Stanley Spencer .."A Village in Heaven" : Dr Amy Lyn
Followed by (even more!) mince pies ... what a wonderful visit we made with Amy to Cookham, the historic village home of Stanley Spencer .. and don't forget Sandham Chapel war paintings:
Charles Rennie Mackintosh : Guest Speaker Simon Kearey
Simon’s presentation was an invaluable reminder that great artists and designers are invariably influenced by talented ‘others’ but, in turn leave a lasting legacy themselves, even if not appreciated fully during their own lifetime.
‘Tosh’, as he was known, was always a draughtsman through - and - through but was also influenced by nature, other members of ‘The Four’ and, even more by the love of his life, Margaret Macdonald whom he met at the Glasgow School of Art.
Although the two big art movements that he drew upon in his early years as designer and architect - William Morris’s 'Arts & Crafts’ and Art Nouveau - were his guiding lights (alongside Gustav Klimt), it was Margaret whose ethereal and figurative style, softened his linear tendencies into geometric and more organic forms.
These influences and partnerships are evident in his ‘connected’ approach across design disciplines and are plain to see in the many CRM venues (exterior and interior) across Glasgow, from (e.g.) the Glasgow School of Arts itself; to the Queens Cross Church (’simple, spiritual, beautiful' with stained glass); Hill House, a ‘masterpiece’ in architecture, interior and furniture design, collaborated with Margaret; The Willow Tea Rooms with its Japanese hallmarks and integrated design right through, even to its cutlery detail; and 'The Art Lover’s House’, an amazing blend of all these creative skills and disciplines, including iconic furniture designs, approaching 'sculptural' in form’
As his life moved along, Tosh’s design repertoire broadened further as he shifted from architecture to painting and with an even stronger focus (with Margaret) on motif work
CRM’s legacy is now clearer to appreciate than in his lifetime, heavily influencing both ‘form and function’ (or ‘functional beauty’) of the Bauhaus School and what was the Mackintosh's own emerging ‘Decorative Arts & Design’ movement.
Even ’today’ the simple and minimalist forms of modern interior influencers, like Ikea and Apple, do admit an influence from CRM and his emphasis on ‘clarity and craftsmanship’
Tosh’s legacy is deservedly given due praise from those who followed him, at times described as ‘a prophet of modernism’ or a ‘quiet radical’ who ''fused science, symbolism and storytelling into forms that were both tactile, beautiful and, even more legacy-shaping, ....'timeless'.
"The Elephant & The Dove" : Frances & Rob!
We may all now better appreciate how intertwined were both the creative and love lives of Frida and Diego.
From their first meeting in Mexico City, Frida the school girl, Diego the budding muralista, then their controversial sojourn through the US ..
… the ‘Califia’ mural affair (Helen Wills Moody!) in SF; the Ford murals edginess in Detroit; the last straw ‘Master of Universe’ with Lenin at Rockefeller NY)…
To Frida’s emergence from under Diego’s wing as a primordial, raw artist, 'exposing all' through her Mexican folk and personal pain influences …
… it may be difficult to consider either again as truly independent artists.
The tension both in their relationship and revengeful affairs, stoked the fires of artistic output, driving Frida to outshine Diego’s almost underrated achievements in art history folklore.
Their works of art speak for themselves, both conceptually and in their detailed content and deeply reflect the love which tormented, but never died.
Frida said that despite all, it was much better to be with Diego than without him and that ... ...‘art itself was not enough’
‘The Life & Art of John Piper : Guest Speaker Lizzy Rowe
It is impossible to believe that JP could have achieved any more breadth of experience and achievement across the spectrum of artistic media …
….. from his early interest in churches, his more ‘provincial’ art (eg ‘Coast’ in Rye, E. Sussex) and his formative painting and mixed media, influenced by the likes of Picasso and Braque (eg String Solo) …
… to his experimentation in abstract expression (eg Forms in Dark Blue) comparable to Mondrian, and his first foray into neo-romantic, contrasting dark skies, just-pre-war (eg Regency Square from West Pier Brighton with John Bentjeman)
War time inspired another demonstration of ‘artistic’ skills with his Windsor Castle watercolour royal commissions in famously (!) stormy weather, his 1940 paintings of the bombarded Coventry Cathedral, followed by …
….. his stunning stain glass Bapistery window as part of the cathedral reconstruction (with 198 pieces of glass!).
In fact Piper’s collaboration with John Rentyiens on stained glass is a lasting tribute to his amazing versatility and collaboration across ‘art’ forms, including with Geoffrey Estop in ceramics, Benjamin Brittan on stage sets, John Betjeman across -the- board and with the Pinton Freres tapestry specialists for his joyful masterpiece in Chichester cathedral.
Not forgetting, of course, JP’s (and his partner’s !) wonderful stained glass windows in local churches like Bledlow Ridge and St Bart’s Nettlebed … go see them up-close!
Achille Lauge : Andrew Montgomery
Occasionally you get surprised in life, even at Art History meetings … and last Friday was a classic example (really sorry if you missed this!!).
We probably expected Andrew’s presentation on the lesser known Achilles Lauge to be about a few well lit paintings under the Aude region’s sunlight in southern France.
But what a story! … how Achille left his native Cailhau near Carcassone to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris …
…. how he then rejected the cool, bohemian art scene in Paris to return to his beloved Cailhau to hone his own interpretation of the neo-impressionist ‘divisionism’ techniques ….
… (Note: this was not just pointillism but, as Andrew helpfully explained, as pioneered by Seurat and others the optical blending of colours via the viewers eye from the artists build-up of a whole, subtle variety of different dots or patches) ….
… how he left his special mark on turn-of-the-century experimentation by illuminating this (literally!) through, not just landscapes like many others, but also floral and portraiture works …
… and, back in Cailhau, less influenced by his pressing peers in Paris, being confident to plot his own course, bravely doing own thing, or, as Andrew concluded …
… ‘living life doing what he loved, in a place he loved, with people he loved'
A very, very big thank you to Andrew for a great presentation, surprising us with breadth and depth of Achille’s achievements, as witnessed down below by just a few examples.
And check-out the upcoming exhibition (Sept-Feb), ‘Radical Harmony’, at the National Gallery around that same genre of art history.
Art History Outing (July 2025)
Kenwood House Visit (July 18th)
37 of us started with a very professional guided tour of this beautiful house former home of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield and more latterly Lord Iveagh of the Guinness family.
Appropriately for us, emphasis of the tour was on art which was totally unavoidable (!) as the rooms were full, floor to ceiling with interesting paintings (and the Robert Adam interior design was equally impressive, with beautiful painted ceiling library and the bust of Zeus-Ammon, a 2000 year old copy of a 3000 year old original, acquired by Mansfield in the early 18C.).
As usual, by way of offering up just a few highlights, the ‘connections’(we love them, don’t we?), remaining questions and unusual details made it a lot of fun, as art should always be!
For example:
Vermeer’s charming ‘Guitar Player’ on its original 1672 ’stretcher’/canvas .. a friend of Rob’s visited Kenwood to view the painting in 1974 and the very next day the painting was stolen after a break-in ..why would our Kenwood guide not 'officially answer' our questions on this theft?
Rembrandt’s late-life self portrait was delicate in detail but , in contrast, the ‘master’ is presenting himself as self assured. What exactly did the two circles in the painting represent?
Peter van Broecke’s portrait, a perfect example of how Frans Hals led the way in projecting the real character of sitters in the mid-17C, through their warmth and informal, more relaxed qualities (and that hand!)
Despite its different subject matter, ’Two Girls Dressing a Kitten by Candlelight’ shouted out as a 'Joseph Wright' … remember Rob showing his ‘Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump’ in his ‘Art is History’ presentation, equally as ‘dark’ in subject matter as the ‘Kitten Dressing’! (and both heavily drenched with the Caravaggio ‘chiaroscuro’ light-contrasting technique.
What about the connections and totally different ‘takes' on the beautiful Dido Belle?? ... the ex-slave, adopted by the Earl of Mansfield, one painted in 1778 (with Mansfield's niece) yet with a highly modern finger- to-face expression, the other, full frontal, painted relatively recently, almost in a modern heroine ‘perspective’, by Mikela Henry-Lowe.
Even more ‘historic’ .. the full width painting of London Bridge, resplendent with houses, painted by De Jongh in 1627 … how would we know if not for ‘art’?
Then onto the luxuriant Singer Sargent ‘Heiress’ exhibition … what a technique JSS crafted, in terms of his representation of silks, chiffon and the delicate highlight touches for jewellery but equally impressive were his charcoal pieces!
Interesting ‘connection’ here? how the pose in Sargant's Nancy Astor was derived from a George Romney portrait of Lady Emma Hamilton (i.e. Emma Hart,’actress'’and future wife of Nelson) whose several paintings we had seen earlier in the day (Romney, who many of us hardly knew, had painted ‘Emma’ over 80 times, infatuated or what?!).
Great fun, cool ‘connections', a fascinating ‘art-full’ visit!
Rob H: July 2025