JULY MEETING - ARTISTS WHO HAVE BEEN TO THE SLADE SCHOOL
OF FINE ART
Wendy intrigued us with her choice of Rex Whistler (1905-1944) a brilliant and
prolific illustrator who, amongst many other things, painted this 58 foot long
mural on canvas which was glued to the plaster on the wall in Plas Newydd, the
home of the Marquis of Anglesey.
Next was Andrea and her story of
Dora Carrington, one of the
Bloomsbury Group, who painted this
portrait of her lover Lytton
Strachey.
Glennis finds this Merry-Go-Round
painted by Mark Gertler in 1916
compelling. It is now taken to be an
expression of hatred against the war
although at the time DH Lawrence saw it
as the anguish of Jews.
Nancy introduced us to Pauline Baynes who
started her career drawing maps for the
MOD. She was interested in the Luttrell
Psallter and did some drawings which she left
with the publishers George Allen & Unwin.
These were seen by Tolkien who decided that
he wanted her to illustrate all his books.
Denise told us of Derek Jarman who
was a prolific designer, film producer
and garden creator. This painting is
the cover of an album by Coil “How to
Destroy Angels”
Finally, as Jenny had missed out on her
favourite painting in the previous
meeting, she brought along this lovely
“Wetland Willows” by Lesley Fawcett
from Dorset.
Jenny’s version is a gicle print of batik
on silk which she and her daughter like
so much they share it!
AUGUST MEETING - PAINTINGS WE DISLIKE (PRE 20TH CENTURY)
A very lively meeting with much exclamation at the variety of disliked paintings
that had been brought along!
Wendy led with Heironymus Bosch (c1450-1516) and his “Garden of Earthly
Delights”, painted c1510-1515 in oil on wood panels (220 x 389 cm) and
currently held by the Musea del Prado in Madrid. Bosch had a strong sense of
fantasy and used this in his very detailed paintings which he used to illustrate
moral and religious concepts. He was born in what is known today as The
Netherlands and spent much of his life in the Brotherhood of Our Lady. His
style was highly influential and widely imitated by his numerous followers.
Next Glennis shared her dislike of Guiseppe
Arcimboldo’s portraits featuring fruit and
vegetables. Arcimboldo lived from 1527-1593 and
painted this particular version of “Summer” around
1573 in oil on canvas and held in the Louvre, Paris,
Jean Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699-1779)
pictures of dead animals were Andrea’s
“choice”.
There was discussion about the
fashion for these sort of paintings during
Chardin’s lifetime - his own preference was for
domestic pots and pans but he had to make a
living! This “Still Life with Two Rabbits” was
painted in oil on canvas (50 x 57cm) and can be
see in the Musée de Picardie.
None of us liked Jan’s offering by
Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) entitled
“Anatomical Pieces”: oil on canvas
(52x64cms) from the Musée Fabre,
Montpellier
Jenny made us laugh as she dislikes the
whole Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood but, in
particular , “Prosperpine” by Dante Gabriel
Rossetti (1828-1882) painted in 1874 oil on
canvas (125x61cm) in Tate Britain.
Jenny described the Brotherhood as
sentimental with no message, appeal or
attraction. She felt the women models were
revolting, gloomy, androgynous and all the
same. The only redeeming feature Jenny
could find was the splendid treatment of the
robes, draperies etc.
Nancy told us about the Isenheim altarpiece, a wooden panel on which Matthias
Grünewald (1470 - 1528) painted “a sermon in pictures” in oils. This was
supposed to bring spiritual comfort to the dying but depicts the particular skin
diseases the patients suffered from (St Anthony’s Fire) and horror in the
contorted body and scourge marks
Margaret and Denise both chose Edvard
Munch’s “The Scream”.
There are
actually five versions painted from 1895
to 1910, one is a lithograph. The best
known version was created in 1893: oil,
tempera and pastel on cardboard, and is
currently in the National Gallery, Oslo.
It is believed that Munch was fully in
the grip of psychological torment when
he painted this.
In spite of the subject, or perhaps even
because of it, the discussions were
animated and full of laughter.
However, we are looking forward to
September and the beginning of our new
year when we will be sharing paintings
we have recently discovered.