“Goya to Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection” exhibition at the Courtauld Gallery, London

Earlier this year, I went to the Courtauld Gallery to see a special exhibition of the masterpieces from the Oskar Reinhart Collection (of Winterthur, near Zurich). 

It was a wonderful show - full of exciting paintings which had never been seen in England before.

Oskar Reinhart was born from a wealthy Winterthur family who ran a leading international trading company. More interested in art than business, he began collecting seriously in 1919. He eventually had to step back from the firm to devote himself fully to building his collection. This included impressionists and Renaissance works. He built a gallery which he then bequeathed to the Swiss Confederation, which opened to the public in 1970.

Rating: 4/5 ★★★★☆

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Still Life with Three Salmon Steaks by Francisco de Goya

Wow. Breathtaking. 

This painting was part of a group of twelve still lifes painted by Francisco de Goya.

Painted during the Peninsular War - within the Napoleonic Wars - against Napoleon’s France.  According to the gallery:

Still life must have seemed a neutral subject matter at a time of censorship and political upheaval. However, the raw realism of these salmon steaks, isolated from any context, their flesh rendered in blood red, suggests the brutality of war. 

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Man with Delusions of Military Rank by Théodore Géricault

A powerful and rueful painting.

This man is suffering from a mental illness.

Théodore Géricault was a painter of French Romanticism. This painting was created as part of a series of portraits (which were never exhibited during his lifetime) of patients in an asylum, around 1822.

It’s a touching and empathetic painting - his small cap, hospital tag, v. gaunt cheeks, and an anxious & distressed look.

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Laura Cumming, in her review “The week in art: Goya to Impressionism; Linder: Danger Came Smiling – review” (Guardian, Feb 2025), wrote an eloquent encomium about this painting which I enjoyed reading:

There are not many portraits you wait all your adult life to see, but so it is with A Man Suffering from Delusions of Military Rank, painted by Théodore Géricault some time after The Raft of the Medusa in 1819. This shattering image of a man with no name is in Britain for the first time, loaned by a small Swiss museum a dozen miles outside Zurich.

To see it with your own eyes is to have a sense of who this man might really be, whether the title seems right, and why Géricault painted him in the first place: all of them unresolved mysteries.

The man is gaunt and elderly and sunk in anxiety, or suspicion. He looks away from us towards some other world. He is dressed – or dressed up, perhaps by somebody else? – in white shirt, black gilet and cloth sash over one shoulder. Around his neck hangs what looks to modern eyes like a dog tag, numbered 121, and on his head is a tattered hat with red piping and tassel. Perhaps it is the hat of Napoleon’s military police, hence the delusions of rank. Or perhaps the tag gives the number of his hospital ward.

But all the historic interpretations of this painting – that this is a study of monomania, painted for a Parisian doctor specialising in madness – fall away when you stand before the actual portrait. Géricault has sat with this man in Paris, heard him breathe or even speak, watched his gaze slide away into the distance. Who knows where or for how long he has been confined. The portrait is so empathetic and dignified, but so loose in its excitable rapidity, that Géricault’s own state of mind becomes part of the picture’s content. It is anything but a diagnostic illustration.

One of a fabled series of 10 “insane” portraits, scattered after Géricault’s premature death at 32, it disappeared for years, eventually bought by the Swiss art collector Oskar Reinhart (1885-1965) in the 1920s. It has been hanging in his pristine white villa in Winterthur ever since. The private collection of this Hanseatic merchant became a public museum in the 1950s, and now a tranche of its greatest masterpieces has arrived in the once-private collection of his merchant contemporary Samuel Courtauld in London. Goya to Impressionism is a jewel of an exhibition.

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The Wave by Gustave Courbet

A powerful seascape by the French Realist painter Gustave Courbet.

I’m always so delighted to see an artist paint the foamy white bubbles on the crash bursting of a wave, or at its collapsing peaks.

They’re a force of nature which the artist seizes and then pours onto his canvas for our delectation. See also: The Wave by Gauguin (right). 

This painting was - for its time - quite radical. Important for his stylistic (thick and expressive) brushwork - textured surface created by thickly applied paint via a palette knife. This would be influential.

Fellow blogger Debra (“She who seeks”) recently posted about Hokusai. This painting also traces its inspiration to those magnificent Japanese woodblock prints of the 19th century. 

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The Hammock (Le Rêve) by Gustave Courbet

A feeling of carefree escapism?

Being one with nature. This was early among Courbet’s ouvre.

According to wikipedia, it was “submitted to the Salon of 1845 at the Louvre in Paris, but rejected by the authorities.”

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Marguerite de Conflans Wearing Hood by Édouard Manet

Just wonderful.

Manet’s loose impressionistic brushwork crates a canvass “texture” to her delicate garments and accentuates her thoughtful and engaging gaze. The dark background really illuminates her presence alongside those diaphanous fabrics. 

It’s a beautiful portrait.

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Self-portrait by Paul Cézanne

I’ve never seen Paul Cezanne as a younger man. He painted this when he was only 27. Claude Monet bought it.

Aged 41.

He seems measured, deliberate & composed - and yet perhaps a little anxiety in his hand raised to his cheek? 

It’s also a bit of a dark painting and the overall effect is a bit inscrutable?

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Don Quixote and Sancho Panza by Honoré Daumier

From Miguel de Cervantes.

Bold colours, loose brushstrokes, and almost abstractions.

It’s a funny painting - I’ll have to think about it more.

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The Little Reader (La Petite Liseuse) by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot

Excellent - it’s that feeling of quiet inner peace.

Camille Corot was the teacher of Berthe Morisot. I think this is an interesting connection. 

Here he paints a woman entranced by a novel.

The posture, the face, and the environment all suggest a sense of serenity. 

Moreover, she feels so contemporary. Unlike the Rococo, she isn’t dancing, or posing alluringly, or doing anything at all. In fact, she doesn’t seem to care or notice the viewer - which perhaps invites the viewer to contemplate their relationship with the female object?

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Confidences by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Again, we see Renoir’s masterful use of light which adds to fleeting sense of the impressionist interaction. 

And, for me, once again ... a certain want in the visage. 

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Portrait of Victor Chocquet by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Lovely painting.

It’s nice to see Renoir paint a man. Victor Chocquet was a French art collector (wiki).

There is something irresistible about Chocquet’s gaze, and a certain charm & delicacy to his personality.

I like the open shirt, the feeling of an easiness about him and perhaps he’s a little bit of a thinker.

The light flowery background is a nice touch.

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The Milliner by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Beautiful brushstrokes forming her blouse. A lovely painting.

A working lady engrossed, confident, careful, against a light-greeny floral backdrop of swirling petals. 

I love those small & loose wisps of hair at the nape of her neck.

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Barges on the Canal Saint-Martin by Alfred Sisley

Great.

Sisley is an underrated impressionist.

Once again, fabulous waves rippling the water capturing the overcast atmosphere of the surface of the water which contrasts with the graded wooden finish of the barges.

And the sky’s calmful clouds are a beautiful contrast to the energy of the water.

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The Break-up of the Ice (La Débâcle) by Claude Monet

Another wow.

Monet’s mind-blowing watery effect.

The unripplied surface, a soft palette of colours across every surface, and those white brushstrokes of ice on the surface.

I feel I need to put on a jumper looking at this !

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Blue Roofs of Rouen by Paul Gauguin

Another wow.

The palette saturation is wonderful - azurean sky, then green hills, blue roofs, and red-browny fields.

This painting doesn’t like like a Gauguin yet. 

And yet, even so, his use of negative space in the foreground adds, I think, an allegorical tone to the work. Once again, Gauguin uses humans in a large & overbearing field which, to me, evokes a feeling of gloom, pity and/or despondency. For example, see Harvest: Le Pouldu by Paul Gauguin:

Harvest: Le Pouldu by Gauguin.

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Château Noir by Paul Cézanne

Cezanne is a difficult painter.

He does something beautiful - but why? 

Is it the limited form, the limited colours, the limited use of perspective, the melding of objects near and far ?

Not sure, but it does work. And brilliantly - sometimes he’s paintings are absolutely engrossing.

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Still Life with a Curtain, Jug and Fruit by Paul Cézanne

Another one of Cezanne’s enduring themes.

It’s obvious why he’s described as the father of modernism. It’s his intellectual challenging of art in producing something that doesn’t cohere - but has an immersive stunning effect.

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The Sickward of the Hospital at Arles by Vincent van Gogh

This is new to me.

And I had already seen so much of Van Gogh recently.

Poor Van Gogh. This is a window into his world - having spent weeks recovering from a mental breakdown. 

People huddled by the heater, a heavy atmosphere, solemn and lonely.

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The Clowness Cha-U-Kao by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

Toulouse-Lautrec doesn’t do much for me, I don’t think.

Cha-U-Kao was a popular entertainer of 1890s’ Paris and a recurring subject of his.

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At the Café by Édouard Manet

Exhilarating to see this.

Manet’s brushwork is fascinating - the richness, the loose strokes etc... I always love poring over the details of his paintings.

And his subject is focused on the everyday and it’s fascinating. A recurring theme is Parisian bars - e.g. A Bar at the Folies-Bergère: 

I had already seen the twin to this painting at the National Gallery. It was a delight to see the other half at the Courtauld before it went to the National Gallery.

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Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto by Pablo Picasso

Hmm ... not sure how I feel about a painting.

This was recently in the news, according to artnet:

Beneath the melancholy hues of Portrait of Mateu Fernández de Soto by Pablo Picasso, conservators have uncovered a long-hidden secret—an earlier painting of a mysterious woman, concealed for over a century ... Painted in 1901, when Picasso was only 19, this artwork marks one of the earliest pieces from his renowned Blue Period—a phase that lasted until roughly 1904 and was characterized by a monochromatic palette dominated by cool cerulean tones. It depicts Picasso’s friend and fellow Spanish artist Mateau Fernández de Soto.

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Le Pilon du Roi (The King’s Peak) by Paul Cézanne

Wow .... I give up now.

Cezanne has won me over.

I could just walk into this painting.

Lorenzo Ghiberti

Lorenzo Ghiberti and Filippo Brunelleschi are the two most important sparks of the Florentine Renaissance.

Ghiberti was the bridge between the Gothic and the Renaissance. His sculptural technique involved a new level of intricacy and detailed with a level of realism and emotional depth that had not been seen before.

I hope you'll agree they are quite moving. I can only imagine how powerful they were in the 15th century. It also explains why they became so popular. 

Below are two beautiful sculptures that I want to share from 2 different museums. 😁

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Madonna and Child by the Circle of Lorenzo Ghiberti

A beautiful sculpture & important to art history.

E.g. from V&A London.

This relief is from the Ashmolean at Oxford. 

It depicts the Madonna and Child.

It’s one of a number of 30-40 surviving variants based on the characteristics of the Florentine bronze sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti. 

He is one of the forefathers of the Italian renaissance - renowned for his bronze doors for the Florence Baptistery. 

The mother’s serene face, the adoring arrangement of mother-and-son, and the baby Christ’s pose (by her shoulder) are characteristic of Ghiberti’s style. See e.g.

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Seated Virgin and Child by the Circle of Lorenzo Ghiberti and Donatello (~ 1415)

A loving & graceful embrace, and yet with a pensive sadness.

The mother seems slightly lost in her melancholy, as her son wraps his arms around her. Her fingers seem to reach around to lift him closer to her. 😔

This terracotta from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

No wonder Ghiberti was so influential.

According to the museum, it is close to the style of Ghiberti’s workshop, where the young Donatello worked in.

Ancient Greek vase paintings at the British Museum

I want to share photos from my recent trip to the British Museum. 

Pottery was a significant part of ancient Greek life. They’re also exquisite.

Fired reddish clay (known as terracotta) was mostly used to make post, cups and vases of a variety of shapes and sizes. They were used for everyday storage of wines, oils etc. but they were also used for special celebrations (and thus decorated with beautiful paintings). There is so few classical paintings from Ancient Greece that historians have had to rely on vase decorations to trace styles and techniques of the ancient world.

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Monumental Late Geometric Vases (wiki)

These were funerary vases - which served as markers over graves.

Bases would be pierced allowing libations to pour into the grave beneath it.

War-like figure scenes on some of these vases.

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An Oinochoe = (“wine jug and a key form of ancient Greek pottery”)

Two horses facing each other across a tripod with a goat above.

Athens about 735-700 BC.

View of St. Peter’s Basilica - revisited

I was going through my Rome album and decided to upload a few more of Vatican City.

I took these photo of St Peter’s Square on my recent trip.

That iconic dome - which dominates the skyline - was designed by Michelangelo.

Leaving the Basilica and entry into the Square.

Statue of St Peter (holding the keys) at the base of the steps to the Basilica.

Sculptor Giuseppe De Fabris.

Incredible facade.

The Vatican Obelisk

Ancient Egyptian obelisk carved from red granite.

Magnificent colonnade (with statutes overlooking) designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini in the 17th century.

Me at the Obelisk.

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Me at St. Peter’s Baldachin Sculpture of Bernini 

The confession.

List of the popes buried in St. Peter’s

The confessional.

Terence Stamp (1938–2025) RIP

A legend has died recently.

I simply loved him in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, he was incredible.

In case people are interested, I have appendix-ed below a very interesting obituary. He seems to have led a fascinating life. I feel a little jealous. Being young in the 60s seems so much more exciting than to be young now.

Though this line in the obituary (with respect to Shrimpton) made me laugh -- “I was keeping 10 per cent but had intended to present her with a lump sum as a surprise”. 

Thanks for giving us great movies.

Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Absolutely gorgeous.

The joie de vivre. 

It really does feel like the viewer is watching a joyous moment frozen in time, with the summer feeling.

The intimacy and affection of all people - though, I must admit, Renoir’s painted face seem to miss a certain something.

I saw this Renoir masterpiece at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

The “Moulin de la Galette” (wiki) started off as a windmill and became an open-air dancehall and café. It was frequented by wealthy Parisians and artists.

This painting is huge, and the painting was done en plein air so Renoir captured the dappled light effect through the trees.

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