk atmosphere, the commotion and hustle-and-bustle of everyday folk, the imposing masts and sails, the shimmering reflection on the unruffled water. It speaks to a gentle morning breeze. 

I think the imposing building at the back is the Musée des Beaux-Arts.

I love the brushwork which convey either the gentle movement in the water ripples, or the commotion in the people.

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Water-Lilies, Setting Sun by Monet - 1907

So much beauty in the transient surface of the lake. 

The setting sun being reflected iridescently, the dark shimmering silhouette of a weeping willow in the surface of the lake, and waterlilies here-and-there in an almost suspended-like effect. We can make the edge of the bank with long grass at the lower right-hand side.

Amazing brushstrokes.

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Water-Lilies by Monet - 1840-1926

This painting is huge. In fact, it takes up an entire wall.

Loads of people were gathered around it; but - for me - it's reminiscent of JMW Turner - especially Norham Castle and Breakers on a flat beach. And we know that Monet was inspired by Turner's paintings.

I liked both of Monet's waterlilies (above) because of their visual distortions. In this one, I don't think we can discern what is really happening. Apart from the waterlilies, there aren't any clear frames of reference to visually grip onto; and yet it's quite alluring. 

I think it captures a feeling of being both under water and above water simultaneously. 

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Irises by Monet  - 1914-17

Monet many painted irises.

I think this painting is pretty. But I'm not especially drawn to it. 

According to the National Gallery, "it is not clear whether the artist regarded the picture as finished, since it remained in his studio at his death."

The irises are painted along a meandering waterway. He may have had his double cataracts at this point. The grass and thick purples are nice; but the blue brushstrokes are a bit out-of-place perhaps. Interesting. Here he was looking down from the Japanese bridge.

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The Water-Lily Pond by Claude Monet - 1899

"My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature." - Monet.

Indeed, this is quite special; and painted over decades.

Monet painting this in his gardens in Giverny. It shows an amazingly beautiful water-lily pond and Japanese bridge.

There is such thick verdure and flowers that it creates an amazing ecology. Monet became an expert on these plants having consulted the leading horticulturalists of his day. The painting has such a luxuriant and rich foliage in the overhanging trees and leafage that it creates a veritable atmosphere. There is gracefulness and symmetry in the scattered and floating waterlilies across the sun-kissed surface of the lake. There are some areas of dappled shade; but the water is transparent in areas. So, the lake feels healthy (no algae). The bridge feels like it almost belongs in nature. That - combined with the smooth unruffled water - creates a scene of wonderful tranquillity.

It makes you reflect on the glory of nature. Such an ecosystem is conducive to life itself. You can imagine the wild birds, small mammals and insects (e.g. dragonflies) that call this home. Them; and of course Monet!

You can feel the texture of the brushstrokes.

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Portrait of Hermine Gallia by Gustav Klimt - 1904

I think this is quite lovely & charming.

Klimt designed the dress Hermine Gallia wears. She who was born in Hamburg, and her husband (Moritz) ran one of the most modern electricity plants. They were affluent Jewish family in Vienna. 

This painting is very subtle and she looks like she is floating. The painting's ruffles and ribbons are so delicately painted, she feels like a butterfly. Her pose is rather dignified and commands a certain stateliness. And her jewellery really stands out with a brilliancy. They almost looks real. 

A lot of thought went into this painting.

Those diamonds.