Looking at Art Group Activities
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LOOKING AT ART June – July 2018 Newsletter April 2018: During this session the group discussed the artist Paul Cezanne. He was born in Aix-en-Provence, France in January 1839. His father was a rich banker and, unlike many artists of the time, Cezanne had a lifetime of financial security. When he was a young teenager he met Emile Zola, the French writer, and they became lifelong friends. He studied drawing for six years under the tutorage of a Spanish monk, Joseph Gilbert. During his early life he also met the artist Pissarro who also became his friend and mentor, encouraging artistic talent. Cezanne was 14 when he began seriously painting through his 67 years of life. He used many techniques and painted a wide variety of topics. May 2018: The Sistine Madonna The model for 'The Sistine Madonna’ is assumed to be Marguerite Luti, the daughter of a baker, and Raphael's mistress for the last twelve years of his life. She sat for at least ten paintings for Raphael, six of which were 'Madonnas'. The painting underwent restoration in 2000, and a series of X-rays revealed that she was originally painted wearing a large ruby ring, likely to be a betrothal ring. The background was filled with branches of myrtle and quince, sacred to the Greek Goddess Venus, symbolizing love, erotic desire, fertility and fidelity. These details, hidden for over 500 years, had been painted over, probably by one of Raphael's assistants, shortly after his death. The Transfiguration ‘The Transfiguration' is the last picture painted by Raphael. He worked on it for four years, from 1516 to the year he died in 1520. It is a very large painting (410 cm. by 279 cm.). It was commissioned by Pope Clement VII as an altar piece for the Cathedral of Narbonne, of which he was also the Archbishop. It was left unfinished by Raphael because he died in 1520. The painting was completed by his assistants Giuliani Romano and Giovanni Penni. However, the Cardinal kept the painting in Rome and on his accession to the Papacy in 1523 he gifted it to the church of San Pietro, in Montorio, Rome. In 1774 the new Pope Pius VI had a copy of it made out of mosaics and installed it in St Peters Basilica. The painting illustrates the dual human and divine nature of Christ. The upper part portrays the transfiguration of Christ flanked by Moses and Elijah on Mount Tabor, south east of Nazareth - as recorded in St Marks Gospel in the New Testament. Later the painting itself was looted by Napoleon in 1797 and taken to Paris, from where it was repatriated in 1815. As a results of major restoration in 1977 by artistic experts, the full colour of the painting is fully visible and has regained its former colourful splendour. The painting now hangs in the Vatican museum. Jean Graville-King February – March 2018 Newsletter Miniatures On 1st December, in the new venue at Priory Place, the Looking at Art group met to discuss miniature paintings. Miniatures were first painted to decorate hand-written books. ‘Miniature’ comes from the Latin word ‘miniare’ which means colour with red lead – a practice used for capital letters. From the 1460s hand-written books had to compete with printed books. At first miniaturists used watercolours to paint on velum. These first appeared in the 1520s at the English and French courts. Earliest examples were painted by the French artist JEAN CLOUET and the English artist LUCAS HORENBOUT. Portrait miniature of Henry VIII, 1525-26, by Lucas Horenbout, from a charter in the Fitzwilliam Museum. Miniatures were useful to the Monarchy. Wealthy Elizabethan subjects began to wear her image as a sign of loyalty, at a time when Protestant England was threatened by Catholic Spain. NICHOLAS HILLIARD and ISAAC OLIVER produced many miniatures during the reign of James the First in the 1600s. The first British artist to paint on ivory was Bernard Lens, about 1707. Ivory began to replace vellum. Portrait miniature of A Young Man Leaning Against a Tree Among Roses, possibly Robert Deveraux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1566-1601), by Nicholas Hilliard, 1585-95. (Victoria and Albert Museum, London) Until the 1760s most miniaturists had no professional training. Many were not even full time e.g. Luke Sullivan was an engineer and Thomas Frye ran a porcelain factory. In the early 18th century miniaturists experimented with ways to make it easier to paint ivory with watercolour. These included roughening the ivory, degreasing it or making the paint thicker. In 1768 a group of London based artists established the Royal Academy of Art. At the Academy‘s annual exhibition of miniatures, miniaturists displayed their work in a room crowded with large oil paintings. Many younger artists took up miniature painting offering clients keepsakes for their loved ones. Most came to London to find work but Thomas Hazlehurst found a lucrative market in his home town of Liverpool. In 1785 three miniaturists independently made the six-month voyage to India. They set up business in Madras and Calcutta, although they needed permission from the East India Company who effectively ran these areas. With many miniaturists based in India, the exchange of such portraits between India and England became cheap and easy. They could be posted or carried home by friends or relatives. Inevitably, with the arrival of photography in the first half of the century, the art of miniatures went into decline. This was especially noticeable at subsequent Royal Academy summer exhibitions, where miniaturists had been very prominent. It was ironic that many miniaturists were forced to make a living colour-tinting black and white photographs. In 1904 King Edward VII granted the Society of Miniaturists the Royal Charter. To highlight the society’s growing importance, a President’s Jewel was commissioned. This was a large silver chain of office (designed and made by Alfred Pock) which is still worn by current Presidents. Today, the patron of the Royal Society of Miniature Paintings is the Prince of Wales. Catherine de Medici by Francois Clouet (son of Jean Clouet). Watercolour on vellum. Jean Graville King October – November 2017 Newsletter The Looking at Art Group, led by Janet Gleadall, visited the Ferens Art Gallery in Hull in July. A lively discussion of some their Victorian paintings was subsequently discussed at the 1st September session. Among those of particular interest were Spencer Tunick, whose photographs of naked, blue Hull citizens, ‘Sea of Blue’ is notoriously well known. Sea of Blue, photograph Frederick Ellwells ‘The First Born’ and Thomas Pelham Hall ‘The Empty Cradle’. Two sides of Victorian life. The one celebrating new birth, the other indicating the sadness and prevalence of infant mortality. The First Born, oil painting (1913) The Vacant Cradle, oil painting A large canvas that covered most of a wall was Herbert Drapers, ‘Ulysses and the sirens’ painted in 1909. A particularly interesting one, by Sir Stanley Spencer, usually known for his paintings of naked women, and period studies of Glaswegian industry, was ‘Separating Fighting Swans’ painted in 1932. Separating Fighting Swans, (1932) I recommend a visit to the gallery. Entrance is free. There is a moderately priced, licenced café and the staff are particularly helpful. Jean Graville-King April – May 2017 Newsletter Looking at Art A recent topic we addressed in the Looking at Art group was ‘Colour: The Art and Science of Illuminated Manuscripts ‘ This was an exhibition held in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge which I visited in December 2016. This museum holds the largest collection of Illuminated Manuscripts in existence. The museum was established by Viscount Fitzwilliam in 1816, who was a collector who recognised that such manuscripts were a ‘monument to lost art’. Others have donated their collections since. The curators of the Fitzwilliam have, wherever possible also purchased important manuscripts when they came up for sale at Christies or Sotheby’s to prevent them leaving the country… Paul Getty has much to answer in this regard since his vast wealth often enabled him to bid highly for the works of art he coveted for his private collection. Thus many works of art are lost to this country. Over time many paintings, wall panels were destroyed by war, greed, puritanical zeal or simply time. Illuminated manuscripts are the richest source for the study of European painting between 6th and 16th centuries. Via study of the manuscripts you can imaginatively travel from 8th century Northumberland, 17th century Napal, via Oxford, Paris, Bruges, Florence Constantinople and Jerusalem. In the four years preparing for this exhibition, scholars using modern technology made new discoveries regarding pigment used and materials rarely associated with manuscript illumination. e.g. Smalt – obtained by grinding blue glass, detected in an illuminated book circa 1420 e.g. Analysis of sketches lying beneath the paint surface shows later additions and changes to manuscripts. e.g. Adam and Eve, originally shown naked in an ABC book commissioned in 1550 by Queen Anne of Brittany for her 4 year old daughter. A later owner of the book offended by the nudity gave Eve a slip, Adam a short skirt. Infra-red imaging techniques made it possible to reconstruct the original pictures without harming the book. What impressed me about those many, many manuscripts in the exhibition was the sheer amount of gold present. The gold was laid on very thick. Obviously those who commissioned these manuscripts were very rich indeed. One particular illuminated book was the Macclesfield Psalter Apparently the Earl of Macclesfield failed to notice that the gaily coloured old book in his library was one of the greatest works of art in British history.