Who Painted This? #43

Who painted this? #43

Sorry this is late. I know how keenly some of you wait for this weekly challenge!

I'd never seen this painting before and you might have some difficulty tracking it down. However after last week's I'm sure some of you will rise to the challenge!

It all depends on whether or not you recognise the style, think about the dates - and have been building up a series of links to possible sources.....

How to participate in "Who painted this? #41"

PLEASE make sure you read the rules before posting a comment - and ONLY POST ON THIS BLOG what you think is the answer.

Andrea Mantegna's 'Triumphs of Caeser' at Hampton Court Palace

Today I saw one of the undoubted top art treasures in the Royal Collection and the UK.  What I viewed in the former Orangery at Hampton Court Palace, were the nine panels of the Triumphs of Caeser by Andrea Mantegna.  This has been variously described as:

• the largest and most important area of Italian Renaissance pageant painting in the world - outside Italy, 
• what's been called the first truly historical painting of events which took place in Rome around 45BC and 
• the best artwork Andrea Mantegna ever painted - according to Georgio Vasari. 

Eight of the Nine Panels of the Triumphs of Caeser (1484-1492) by Andrea Mantegna (1431-1506)
photo by Katherine Tyrrell

It's an absolutely splendid work and I highly recommend it to anybody with an interest in Italian Renaissance painting - or contemplating a grand series of paintings.

It's particularly strong on perspective and the development of a very complex narrative of figures, animals and objects in one continuous painting.

Some facts about the Triumphs of Caeser

There are nine panels in total painted in egg tempera and glue tempera on canvas.  Each panel is 2.66m x 2.78m - meaning the whole artwork measures more than 70 metres square.

The paint has deteriorated and they no longer have the impact they would have done in the cinquecento however as Anthony Blunt, who as Keeper of the Queen's Pictures, supervised their restoration has said

"The Triumphs may be a ruin but it is a noble one, one as noble as those of ancient Rome which Mantegna so deeply admired."
Anthony Blunt

The series of paintings represent excerpts from one of the Triumphs of Julius Caeser or a composite representation of all of Caeser's Triumphs.  Gaius Julius Caesar lived between 100BC and 44BC.

A Triumph was the greatest award which could be given to a Roman General.   It's very clear that the series of paintings represent the edited highlights version and that the real Triumphal procession would be a great deal longer - and lasted three days!

Below are photographs of the individual panels.

The Hang - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013

Further to my Review - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013 - one of the comments I made was that it was a pity there were no photographs of the hang of the exhibition on the website.

I take that comment back! I've now found the UKCPS's Facebook Page and the Gallery of 16 photos which display the hanging of the exhibition in the Pavilion Gallery at Patchings.

Gallery of 16 photos of the UKCPS Exhibition at Patchings on the UKCPS Facebook Page

I still think it's a pity that the same photos aren't also available on the UKCPS website - however since this is a Facebook Page the content is public and can be viewed by all members and anybody else who would like to take a look. 

It just goes to show the value of an Art Society having a Facebook Page!

I'm not going to comment on the hang - I'm on my way out the door for a day's sketching (in coloured pencils of course!) on Hampstead Heath - but I would encourage you to take a look and see what you think.  

For me it certainly highlighted a few works which caught my eye.  Size as always helps. Matting and framing make a very big difference to presentation. I was particularly impressed by the presentation of Kate Clarke's work which looks very pleasing - and innovative.

Regular readers will be aware that one of the things I do in reviewing annual exhibitions is highlight "the look" in terms of current trends in hanging - and also how work is hung.

I think it's about time I pulled together the themes which run through those posts - and I must get on and do a series of posts about matting, framing and hanging artwork in exhibitions.  They've been on my "to do" list for too long!

Link: United Kingdom Coloured Pencil Society

Review - UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2013

Lesley Sharman has won the top award for pure coloured pencil artwork at the UK Coloured Pencil Society's 12th Open International Exhibition 2013.

This opened on the 1st September in the Pavilion Gallery at Patchings in Nottinghamshire and continues until the 6th October 2013.

This post:

• details the awardwinners and provides links to both the artwork and artist's websites
• comments on the exhibition and its implications for the future of UKCPS.

Best in Show on the UKCPS website

UKCPS 12th Annual Open International Exhibition 2012 - Award Winners

You can find the Award Winners on the UKCPS website. I've also got them listed below along with links to their websites and artwork.

I was sad to see that the Prize for Still Life which memorialised Peter Woof is apparently no more.  I also note that the award for more abstract art has morphed into "most modern interpretation" whatever that means!

Name	Work	Prizes
Lesley Sharman UKCPS	Blue Door	UKCPS Award: Best in Show (£300)
Malcolm Cudmore UKCPS	Happy As……	Great Art Award, Runner Up to Best in Show
Irina Garmashova-Cawton UKCPS	Black Moon	UKCPS President’s Award
Martin Vela	The End of the Queue	Bruynzeel-Sakura Best Pure Coloured Pencil Award
Sue Andrew	John Andrew	Pencil4Artists Award for Creative Use of Colour AND Caran d'Ache Award - Best Portrait
Jean Canter UKCPS	Snow on Epsom Common	Peter Weatherill Award for Best Landscape/Building
Kris Owen	Pleasant Pheasant	Creative Suppot Art Shop Award for Best Wildlife Animal
Beverley Courtney	Lacylu	RK Burt Award for Best Domestic Animal
J Y Chang UKCPS	Harmony	St Cuthberts Mill Award for Best Modern Interpretation
Suzy Herbert UKCPS ASGFA	Just Two Pairs	Derwent Award for Best Botanical
Morryce J Maddams UKCPS	The High Street	Highly Commended
Kate Clarke UKCPS	White Rabbit (Miniature drawn onto a gold watch)	Highly Commended
Amy Horton	Free Range	Highly Commended
Hazel Tucker	Nosey Cow	Highly Commended

You can also see all the images of work selected for a show in a Picasa album.  I urge you to view these in the slideshow option as the quality seems to be slightly better.

I have to say I'm somewhat surprised by the selection made for some of the prizes.  I'm also guessing I might not be alone in this view. To take an obvious example, I find it very odd that last year's "best in show" winner didn't figure among the prizewinners or Highly Commended this year despite submitting two excellent portraits.

Review of the exhibition

Major Art Exhibitions in London September - November 2013

Poster for Whistler in London
at the Dulwich Picture Gallery - opens October

This is my update about major Art Exhibitions exhibitions on display in London between September and November 2013.

Major Art Galleries and Museums in the UK

British Museum

Great Russell Street, London, WC1B 3DG

The British Museum is tackling a topic not often seen in major exhibitions in a national museum. Should be interesting!

• Until 29 September 2013  Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum Advance booking essential (App for the Exhibition - for Apple and Android).  Now with extended hours - and much better once the children are back at school.
• 3 October 2013 – 5 January 2014 Shunga: sex and pleasure in Japanese art (Parental guidance advised for visitors under 16) The exhibition sheds new light on this taboo art form within Japanese social and cultural history.  The paintings, prints and books inspired Toulouse-Lautrec, Beardsley, Rodin and Picasso.
• 29 August – 3 November 2013 Women of the pleasure quarters - This rare surviving Japanese painted screen depicts elaborately dressed courtesans

Courtauld Gallery

Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN

• 20 June – 8 September 2013 Collecting Gauguin: Samuel Courtauld in the '20s. Catch the last week of this small but excellent exhibition 
• 19 September 2013 – 12 January 2014 Richard Serra - Drawings for the Courtauld This is an opportunity to see radical new drawings - produced using dense black litho crayon on transparent plastic sheets.  Richard Serra is an American minimalist sculptor and video artist who is known for producing large scale steel sculptures and normally exhibits with the Gagosian Gallery.
• 17 October 2013 - 12 January 2014 The Young Dürer - Drawing the Figure This exhibition focuses on the early part of Durer's career and the drawings he made between 1590-1596 when he travelled widely and saw much new art.  Here's a sample of the drawings which will be on display.  This is a related exhibition.

Make sure you don't miss the Courtauld's permanent collection. It includes some very famous paintings in galleries which are a pleasure to visit. This is an interactive map of the gallery. You can take photographs in the gallery as long as you do not use your flash or a tripod.

Dulwich Picture Gallery