The First Georgians - Art &Monarchy, 1714-1760, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; 11April - 12 October 2014

The First Georgians - Art &Monarchy, 1714-1760, The Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace; 11 April - 12 October 2014

The Queen’s Gallery at Buckingham Palace has put together a wealth of information in the shape of letters, paintings, maps and works of art to portray the world of Georgian England. In 1714 Georg Ludwig, Elector of Hanover in Germany became King George I, the country’s first constitutional monarch and this exhibition marks the 300th anniversary of his succession.

The exhibition opens with a stunning oil painting of George I, King of Great Britain and Ireland, whose claim to the throne was legitimate but he was only 50th in line and was chosen for his religion. He is presented as a Roman soldier, in full armour, a symbol of peace and prosperity. The many letters and maps that are displayed include Johannes Kip’s “View and Perspective of London, Westminster and St James Park. It paints a splendid panaroma of London in 1715 and shows the royal residences of St James Palace and George I with his children in carriages. Medals commemorating the Battle of Culloden and designed by Richard Yeo are on display as is a portrait of the Duke of Cumberland; an important and seasoned soldier in the city’s history who was admired for his courage. 

 A section of the exhibition is devoted to William Hogarth, a brilliant satirist and the man instrumental in starting printmaking in Eighteeth century England. He set up an independent copper plate engraving company, undertaking small commissions such as shop cards or book illustrations. Much of his work was based on modern moral subjects and he had a fascination with life in the city. He eventually had 240 subscribers and became immensely popular. We see also the beautiful furniture that was being made such as a pair of magnificent James Moore Pier stands and a table with the cipher GR meaning Georgious Rex in prominent display. 

Some stunning paintings are on display including Trophine Bigot’s “Christ in the Carpenter’s shop” which was in the style of Caravaggio and which restates the biblical story in a modern scene. The oil lamp in the painting suggests the light of the world and the luminous, beautiful quality of the carpenter’s face and his wife’s is radiant against the black of the chosen background. A room full of beautiful miniatures can be seen, most of which are in perfect condition as is a room of decorative plates..  The William Kent frame surrounding the painting by Rubens of “The Holy family with St Francis” is unbelievably intricate; details of acorns running down the each side of the painting. It is a world of ornate but discreet splendour with other decorative objects to be seen such as rifles, snuff boxes, gold boxes and so on. The rapid growth of the luxury industry in the Georgian period can be felt. In Philip Mercier’s painting of “A music party” we see Frederick, prince of Wales playing music with his sisters. Here a down to earth new version of the royal family is depicted: a boy with his family engaged in the arts. It shows a Georgian royal family that has managed to integrate itself into British society.  The enormous painting entitled “St James’ Park and the Mall”, portrays a country setting where princes walk in public parks rubbing shoulders with other people of many race, rank and sex. It is of immense interest and opens insight into the world of Georgian London. The new bourgeois society shows husband and wife to be equal seen also in the lively, cheerful Hogarth painting of Garrick and his wife, Eva Maria Veigel. We see Mrs Veigel tiptoeing behind her husband with the hope of snatcing away his pen. There are two astounding Canaletto’s in the exhibition which for me formed the highlight of the show. Both are of scenes of London and the Thames; both are stunning and accurate portrayals of the city as seen by the artist. The immediacy of his work is attesting.

 All shapes and forms of life in the setting of Georgian England and London are conveyed in this eclectic and thought provoking exhibition. It is well worth a visit. 

Larissa Woolf, Arts Editor, Visitmuseums.com

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Henri Matisse - The cut outs - Tate Modern

Henri Matisse - The cut outs - Tate Modern, London until 7th September 2014

This is a once in a life time exhibition of one of the world’s greatest artists of all time as he discovered a new artistic genre; Henri Matisse. Matisse invented a ground breaking new method of art in the brilliant final chapter of his life - that of cutting shapes and assembling them to form new paintings of swirling, brilliant colours; namely the cut outs.  The Tate Modern has assembled some 120 of his works and take us on a detailed journey of his inner thinking and creations.  Many of these works are too fragile to travel or be exhibited again so this may be the last time you will be able to admire them.

Born in 1869 Matisse’ preferred artistic genre up until the 1940’s was oil but health problems limited his mobility and he soon was forced to develop a new art form leading him to the cut outs. This involved using repainted sheets of colour which were to become his ‘palette’ from which he would cut out numerous shapes using gigantic scissors which he would then assemble into paintings using his assistants to help him.  One of his most beautiful creations on display is his huge book called Jazz. “Two Dancers” is part of Jazz whereby we see two bounding black figures who are barely contained by the frame surrounding them and the juxtaposition of black, blue and red. Matisse had a passion for colour, portrayed in all of his work, especially “The Horse, The Rider and the Clown” where he places the sharp purple of the horse against a bright blue background. In ‘The Cowboy’ Matisse adventurously mixes greens, yellows and blues as the background to his two black subject forms. The colour effect is brilliant and uplifting and as you weave through the show it is hard not to feel a sense of delight and positive energy and you can see why Matisse was called the greatest colourist of the twentieth century.

Somehow Matisse was able to find a way to access a whole realm of stored images in his mind and he worked at a prolific pace. He said himself: ‘With my eyes wide open I absorbed everything as a sponge absorbs liquid. It is only now that these wonders have returned to me, with tenderness and clarity” We see how his studio in Vence became the foundation for his cut outs which he composed directly on the wall and many shapes emerged: coral, algae, birds, fish, plant and seaweed shapes and these were assembled all together to create a myriad of shapes and colours on the walls of his studio.The video footages of Matisse and his assistant at work together in his studio are particularly interesting. Much of Matisse’ work culminated in his famous designs for the Domenican Chapel of the Rosary in Vence whereby he took on the whole decorative scheme of the Vence chapel from the stain glass windows to the chasuble robes worn by the priests. He turned his entire studio and bedroom into a replica chapel so he was immersed at all times in it. We see how the pale blue window is composed of panels of different colours with green taking up half and blue the other. The chapel is quintessentially mediterranean. 

One of the highlights of the show, certainly for me, is Matisse’ Blue Nudes, assembled as they are all together in one room. They are a pure delight and the most striking example of what Matisse called himself “cutting directly into colour” as if they are sculptures. Blue Nude IV was the first of the series which show faint lines of charcoal drawings and layered separate small pieces of blue paper as Matisse struggled with the shape. The other Blue Nudes were cut in one single movement  and you see how each shape combines to make a whole.Their grace and beauty are timeless. Similarly his ‘Snail’ is likewise astounding; as Matisse drew from nature to create a work of art where he distills the movement of the snail into a cartwheel of colours. 

It is a veritable treasure of images, compositions and colour revealing Matisse to be not only a talented artist but a pioneer of a new art form. The extraordinary energy and sense of joy that emanates from his works is incredible. It is an exhibition that is a must for your diary.!

Larissa Woolf, Arts Editor Visitmuseums.com

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