I had a bit of an art binge and a dose of art history yesterday, on the way back to the District Line from the Philip Mould Gallery.
Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna by Lord Frederic Leighton 222 x 521 cm |
"Reassorted" at the Mall Galleries
First, I called in at the Mall Galleries - to see William Feaver's curated selection of portraits from the recent Annual Exhibition of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. It's called Reassorted and it's quite remarkable what a new curation can do for a hang.
I'll comment more on this tomorrow. However, I recommend people take a look if you are in town and wanting to see art.
The King's Paintings at the National Gallery
I then thought I'd go and capture some other pics of Royals at the National Gallery - and came across the longest queue I've ever seen trying to enter the Main Entrance to National Gallery via the steps. Puzzling over this I walked to the other entrance and asked the security guard who said "As soon as it pours with rain, everybody heads for the National Gallery!" and let me in.... :)
I then went in search of King Charles I - which you can now see in this Facebook Post
The thing about the ongoing renovations to the National Gallery and the current closure of the Sainsbury Wing is that the art seems to keep moving around! Very little is where it used to be. Which requires regular visits to keep up with what can be seen and where it can be seen.
One of the things I noticed were some extremely large 'new' paintings - as in they're old - but I'm not used to seeing them at the National Gallery. It turned out that these belong to the King who has made them available to the National Gallery.
So here's what you can now see. (Some of you will be aware of these - and some will not. My practice is to go and pay quick visits to favourites and then periodically have a long slow walk around everywhere!)
Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna
- measures more than two metres tall and more than five metres wide
- was painted by Leighton from 1853 to 1855 in Rome as his first major work.
Extract (extreme left) of Cimabue's Celebrated Madonna in front of the 'Madonna', and crowned with laurels, walks Cimabue with his pupil Giotto; |
This was Leighton's first major work, painted in Rome. It was shown at the Academy in 1855. It was an immediate success, and Queen Victoria bought it for 600 guineas on opening day. She recorded in her diary: 'There was a very big picture by a man called Leighton. It is a beautiful painting, quite reminding one of a Paul Veronese, so bright and full of light. Albert was enchanted with it - so much so that he made me buy it.'
The Triumphs of Caeser
Mantegna: The Triumphs of Caesar – you can hear the trumpets and smell the elephant dung
The first three of the Triumphs of Ceaser |
The 'Triumphs' have since seldom left Hampton Court, but their dedicated gallery is now undergoing refurbishment (completion planned for 2026). Six of the nine are on display in the National Gallery, having been generously loaned by His Majesty the King.
Three more Triumphs |
'The Triumphs' show the ancient Roman ruler Julius Caesar (about102‒44 BC) returning from his successful military campaigns. The nine paintings form a sequence depicting a single procession with Julius Caesar borne on a chariot passing in front of a triumphal arch. He is preceded by Roman soldiers, standard-bearers, musicians, and the spoils of war, which include weapons, artworks, gold and silver, prisoners and animals.The 'Triumphs' were acquired by King Charles I of England in 1629, when he purchased many Gonzaga treasures. They were considered the jewel in the crown of the king’s paintings.
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