Sunday, February 28, 2010
An Interesting Fact about Paint Storage History
I have just learnt that before the invention of metal paint tubes in 1841 by John Rand, paints were stored in pieces of pig's bladder and could dry up even before the bladder was pierced. The invention has allowed an artist to work on their own without a need for a workshop to prepare materials estimating how much paint is needed and when.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Art Exhibitions in London
I just returned from London where I had a wonderful time not only catching up with my friends but also spending hours at art exhibitions. I think I squeezed in as many as possible and in the end I was so saturated that I felt dizzy looking at some of my favourite paintings during my last gallery trip. In a week I visited National and Portrait Galleries, Tate Modern, Royal Academy of Art, Royal College of Art and the Courtauld Gallery.
Van Gogh's exhibition was particularly outstanding. I have seen a lot of his work in Amsterdam and other museums including a big exhibition in New York but this one has really given the most rounded view of the artist. It included a vast selection of his drawings, studies, paintings and letters with sketches, some were on public view for the first time. There were rooms and rooms filled with his works where one could see how he was developing his vision and painting skills. He wrote a lot to his younger brother Theo about his work including new techniques, color theory and other concepts. He often made a drawing in a letter of the painting that he was working on. Here is one of the examples when in November 1888, Van Gogh wrote to Theo to tell him about his recent painting of a sower:
And here are some other paintings from the exhibition:
Vincent van Gogh, 'Still Life with a Plate of Onions', Early January 1889
Vincent Van Gogh, 'Cypresses', June 1889.
Another interesting exhibit included works of Arshile Gorky. Many are not familiar with this artist who immigrated to America when he was still a child and grew to become a key figure in the New York art world during the 1930s and 1940s. His name is homage to a Soviet writer Maxim Gorky allowing people believe to be his relation. I saw a big Kandinsky influence in a lot of his works. Here is one painting that my friends two year old son especially liked and kept coming back to.
Arshille Gorky 'Waterfall' 1943
I was also amazed by an exhibit of Michelangelo's drawings that were new to me. The Dream is part of the drawings presented by Michelangelo to Tommaso de'Cavalieri, a young Roman nobleman with whom he had fallen passionately in love. Here is a fragment of the Dream.
Van Gogh's exhibition was particularly outstanding. I have seen a lot of his work in Amsterdam and other museums including a big exhibition in New York but this one has really given the most rounded view of the artist. It included a vast selection of his drawings, studies, paintings and letters with sketches, some were on public view for the first time. There were rooms and rooms filled with his works where one could see how he was developing his vision and painting skills. He wrote a lot to his younger brother Theo about his work including new techniques, color theory and other concepts. He often made a drawing in a letter of the painting that he was working on. Here is one of the examples when in November 1888, Van Gogh wrote to Theo to tell him about his recent painting of a sower:
And here are some other paintings from the exhibition:
Vincent van Gogh, 'Still Life with a Plate of Onions', Early January 1889
Vincent Van Gogh, 'Cypresses', June 1889. Another interesting exhibit included works of Arshile Gorky. Many are not familiar with this artist who immigrated to America when he was still a child and grew to become a key figure in the New York art world during the 1930s and 1940s. His name is homage to a Soviet writer Maxim Gorky allowing people believe to be his relation. I saw a big Kandinsky influence in a lot of his works. Here is one painting that my friends two year old son especially liked and kept coming back to.
Arshille Gorky 'Waterfall' 1943
I was also amazed by an exhibit of Michelangelo's drawings that were new to me. The Dream is part of the drawings presented by Michelangelo to Tommaso de'Cavalieri, a young Roman nobleman with whom he had fallen passionately in love. Here is a fragment of the Dream.
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