The Prime Minister on the verge of announcing that they’ll be breaking the 2024 election manifesto.
They made a huge fuss - during the election - of insisting they won’t raise taxes on “working people”.
But ... as we all know ... socialists love raising taxes, and spending more of our own money for us.
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It’s hard not to love these little Dutch so-called “niche paintings” (an interior seen through a window).
This particular little painting is one of Gerrit Dou’s masterpieces at the NG.
He was a student in Rembrandt’s studio and obviously perfected his skills there (esp. chiaroscuro).
It’s a wonderful idealised snapshot of everyday Dutch life from centuries ago. A young lady at the entrance of a poulterer’s shop, negotiating with the shopkeeper. The lady gestures towards a hare being held up, as duck and other game birds sit on the windowsill.
Incredible skill in depicting textures and the way light falls on different surfaces.
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I took this photo recently.
Statue of William Shakespeare, by the sculptor Giovanni Fontana.
Shakespeare points to the words “There Is No Darkness but Ignorance”.
This painting by Aelbert Cuyp is a twin of The Large Dort & also in the National Gallery’s collection.
As with my post on The Large Dort, we see the quintessentials of the Dutch Baroque painter - pastoral landscapes, animals, and a view of Dordrecht.
The National Gallery though argues that there are some differences which suggest this particular painting depicts the end of the day:
The mood is more soporific than in the larger version, however. The sky seems slightly less luminous, the sun is lower and more of the painting is in shadow. Three of the cows seem to be on the verge of sleep, while the herdsman and the dog have already dropped off. The day’s labour, it seems, is over. But a similar sense of ease and contentment prevails. And Cuyp has used the same subtle sequence of pictorial planes to knit together the composition, from the dark foreground of weeds and brambles to the light-dappled cows, the shadowy cottages and windmills, then Dordrecht itself, bathed in the evening light.
For me, I prefer The Large Dort. đ
A beautiful masterpiece by Aelbert Cuyp.
Aelbert Cuyp was part of the Dutch Golden Age and painted these magnificent arcadian landscapes, often with dignified and heroic-looking cattle and cows.
His paintings are important to art history because - as with the Dutch Golden Age more generally - they laid the stylistic foundations which would be v. influential to the British landscape artists of the 18th and 19th-century, and romanticism.
He was also influenced by the “Dutch Italianate” painters. It was an art movement, inspired by their Italian travels, to infuse the painting with a warm, soft and golden light - that you might see in the early misty morning hours.
I just think you could look at this painting for ages, and enjoy yourself.
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A charming painting.
My first time seeing Paulus Potter.
He was a minor artist of the Dutch Golden Age struck down by Tuberculosis at a v. young age. He specialised in animal painting and landscapes with the cattle as the principal subject.
In this painting, two cows and a sheep carefree under a tree on a warm summer’s day. The milkmaid is pushed to the background. It feels like the domestic animals are hanging out and relaxing together.
Paulus Potter was discussed on the blog bugwomanlondon in the following terms:
“artists who choose to make animals their subject – partly because of what it says about the attitude to animals at the time, and partly because the best painters seem to be able to incorporate the personality of the animal in such a way that it becomes a portrait.”
How apt.
A classic of Jan Steen’s “merrymaking” genre paintings of the Dutch Golden Age.
I saw this at the Wallace Collection in London.
The tavern scene is filled with a variety of funny characters - mother with baby, dancers, violin players (17th century DJ), children, onlookers, branches hanging from wiring at the ceiling, pets on the floor, plates and cutlery around. Jan Steen is putting on a theatrical show. He’s an agent of chaos & anarchy.
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I was reminded of a comment made by Nick (nickhereandnow) recently. According to the Wallace, the key symbol is once again depicted on the wall:
Steen’s Merrymaking in a Tavern combines the Flemish tradition of low-life tavern scenes with the more elegant Dutch merry companies. The lively description of the domestic muddle of mothers, children, dancers, musicians and onlookers creates a boisterous scene. The lack of a central motif reinforces the work’s naturalistic appearance, yet the composition is carefully constructed around a group of selected incidents. A key hangs on the back wall of the tavern, suspended between a dancing girl and an older quarrelsome couple, as a warning of where such mayhem might lead. The variety of human life is depicted, with an old woman praying next to a young boy at a table, an amorous seated couple, a bagpipe player, a group of men drinking on the right and a mother, baby and crouching boy in the foreground. Each of these characters illustrates human conduct at different ages.
While doing some research for this post, I came across an essay by Hailey Byrde. She uses a painting by Metsu to show how a bird depicted can have both a sexual connotation while touching a broader Dutch perception about women’s “place”. I think the key is very clearly sexual (key going into lock) while also referring to the house and home. A clever symbol.
Love it.
Pieter de Hooch is the master of transforming those quiet domestic interior scenes of everyday Dutch life and transforming them into something so very beautiful. E.g., The Courtyard of a House in Delft by de Hooch - an ordinary scene of a girl holding the hand of her mother. This painting is after he left Delft and settled in Amsterdam.
Here, one woman with a violin, a man seated (hat tilted) and smiling towards the third lady (stirring a glass of wine and v. stylishly adorned). But we’re drawn to the man standing silhouetted beneath the archway, looking out toward the street. Why is his back turned away from us?
The things great about his paintings:
Another one of de Hooch’s quiet domestic genre paintings from the National Gallery at London. See others here.
It has all the hallmarks of the Dutch master - the way light shines through the windows and into the domestic (creating shadows and a warmer pallete on surfaces apropos interaction with light - e.g. plaster on the walls), the high-contrasting tiled floors are masterfully rendered creating a terrific illusion of depth, and finally the Dutch sense of mystery.
For me, the lady in the black-and-red dress seems most enigmatic. Why stand with her back to us? Her fine clothing would suggest a wealthy middle-class lady (i.e. not a maid)? Why hold up a glass of wine like that? Is she mocking? What’s in her right hand? Why is the man opposite her playing with some makeshift musical instrument? Is she toying with them?
Scenes left open to different interpretations are characteristic of seventeenth-century Dutch painting, and depictions of musical gatherings were especially ambiguous – they can represent innocent entertainments or something more salacious. Here we can’t even be sure whether this is a musical gathering, let alone whether or not it is an innocent one.
This painting was owned by Sir Robert Peel - former Prime Minister and founder of the Conservative Party.
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The painting above the fireplace is “the education of the Virgin Mary, kneeling before her mother, Saint Anne, and so represents the ultimate example of how to instil virtue in a young woman ... Seduction is still potentially in the air, however, hinted at by the intense attention of the men on the woman with the wine glass and by the presence of pipes, including one which has been broken and discarded on the chequerboard floor.”
I enjoyed watching King Charles III at the Sistine Chapel.
This has to do with the English Reformation of the 16th century and King Henry VIII.
Since I was raised a Catholic, I will never forget how - as we were approaching a small flight of stairs to walk “up” them and “into” the Sistine Chapel - my stomach was in a knot. It was also very moving to realise - and imagine - how many former Popes and Cardinals stood in my very spot throughout history.
And, of course, the fact that it is one of the most consequential repositories of breathtaking frescoes in the history of Western art.
It’s not often we get to see a service in the Sistine Chapel - so I thought this was worth blogging about. đ
I took this photo on Wednesday afternoon when I popped into the National Gallery for a little walk around.
I love the architectural spaces and visuals when it’s a bit quiet.
I’ve always been fascinated by this painting at the Tate.
It makes me feel like I’m stepping into a dream where reality & illusion merge and melt.
Like the film Inception.
This painting makes the idea of stepping into another reality totally bewitching.
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Paul Nash was a major British artist of the 20th century.
This painting captures his interwar surrealism. It’s actually cited by Britannica as an example of “compositions became increasingly dreamlike and illogical.”
Last month, I took this photo at the Louvre.
The Apollo Gallery is the room where the recent major theft took place.
It houses some of the crown jewels of France.
It’s a dazzling room.
It just gets worse and worse.
In the news, he specifically mentioned to a group that V. Giuffre was the “same age as his own daughters”. Christ. He’s irredeemably disgusting. I don’t think I can read this book.
It’s heartbreaking that V. Giuffre got so little time for peace after being robbed of so much.
Thanks to the US House Oversight Committee, Epstein email records have been releasing proving P. Andrew has been plainly lying in his interview with the BBC.
And, more to the point, how could he possibly have been so stupid to support Epstein after his 2008 conviction and then keep visiting him in New York?
The Royal Family have already cut him off, so he can never be part of Royal life again. The King cannot say anything without the government signing off.
The British Monarchy has seen many scandals and I hope they will weather this one.
But, I think British society are so upset that something harsh needs to be done - like exile.
Our Ambassador to the US has been finished off, and now a Prince ...
How is Epstein still haunting us?
What a horrible event.
The thieves stole Napoleon’s crown jewels from the Louvre in the 7-minute heist - a symbol of French history and the Republic.
I expect the jewels will be melted down and sold for it’s raw material value. Like Berlin’s Bode Museum theft of 2017, and the bracelet of Pharaoh Amenemope in Egypt just a month ago.
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Unfortunately, I think art museums (esp. the Louvre) will be expected to turn ever more into banks now.
Already so many works of art are behind high-quality museum glass. They’re awful. It’s a dreadful & imposing barrier between the art and the visitor. And it’s going to get worse in the future.
There will be more need for glass, more need for queues, more document checks, more security scanning, more people walking up-and-down and eyeing you suspiciously.
The trouble is that these are government museums with objects of cultural importance to the society - not hedge funds. It’s not right to charge visitors with high prices for tickets. And the government is already stretched with more pressing concerns. There are always complaints about limits on staff in every museum. Not enough staff. Too many people. Not enough security.
The British Museum has had it own grief back in 2023 with stolen artifacts. And the consequence now entails long queues to go through security checks. The louvres staff has been complaining and going on strike for some years now. But, where are governments supposed to get such resources from?
I paid 22 euros for my ticket in September 2025. If you charge more, then you’ll be excluding the poor.
Everytime something like this happens, I know there’ll be howling for more security from museum directors ... thereby turning these institutions into awful airport-like experiences.
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I saw this piece in the V&A.
Della Robbia’s angel is a plaster cast of a Renaissance sculpture in Florence’s Cathedral (now: Duomo’s museum).
The angels would have held the sanctified bread used during the Mass.
According to the V&A, “the plaster copies displayed here do not reproduce the colour of the originals”. That is because Della Robbia was known for inventing his “tin-glazed terracotta” sculpture technique. This glazing created a lustrous & water-resistant surface which exists to the present. Thus, they retain their white, deep cerulean blues and gilding against the deteriorating of the weather.
For art history, Luca Della Robbia holds an important role. He was pivotal in the early Italian Renaissance influencing the latter generation, including Michelangelo. Wikipedia says:
Della Robbia was praised by his compatriot Leon Battista Alberti for genius comparable to that of the sculptors Donatello and Lorenzo Ghiberti, the architect Filippo Brunelleschi, and the painter Masaccio. By ranking him with contemporary artists of this stature, Alberti noted the interest and strength of Luca’s work in marble and bronze, as well as in the terra-cottas always associated with his name.
This post is hat tip to hels. đ
Spectacular masterpiece at the Louvre.
It shows the Virgin Mary enthroned with the Christ Child and the Chancellor Nicolas Rolin kneeling before her. Jesus raises his right hand to bless Rolin.
For us today, we take these paintings for granted.
But, the lifelike illusion of this painting must have been truly spellbinding in the 15th century.
It’s partly due to the striking & vivid richness of the colours (the Louvre celebrated an exhibition recently following the conservation of this painting). The vermillion of the Madonna’s long loose flowing dress, the purples shades of Chancellor’s robes and not to mention the ultramarine of the Chancellor’s table cloth and the angel’s garments. The floor tiles are so ornate and so convincing. The linear and atmospheric perspective are terrific.
The sense of realism is a huge part of the artist’s power. Careful rendering of the tiles is (frankly!) a shocking testament to Van Eyck’s painstakingly laborious and meticulous nature. It’s also his mastery of linear perspective. The tiles have a pattern and he’s very careful to observe it. Van Eyck’s play on light is exceptional. I love the detailed rendering of the folds of the Madonna’s dress and the shadows within.
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Amazing.
I saw this Jan van Eyck painting in Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum earlier this year.
As with the self-portrait, the Northern Renaissance developed the three-quarters turned-view portraits in the early 15th century for a sense of engagement. Before the Italians.
I love the aging cardinal’s features - wrinkles around eyes, creases on earlobes etc. The realism - through successive layers of oil colours - gives a touching personality and intimacy to the cardinal.
A wonderful work of art.
The Arnolfini Portrait is an incredibly famous painting.
A masterpiece of Early Netherlandish painting by Jan van Eyck at London’s National Gallery.
He was formerly credited (thanks to Vasari) as the “father of oil paintings”. But this is to overly simplify the story. Robert Campin was a contemporary of Jan van Eyck. He was the pioneer of the realistic style of oil painting in the Netherlands. According to wikipedia, they even met 1427: “On 18 October 1427, [van Eyck] travelled to Tournai to attend a banquet in his honour, also attended by Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden”. That’s 7 years before this painting. Campin was the teacher of Rogier van der Weyden and Jacques Daret. They are known as “the Flemish Primitives” for their collective influence.
Robert Campin’s shift marked a departure from the stylised, flat, iconic, and decorative orientation of Late Gothic art in the North with detailed realism and the use of symbolism/perspective - which were taken up by Van Eyck and Van der Weyden (his peer) to their highest degree. The beauty and naturalism of Flemish & Northern portraiture was later admired by the early Italians - reaching its acme in Italy in the depth and realism of Raphael (e.g. see Saint Catherine of Alexandria by Raphael which I just blogged about). The early Italian Renaissance artists, while v. innovative, prioritised classical ideals of beauty and the harmony of the ideal form (e.g. Paolo Uccello, Fra Filippo Lippi etc.)
Jan van Eyck’s paintings are revolutionary for their true-to-life naturalism and convincing sense of perspective/space through meticulous rendering of the interior.
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For me, what’s incredible is his ability to convincingly imitate any surface texture - softer wood panel flooring, warm light infiltrating through a window, shadows, silky hairs of the small dog, the shining polished brass of the chandelier, the convex silvered glass of the mirror and the crystal rosary beads hanging on the wall.
The light is a palpable force - it casts shadows which flow behind and between the figures, and you can feel it in the tonal relationship - e.g. Arnolfini’s right shoulder lighter against the dark shutter. In a book, it had this to say:
It is van Eyck’s ability to match the appearance of light-in-air which enables him to evoke space, not linear perspective, which he employs only approximately. The illusion is so potent that not even the elongated proportions and tiny heads of the figures dispel our belief in the reality of this scene.
Art historians are not absolutely sure on the identity of the sitters. We have good guesses, and much has been written about the marriage depicted. The dog symbolize their fidelity etc. The wife is supposed to be “fashionably round-bellied” as opposed to being pregnant (it was a fashion of its day: for a woman to appear pregnant, that’s why her dress has the folds). The gestures, the clogs, the mirror, the oranges, etc. Giselle Ohayon has written an interesting blog that covers the elements of this painting.
Overall, a beautiful portrait of a prosperous and God-fearing couple.
This is a very beautiful & important painting at the National Gallery.
Deep emotional intensity, dynamism, and a composition style that typifies the High Renaissance.
Saint Catherine of Alexandria was a legendary Christian saint and martyr. In Christianity, she is revered for her scholarly intellect, and unwavering faith. Said to have challenged the Roman Emperor in philosophical argument against Paganism. She was then imprisoned, tortured on a spiked torture device (“the breaking wheel”) which shattered, and then she was beheaded. (Scholars doubt that such a person actually existed as there is little of mention her before the 9AD).
Raphael captures the instant of divine grace as opposed to the horror and violence of her martyrdom - head raised, eyes gazing heavenwards towards radiant holy light, warmth landing on her, her hand on her heart.
This was painted during Raphael’s “Florentine period”. Based in Florence, he came under the influence of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and shifted away from the qualities of his Umbrian master, Perugino. This is clear from the contrapposto of her graceful & twisting pose (I’ve discussed this before vis-a-vis David by Raphael and Leda and the Swan by Leonardo da Vinci). We also have the classical pyramid composition, atmospheric depth, and delicate sfumato.
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Air Force One is in a league of its own.
So classy with a timeless elegance.
The cerulean blue and white livery are subtle but exude so much class.
As a representation of our nation, I feel so proud. Looking sharp, we’re dressed to impress - the clear impression that America means business.
Very happy for the hostages, their families, and Israel.
In truth, I didn’t really believe all the living hostages would be released.
For the moment, in Israel at least, a day for celebration.
Great work by Trump, Netanyahu, and the IDF in getting those Israelis back in the arms of their loved ones.
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I think this is a small victory for Israel (even at the heavy price). Since Oct-7, Israel has been obliged to engage against Hamas with one arm tied because of hostage considerations (see my post on Israel’s achilles heel).
Hamas still exists and now reinforced by 2,000 more maniacs. History portends that Hamas will not fulfill its end of the deal, but Israel/US should be able to retaliate without the hostages getting in the way now.
Also, I’ve been wondering whether the Israeli airstrike in Doha (September 9th) was the catalyst of transformation in Hamas’s top officials. It showed Israel would target their Qatari headquarters, and neither Hamas nor Qatar were prepared to countenance that. So, well done Netanyahu.
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ADDENDUM: Ben Smith writing for the Telegraph reports that President Trump has probably, in a secret meeting, disabled Israel from “restarting the war”:
Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff reportedly shook hands with Hamas’ leaders at a secret meeting last week.
The two men personally assured senior figures in the terrorist group that Donald Trump, the US president, would not allow Israel to restart the war after freeing its hostages, Axios reported.
“We think that if you meet them and shake their hand there will be a deal,” a Qatari official reportedly told Mr Witkoff, the US’ Middle East envoy.
Mr Witkoff and Mr Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, met Hamas’ four most senior leaders on Wednesday alongside officials from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey in Sharm el-Sheikh. Mr Trump is said to have given his permission for the meeting.
Big day.
Let’s hope the 20 living hostages will indeed be freed. And not turned into a disgusting circus of death.
And what a price! Nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners are to be “exchanged”, including 250 serving life-sentences.
There are even reports of Hamas trying to negotiate the release Marwan Barghouti. He’s a famous maniac serving 5 life sentences for murder. He masterminded suicide bombings and other attacks on Israelis during the 2nd intifada.
He’s referred to as “the Palestinian Mandela”. I think it’s telling that a majority of Palestinians genuinely seem to admire psychopaths like Sinwar and Barghouti - who seek misery and death, rather than building a semblance of a nation state and a future.
It feels like Israel is playing the losing hand.
At the end of WWII, the Nazi party did not agree to a “ceasefire” with conditions. Nor did the Japanese. It was an unconditional surrender. It’s galling to me that Hamas - with all their global supporters, including the British government - think that they are in a position to make these sorts of demands.
The reality is that Hamas are not “going away”. Their fanatical mission is to destroy Israel and the Jews. That won’t change. Our only hope is that Hamas break the terms (by not disarming/surrendering) so Israel has to finish the job.
This is the price Israel pays for being a civilised society.
Complete inhumane barbarism, and the streets of Western democracies awash with people supporting them.
CORRECTION: The British government doesn’t actively support Hamas. I was referring to the recent diplomatic protection implicit in its recognition of the Palestinian state whilst the Hamas government was the extant authority.
I came across this photo which won the Royal Observatory annual competition.
It’s serenely beautiful.
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It is called “The Andromeda Core” by Weitang Liang, Qi Yang and Chuhong Yu.
This image showcases the core of the Andromeda galaxy in exceptional detail using a long focal-length telescope, taking advantage of excellent conditions at the AstroCamp observatory in Nerpio, Spain. The photographers focused on revealing the intricate structure of the galaxy’s central region and surrounding stellar population.
For me, that day was the return of the Nazis.
October-7 is one of the most recorded and documented massacres of modern history. The details of which are so dreadful that they amount to an attack on humanity itself, on our decency.
I watched the documentary “We Will Dance Again” (with raw footage of the October-7 attacks, the Nova music festival and the aftermath). The violence was horrific and the perpetrated by maniacs who were truly enjoying themselves. I would recommend pursuing Lord Roberts’ detailed Parliamentary report on the October-7 attack.
One thing that has stayed with me about October-7 is the terrible realisation of just how vulnerable Israelis were that day.
So, for me, this is one of the most important issue of our times.
The security of the only democracy in the Middle East and sanctuary of the Jewish people means so much. We cannot afford to lose.
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Since October-7, there has been a growing antisemitism on the progressive left which, I think, has inched closer to the centre left now. We’re all aware of the nasty strains of antisemitism on the right, but it amazes me still how many on the Left can regard a genocidal rampage as some kind of bona fide resistance movement. Then, proudly waving terrorist flags up-and-down our streets and haranguing Jews.
So many disguise their antisemitism as anti-Israel or anti-Zionist concerns. But we’re not fooled. See below, there are “pro-Palestinian” (aka: “pro-Hamas” because they never criticise Hamas) protests on Oct-7.
It’s like going to protest about Israel outside Auschwitz!
Beautiful painting.
The interior is sumptuously painted: ornately-carved doorway, a gilt-framed painting, graceful harpsichord, and luxuriously adorned silks.
Jan Steen was a famous Dutch genre painter often depicting satirical images with a “moralistic” cautionary overtone.
According to the Wallace Collection:
Here, a mismatched pair of lovers forms the subject: an old fool, in outmoded dress, masquerades as the music teacher of a prim young girl, seated at a harpsichord. The large key hanging prominently in the centre of the picture is placed on a line above the hand of the old man, implying his desire. That, however, his advances go unnoticed is indicated by the painting above it. It shows Venus, the goddess of love, and Cupid, the god of erotic desire, both of whom are asleep.
The suggestion of the teacher exploiting the student may be the case - accounting for his senescence.
Dutch art is replete with the theme of music lessons as a pretext for courtship. It’s interesting that the student is appears oblivious (which makes it all the more unpleasant).