tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89958982772350988052024-03-14T07:14:31.633+00:00The Painting of MelancholiaMy reviews of selected paintings with a potentially melancholy theme, based wherever possible on first-hand experience (in other words I have seen the actual painting not just a reproduction).Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger104125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-81090335386148474412015-02-20T15:00:00.001+00:002015-02-20T15:58:41.078+00:00Jenny Saville
Voice of the Shuttle (Philomela), 2014-15
Oil on Canvas (dimensions unknown)
Royal Academy, London
29 January 2015
In "La Peregrina" at the Royal Academy in London, Jenny Saville RA has curated an exhibition to show the influence of Rubens on 20th and 21st century artists ranging from Picasso to Sarah Lucas. As part of this personal response she has included a new Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-90238633508766804032015-02-06T18:20:00.000+00:002015-02-06T18:20:35.831+00:00Peder Balke
Northern Lights, 1870s
Oil on Panel 20 x 10cm
National Gallery, London
19 January 2015
I was in the National Gallery waiting for my timed slot for the Late Rembrandt exhibition and thought I would kill time having a look at the free exhibition of the work of Norwegian painter, Peder Balke. An artist almost unknown outside of Scandinavia, that I had never heard of, using Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-30914119886595471862014-11-24T14:58:00.001+00:002014-11-24T15:11:30.592+00:00
Dexter Dalwood
Double Portrait Camden Town, 2013Oil on Canvas 150 x 220cmSimon Lee Gallery, London20 November 2014
I have been looking forward to seeing new
work by Dexter Dalwood for some time and my visit to his current show at the
Simon Lee Gallery (until 24 January 2015) in London didn’t disappoint.
I was keen to see how his work has changed since his exhibition at theUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-70735063625410682992010-10-02T13:35:00.001+01:002010-10-04T11:49:05.425+01:00Ged Quinn
The Fall, 2006
Oil on Canvas 153 x 250cm
Saatchi Gallery, London
19 August 2010
I must admit I was a little disappointed with the Newspeak: British Art Now (Part 1) exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery, there was certainly some quality work, but overall it lacked the impact of the Sensation exhibitition at the Royal Academy in 1997.
One of the artists that did catch my eye was 47 Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-70773776569474725182010-08-28T14:11:00.000+01:002010-08-28T14:11:34.770+01:00Albrecht Dürer
British Museum, London
Not Seen
Melencholia I, 1514
Engraving, 23.7 x 18.7 cm
The idea of a melancholic as someone given to profound contemplation, was developed by the work of Italian philosopher Marsilio Ficino. Ficino not only rehabilitated the “Aristotelian” notion of the gifted melancholic , but expressly tied it in with the Platonic notion of “divine frenzy”, thereby layingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-34614251223560444272010-07-31T00:02:00.000+01:002010-07-31T00:02:00.313+01:00Walter Sickert
Ennui, 1914
Oil on Canvas 152 x 112cm
Tate Britain, London
15 February 2008
The exhibition was of work by the Camden Town Group of painters, who “inspired by the work of van Gogh and Gauguin on the continent, introduced Post-Impressionism to Britain”. This may be the case but in my opinion the biggest influence on Sickert is Degas, using many of his themes such as the music hall Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-29653006244843041812010-06-27T00:01:00.001+01:002010-06-27T00:01:00.821+01:00Vincent van Gogh
The Sower, 1888
Oil on Canvas 32 x 40cm
Royal Academy, London
10 March 2010
Unfortunately the recent exhibition of van Gogh’s letters, drawings and paintings proved to be so popular that it was difficult to even stand still in the press of the crowds in the Royal Academy. However, there were a lot of fine paintings on display and it was especially interesting to see them Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-54109854674654313172010-05-29T00:01:00.001+01:002010-05-29T00:01:00.500+01:00Anselm Kiefer
Karfunkelfee 2009
Gold paint, chemise, jesmonite, snake, brambles, concrete, acrylic, oil, emulsion, ash and shellac on canvas in steel and glass frame. 332 x 576 x 35cm
White Cube, London
30 October 2009
This was the first exhibition I had seen of Kiefer’s work in a commercial gallery. The work compromised a series of forest diptychs and triptychs displayed in glass and steel Unknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-39818732207951759892010-05-02T00:02:00.002+01:002010-05-02T00:02:00.506+01:00Giorgio Morandi
Still Life, 1962
Oil on canvas 30.5 x 30.6cm
Tate Modern, London
1st June 2001
This was the first time I had seen his work and in all honesty I couldn’t remember any specific painting from the show, only the overall impression the body of work made. Consequently I have chosen a painting that was in the show, but that I have had chance to see at the National Gallery in ScotlandUnknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-50430706907876432502010-03-28T00:02:00.002+00:002010-04-05T13:17:04.101+01:00Lara Viana
Mirror 2008
Oil on Board 47 x 40 cm
Domo Baal, London
11 March 2010
I have been following this artist since her MA show at the RCA in 2007and it was a pleasure to see her first solo show in London. There were many interesting paintings, most involving a melancholic theme, sympathetically hung in an interesting gallery space on the first floor of a London town house.
The one I have Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-83588223445976883652010-02-28T00:01:00.002+00:002010-02-28T00:01:00.505+00:00Michael Raedecker
Tipping Point 2007
Acrylic and thread on canvas 198 x 336 cm (3 parts)
Hauser and Wirth, London
27 September 2007
I always find the wood panelled rooms of this old bank building a strange space to exhibit large contemporary paintings. This show of a mixture of Michael Raedecker’s work was no exception. The subject matter covered the familiar modernist houses, flowers and ruins.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-62085641774958051042010-02-03T10:49:00.003+00:002010-02-03T10:56:45.133+00:00August Strindberg
Purple Loosestrife, 1892
Oil on Canvas
Tate Modern, London
10 May 2005
I was surprised how much I enjoyed this exhibition, I found it both charming and melancholic and was interested to read that he was a Gemini and prone to mood swings. Strindberg was clearly influenced by Northern Romantic [1] landscapes, but had his own expressionist way of painting that relied more on the Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-42328917886587508912010-01-03T10:12:00.000+00:002010-01-03T10:12:46.110+00:00Leon Golub
Interrogation II 1981
Acrylic on Linen 305 x 426 cm
Irish Museum of Modern Art
19 September 2000
This was an immense exhibition of over 80 piaintings by this American artist and the first time I had seen his work first hand or in reproductions.
Totally unprepared, the shock of seeing so many of these larger than life scale paintings of oppression and cruelty was palpable. Golub's Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77480032770303872062009-12-06T00:05:00.001+00:002020-04-15T12:42:48.038+01:00Euan Uglow
Lemon, 1973
Oil on Canvas, 19 x 33cm
Private Collection
Not Seen
In July 2003 I went to see the first public exhibition of the work of Euan Uglow since his death from cancer in 2000. Disappointingly this painting of half a lemon was not included in the show. It is quite unsual in that most of his work whether of nude models or still life involved a dynamic pose. The artist Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-10136683283050107702009-11-29T00:02:00.004+00:002009-12-05T09:11:27.403+00:00Ferdinand Hodler
The Night (Die Nacht), 1889
Oil on canvas 116 x 299cm
Kunstmuseum, Berne
Not Seen
Hodler was 37 when he made this autobiographical painting on the theme of sleep and the fear of death, ten years before Sigmund Freud published “The Interpretation of Dreams”. Both the central figure and the man top right are Hodler himself, while the female figure seen from the back on lower rightUnknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-88486152875610071392009-11-22T00:01:00.006+00:002009-11-22T09:50:48.443+00:00Michaelangelo Merisi da Carravagio
The Burial of St Lucy, 1608
Oil on canvas 408 x 300cm
Museo di Palazzo Bellomo, Syracuse
Not Seen
In 2005 I went to the National Gallery in London several times to see a wonderful exhibition of Caravaggio's late paintings, from the period when he fled Rome accused of murder in 1606 until his death whilst returning to Rome from Naples four years later.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-28043556533388714732009-11-14T11:59:00.000+00:002009-11-14T21:22:18.286+00:00Wilhelm Sasnal
Tarnów Train Station, 2006
Oil on canvas 100 x 140cm
Hayward Gallery, London
14 October 2007
I thought the selection of Sasnal paintings picked for the ‘The Painting of Modern Life’ exhibition at the Hayward was excellent and I especially liked the three shown in the downstairs gallery; this view of Tarnów train station, Gas Station 1 and Gas Station 2.
It was at Tarnów Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-2352347888285510842009-11-08T00:05:00.002+00:002009-11-08T00:05:00.505+00:00Rezi van Lankveld
Pieta, 2005
Oil on Board 78 x 65 cm
Not Seen – Private Collection
I have seen work by van Lenkveld at The Frieze Art Fairs in London, but unfortunately I haven’t seen this particular painting which I believe is now in a private collection.
Van Lenkveld works on paper, wooden panels and on canvas but essentially her process is the same. She places the support on the floor andUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-82719183922842774732009-10-31T23:59:00.002+00:002009-11-01T08:40:21.436+00:00Nicholas Poussin
The Dance to the Music of Time 1634-6
Oil on Canvas 82 x 104cm
The Wallace Collection, London
29th October 2009
Hung in a corner of the great gallery on the first floor this modestly sized painting is easy to miss amongst the competition from the numerous Old Master Paintings, French and Italian furniture and bronzes. This decorous but powerful painting is said to Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-77367882247792968532009-10-25T00:04:00.007+01:002009-10-25T00:04:00.764+01:00Adolph Menzel
Room with a Balcony, 1845
Oil on Cardboard 58 x 47cm
Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Not Seen
I regret missing the chance to see this painting in 2001 when it was shown in the London National Gallery in the exhibition of 19thC paintings Spirit of an Age: Paintings from the Berlin Nationalgalerie. Menzel is perhaps best known for his work as a “court” painter followingUnknownnoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-54334097661549392492009-10-18T00:02:00.001+01:002009-10-18T00:02:00.078+01:00Michael Andrews
Lights III: The Black Balloon 1973
Acrylic on Canvas 160 x 129.5cm
Not Seen
Unfortunately I hot seen this piece, but have seen some of his paintings; the very popular and atypical work "Melanie and Me Swimming" and two of the deer stalking paintings from 1980. Whilst the later are more in keeping with his artistic vision, I have instead selected one of the series of seven “Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-85717081810485349842009-10-11T00:01:00.000+01:002009-10-11T00:01:00.260+01:00Balthus
Jeune Fille a la Chemise Blanche 1955
Oil on Canvas 116 x 90cn
Foundation Maeght, Nice
August 2000
I have probably seen a dozen paintings by Balthus and find his work at best troublesome. This painting is not typical and I have chosen it because it clearly shows the knowing sadness that hides within most of his work.
As the title clearly states it is of a young girl, and whilst sheUnknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-38926460118537592562009-10-04T00:05:00.002+01:002009-10-04T00:05:00.717+01:00Elizabeth Peyton
Jarvis, 1996
Oil on Panel 27.9 x 35.6 cm
Not Seen
27th July 2008
This painting is typical of her work during her ‘rise to fame’. She dropped the small intimate works on paper of historical figures in 1995 and focused on painting. These portraits predate the images of her friends and take the form of tributes by an adoring fan. Despite the distancing effect of working from Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-15868524615662033092009-09-26T19:41:00.000+01:002009-09-26T19:41:05.151+01:00William Kentridge
The History of the Main Complaint 1996
Drawings for Projection
Tate Modern, London
12 May 2000
I first came across the work of William Kentridge in 2000 when Tate Modern opened and I saw "The History of the Main Complaint". I recall few details, a shrouded hospital bed, the switches between an echo scan and the eyes seen in a rear view mirror, but do remember the pervading Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8995898277235098805.post-631562436747596882009-09-19T21:20:00.002+01:002009-09-19T22:35:10.901+01:00Paul Winstanley
Man Watching TV 2003
Oil on Linen 100 x 121 cm
Frieze Art Fair
15 October 2004
I was lucky to see this work at the Frieze Art Fair in London on the stand of the American Gallery “1031PE”, as it is now in a private collection. He paints very few with figures, usually preferring paintings based on photographs of uninhabited interiors and landscapes. It is unusual in another Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2