This painting from 1884, Madame X, is probably John Singer Sargent’s most famous piece with an intriguing back story. It wasn’t a commission but self-initiated by Sargent as he thought this painting would make his reputation in Paris. It did but certainly not in the way he had anticipated. Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau was a […]
The story behind Madame X by John Singer Sargent
Gauguin & The Impressionists at the Royal Academy.
I sometimes ask myself : “do we really need another Impressionist exhibition?” so visited this Royal Academy show of work from the Danish collector Ordrupgaard with no expectations. My looking, however, was well rewarded. I have an issue with Gauguin (not the one you might think) which I won’t go into here so haven’t included […]
Balcony Life & The Nomadic Dye Garden
On until the end of September, Ross Belton’s Balcony Life, a fabric installation and nomadic dye garden by Modern Eccentrics (Ross & Jonathan) can be seen at St Saviour’s, (formerly The Florence Trust). I attended one of Ross’s workshops a few years ago and have stayed in contact since. I discovered this new location where […]
Aubrey Beardsley at Tate Britain. Post 2 of 2
It’s always interesting to see who and what has directly influenced an artist and it was enlightening to find more out in this exhibition. Contemporary artists instrumental in Beardsley’s development included Edward Burne-Jones and JM Whistler. Japanese woodblock prints exerted a huge influence on many artists in terms of format as well as style – […]
Aubrey Beardsley at Tate Britain. Post 1 of 2
I visited the Aubrey Beardsley exhibition at Tate Britain when it reopened and was surprised at how large it was, especially considering the brevity of his career: only 6 years. Most remembered now for his illustrations of Oscar Wilde’s Salomé, (as a teenager I had a poster of the Peacock Skirt on my wall), his […]
Visiting the National Gallery by appointment.
The pandemic has changed the museum experience for the foreseeable future with many organisations moving collections online. There’s nothing thought like standing in front of the real thing. Walking around a pre-selected route in the National Gallery brought me to paintings I’d either never seen or that I hadn’t previously had much chance to spend […]