Women Painters in Early Modern Italy
A free online art appreciation course to survey the careers of the most notable early modern Italian women painters, who achieved fame among their contemporaries but whose artistic oeuvres became obscured over time.
My five top exhibitions of 2023—and one complete turkey
Although I have put re-visiting permanent collections first, in 2023 I also visited many excellent exhibitions. On the other hand, only one exhibition has left me disheartened.
Determined, diligent, dynamic women artists
Introducing Women Painters in Early Modern Italy, a free online art appreciation course to present and contextualize the work of a selection of women artists who were born and spent most of their lives in Italy during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Two particularly notable paintings by Lavinia Fontana
It’s fair to say that almost every painting featured in Lavinia Fontana: Trailblazer, Rule Breaker, the exhibition that the National Gallery of Ireland is currently dedicated to the Bolognese artist, has the power of charming the viewer but two in particular – Cleopatra (1585 ca. or 1605) and Venus and Mars (1595 ca.) – have had me hooked on their iconography since the exhibition opened in May.
Atelier Lavinia Fontana
Alla National Gallery of Ireland la mostra “Lavinia Fontana: pioniera e trasgressiva” celebra l’opera dell’artista bolognese che, precorrendo i tempi e trasgredendo le norme vigenti, fece dell’arte la propria professione e del genere del ritratto una raffinata forma di comunicazione.
(re)Acting Rembrandt
The whole face has a life. Showing the whites of the eyes and opening the mouth in disbelief, Rembrandt’s face is acting. Or better re-acting. It’s as if I gave him a start coming from behind the corner, and he had exclaimed ‘Goodness! You gave me quite a turn, creeping up like that!’
Two unconventional self-portraits for a twofold problem
How these two Baroque self-portraits, which resort to the personification of Painting to frame the artist as an object of admiration – or, someone may say, to divert viewers’ gaze from a face that didn’t launch a thousand ships, connect to one another despite all their notable differences?
Thomas Gainsborough, like the poet with the two mistresses
Before entering the exhibition rooms, I heard art historian Lindsay Stainton saying to BBC News: “Good God. That’s a study for Cornard Wood, and all of these are early Gainsborough drawings.” And “Good God indeed. That’s what you call a Aha! Eureka moment” was what I said to myself when I left.
A putti bonanza in a limited palette
A set of ten large paintings, displayed in one of the most recently redecorated rooms of Dublin Castle, has always made me gaze up with wonder because of the painting technique by which they were executed, but also the considerable (someone may say excessive) number of putti depicted.
Talking (Dog) Portraits
With the old-favourite Italian saying in mind ‘Al cane manca solo la parola’ (that translates ‘if only they could speak’) and considering the life they lived, it is no surprise that the four-legged creatures featured in La mia storia nell’arte. Ritratti di cani memorabili have a story (or two) to tell. Four Italian authors have told their stories in a way that, though unconventional, makes the book differ from similar titles.
A portrait true to (Spanish court) life
Until fairly recently, Portrait of Prince Alessandro Farnese was not one of the paintings I would have made a beeline for when calling in the National Gallery of Ireland. And yet it was the one I went looking for when the gallery finally re-opened its doors to visitors.
Light and Atmosphere: Turner's Interior of a Great House
Diving into the Tate Britain’s collection online I discovered ‘Interior of a Great House: The Drawing Room, East Cowes Castle’ by J.M.W. Turner. This I found intriguing and not only for its subject matter.
Mental Bubble Wraps
Coined by journalist Elizabeth Young, the expression refers to those pieces of writing that can be popped by bored or anxious readers the way bubble wraps are.
Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland
A review of Exhibiting Art in Georgian Ireland – The Society of Artists’ Exhibitions Recreated, an exhibition organised by the Irish Georgian Society to mark the restoration of the City Assembly House and to celebrate the Society of Artists in Ireland who erected the building over 250 years ago.
Behind Me, Ahead of Me
For the past two years I’ve looked back on the year that was ‘in art’, that is to say listing the places and the art exhibitions visited, but this time I feel I can’t leave out a couple of events that made the year truly memorable.
Enchanting Jacquemart-André Museum
Visiting what once was the private home of banker Édouard André and artist Nélie Jacquemart in Paris.
Dublin Type
Once upon a time I used to stroll around the streets of Dublin with a DSLR camera around my neck looking for attractive and unusual type fonts and styles. The town and its surroundings never failed to deliver.
Glittering Vienna
Ooh Vienna! One single late afternoon walk around the Innere Stadt had me smitten with the city!
Photo Opportunity
Every now and then, a notification that invites me to take photos and add them to Google Map appears in the upper left-hand corner of my mobile. I haven't turn it off yet because it amuses me more often than not.
A ‘Trop Athlétique’ Napoleon
Last year, in the space of just a couple of months, I came across a statue of a naked Napoleon twice.