Leonardo da Vinci Forster Codices at the V & A Museum, London

Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebooks (Forster Codices) late 15th / early 16th century, Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, Victoria and Albert Museum Permanent Collections, London. For further details visit, www.VisitMuseums.com By Larissa Woolf, VisitMuseums.com Arts Editorial Contributor

Amongst all the delights and riches that are on offer to view at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London make sure you take a detour to discover this small yet incredibly important group of notebooks in the permanent collection. Leonardo da Vinci, the grand master of paintings and inventions, used to note and sketch many of his ideas, observations and drawings. He started recording his thoughts in the late 1480’s and three of his small notebooks, – each the size of an outstretched hand – have survived the test of time and have come to the Victoria and Albert Museum as a bequest of the writer John Forster. Written in intricate handwriting in pen and ink on paper they are showcased together with an in depth commentary. You can digitally peruse each of the diaries to discover many of the different gems of thoughts and ideas that are in each. Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in Italy and was an artist, scientist and engineer. Perhaps best known for his enigmatic painting ‘The Mona Lisa’ in the Louvre Museum, he was regarded in his day as a true Renaissance man, a genius then and a genius now whose paintings and inventions changed the world. His interests were vast and eclectic and interestingly he wrote in Italian, not Latin and wrote from right to left. In diary one for example we see how he makes notes on a way of making harmless explosions in a room – as court artist in Milan he would have been responsible for court entertainment and performances. Interspersed with this, is detailed anatomical drawings. In Diary 2, we see his interest in the properties of vision that led him to consider problems of painting and representation. There are sketches of clouds for paintings on one page followed by philosophical thoughts on the nature of government. A sketch of the Virgin and Child which now also resides in the Louvre Museum, Paris is prefigured as are drawings of hats, studies for doorways, building designs, helmets and even the Milan cathedral. His insights in the Arts and Sciences were legendary

Truly interesting – a genuine piece of living history – you can catch a glimpse of his visions and garner an insight into the thought processes of a genius.

Leonardo da Vinci’s Notebooks (Forster Codices) late 15th / early 16th century, Medieval & Renaissance Galleries, Victoria and Albert Museum Permanent Collections, London. For further details visit www.VisitMuseums.com, London, UK.

Leonardo da Vinci, Forster Codices, Volumes I, II and III, Late 15th - early 16th Century.
V & A Museum, London, UK

Cult of Beauty Exhibition - V & A Museum, London

The Cult of Beauty, The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London from 2 April to 17 July 2011. See www.VisitMuseums.com for further details. By Larissa Woolf, VisitMuseums.com Arts Editorial Contributor

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is currently putting on a fantastic exhibition until 17 July 2011 on the Aesthetic Movement in Britain. This innovative show has bravely taken on a subject theme that is both wide and challenging as it embraces all areas of the art, literary, cultural and design world in late Victorian England. As you enter through its doors into this iconic cultural era you will be amazed by sublime Pre-Raphaelite paintings by the likes of grand masters such as Rossetti, Millais and Edward Burne Jones as well as iconic pieces of furniture, objets d’art and ceramics designed by craftsmen such as William de Morgan and Lawrence Alma Tadema, to name but a few of the grand masters on display.

The Aesthetic movement was characterised not only by the desire to create a new form of art based on the revolutionary ideal of ‘Art for Art’s sake’ but was a movement that was savagely reacting to the materialism, ugliness and rigidity of Victorian England. Artists were searching for a new kind of art free from the stiff cultural ideas and moral codes of the time and instead focused on what was beautiful and sensual. They aimed to create visual and tactile delights, art that didn’t have a moral or religious message and that had as one of its principal ideals the stimulation of one sense by another. The exhibition opens dramatically with ‘The Sluggard’- a stunning , life size statue by Leighton of an athlete waking up from sleep. The fact that this was not marble but painted to imitate bronze would have been a shock for many contemporary Victorians. We are introduced to the three key motifs of the Movement: the peacock, representing pure beauty and resurrection; sunflowers, symbol of masculine beauty and the lily; a new flower for the Victorian garden, representing purity. We learn that furniture became works of art as well as functional objects, such as the beautiful and evocative Edward Burne Jones sideboard, entitled ‘Ladies and Animals’. Ceramic tiles, chairs, stained glass panels and the wallpaper designs of William Morris, known throughout the world for his floral and vibrant patterns, are showcased. The craze for blue and white china and amassing as large a collection as possible paved the way for fierce competition between artists like Rossetti and Whistler. Moreover Japanese inspired motifs infiltrated all aspects of artistic life and shows its influence in many of the paintings, drawings and decorative objects.

Without doubt one of the most impressive sections of the exhibition is the array of Pre-Raphaelite portraits that adorn one of the first rooms of the show – the curators clearly set out to impress us and it works! Walking alongside these iconic and whimsical beauties is truly awe inspiring, amongst them Frederick Leighton’s Pavonia (1858-9), her sultry, decadent beauty reaching out to mock or inspire us; her face framed by a stunning, colourful array of peacock feathers. One moves from grand master painting to another – Rossetti’s ‘Veronica Veronese’ for example is tremendous. She sits in a rich green velvet dress with full lips, her trademark rich auburn hair, long neck and voluptuous curves in a passionate reverie, gently plucking her violin and contemplating life. These painters were truly creating new types of beauty, a new art, an aesthetic ideal.

Admittedly the exhibition is perhaps too adventurous, presenting us with a wealth of information that seems at times a little overwhelming as it tries to give us such an in depth critique of all the intricacies of the Aesthetic movement and its various champions and critics. We hear about the intense rivalry between John Ruskin and Whistler and the former’s virulent attack on Whistler’s pictures at the first Grosvenor show and his scorn for the concept of ‘Art for Art’s’ sake. Yet as you walk through and admire all the showcases you would be hard pressed not to find objects and paintings that correspond to your own personal interest. Jewellery by Edward Burne Jones , a purse by Jane Morris are juxtaposed with furniture designed by Godwin, Cameron’s black and white photos, Elgin’s marbles, and grand Pre-Raphaelite masterpieces such as Whistler’s ‘Symphony in White, Rosettti’s ‘Day Dream’ and Leighton’s ‘The Bath of Psyche. For me I was particularly transfixed by the two fans that were on display, one a black gruesome fan with bats encircling each other. The other fan, entitled ‘Fan of Lady X,’ in ink, watercolour, gouache on sandalwood was particularly unusual as a historical piece of social life, acting as a modern day autograph book with 39 artists’ autographs and portraits etched at the top of each baton. A social movement with strong links between the artists and its patrons we come across delightful portraits of aristocrats such as Frederic Leighton’s ‘Countess Bromlow’ and Millais’ realistic portrait of Kate Perugini, Dickens’ daughter as well as a video installation of the Peacock room, the most celebrated interior in the Aesthetic style. Not to forget a commentary on Oscar Wilde and the important role he had as the most famous aesthete of his time, his super subtle sensibility and passionate response to poetry and decoration so at odds with Victorianism.
My advice is to go the Victoria and Albert Museum as soon as you can.. And if you are a Pre-Raphaelite art lover, like me, allow plenty of time!

The Cult of Beauty, The Aesthetic Movement 1860-1900. At the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, London from 2 April to 17 July 2011. See www.VisitMuseums.com for further details.