Drawing to an end

Sabbatical time is nearly ended. Reading around all my paintings has been completed. All that remains is to write up the material gleaned this week in Cambridge on the work of Ronald Forbes. As the only living artist of the twelve I've studied the research task took a different shape. Much was available on the web but less in books. I established a link with the work of Gilbert and George which helped to ground the reading, spent time reading modern Scottish history and learned a little about Scottish art. Interesting to note that 'British Art' is generally English - I knew none of the names of those important in Scottish art since the war.

Cambridge was quieter than I've seen it recently. The tourists are fewer in number and the city centre was peaceful this week. Plenty of shoppers in the Grand Arcade - more families and groups of teenagers looking for sale bargains than overseas visitors in search of souvenirs. Traffic too was lighter and our journey out of the city last night easy. Great to have dinner with friends and catch up with news on our way home.

The week ahead will see the drawing together of the project. Already I'm putting together files of material I've collected over the past few months for future reference. Looking over these brings back positive memories of the wonderful places I've visited and all I've done this year. I'll be sad when it all comes to an end and intend to make the most of this final phase.

A trail of destruction

Sad this morning to see television images of destruction and violence. Not, this time, in far away places and war zones but on our doorstep. Spending time in some of the cities involved this year viewing beautiful art it's hard to watch the wanton vandalism.

Some hope in other images - newspaper photos of the 'broom army' coming together to clean up. Human beings are capable of so much good when put to it. We can only hope they prevail over the looters in the end.

Detours and deliberations

An unscheduled trip to Cambridge last Friday. Made good use of the time in Central Library reading up on British history from World War I to World War II. Plenty of books too on Stanley Spencer but none on Graham Sutherland. Detours of this sort have been a feature of the tour as paintings, books and opportunities cross my path out of sequence.

Back to Sutherland today with books on my own shelves. I acquired these as part of an earlier study on a Cain and Abel by Keith Vaughan. Vaughan and Sutherland were both part of a group of British artists labelled 'Neo Romantics'. They were all caught up in World War II one way or another. Sutherland was a War Artist, Vaughan served with the non-combatant Pioneer Corps. After the war their art reflected their experiences for a time. Sutherland produced several religious paintings, Vaughan just the one.

Many of Sutherland's paintings were commissioned for churches and they can be seen as 'religious' in every sense. Vaughan's painting seems more to draw on a well known story to offer a crtique of the times in which the painter lived. Another case that shows how difficult it is to determine what a 'religious painting' is or should be. Answers on a postcard?

But what's it about?

Art, like music and literature, is never about just one thing. Even when the subject matter is clear - a crucifixion, for example - the artist's intention can be subversive or supportive to the theme and that can change everything. Often, although the theme may be clear - depiction of a bible story perhaps - it is impossible to know why the artist chose that particular subject for the work.

So it is with Degas' David and Goliath. The representation of the subject is straighforward and the title clear. But it's impossible to know why the artist chose to begin this work or why he never finished it. Was he simply looking for a good story or was there some deeper religious intent? Degas later went on to specialise in figure painting so was this just an early example of that interest? Are there any theological concerns we can draw out of the work? I haven't resolved this - some connections with French history are possible but so speculative that they seem no more than just grasping at straws.

Holman Hunt's The Shadow of Death presents the opposite problem. There is no shortage of information in multiple books on the Pre-Raphaelites and on Hunt himself. There's even a booklet in the Fitzwilliam library written by the artist at the time of the painting's first showing that explains his purpose. This is a painting with a clear didactic purpose and an underlying ideology that valorises the working man. The symbolism is detailed and was probably well understood by audiences in 1873, maybe even today, but what of it's ongoing message? What is it about in the early twenty-first century rather than in the the late nineteenth century?

Deferring these and other questions while research continues. Talking about the sabbatical project back at the Shared Church yesterday made it all seem a bit less abstract. Catching up with friends in so many places while on Tour this summer has been a real joy. Thanks to all for listening to my ramblings at various points.

Desert Island Pics Revisited

 Thinking again about those essential paintings to take to a Desert Island. Already on the list are Red Ballet Skirts  by Edgar Degas and Christ of St John of the Cross by Salvador Dali, both of which are in Glasgow's galleries. King Asa of Judah destroying the idols by Francois de Nome wins a place because, despite all the research already undertaken, I will need the time that the desert island isolation offers to really make sense of it.

Added to these three most recently are Noli me tangere by Graham Sutherland and The Nativity by Arthur Hughes. I've yet to do the reading around Sutherland's works but this painting which exists in two forms at Pallant House and in Chichester Cathedral was an unexpected find. The former Dean of the cathedral Walter Hussey commissioned the work but the original version, now in the Pallant Gallery, didn't meet with approval at the cathedral. A new painting was produced and accepted but continued to be controversial. Anything that provokes such strong feelings must be worth a few years of serious contemplation.

This week's work has centred on the Pre-Raphaelites alongside Degas. Although Holman Hunt's Shadow of Death is fascinating it is Arthur Hughes' beautiful depiction of the familiar scene that is the more moving of the two. Described by many as the last Pre-Raphaelite Hughes' creates a moving simplicity that Hunt's complex and busy picture cannot match.

Still three more works to identify. The next batch of study will look at Stanley Spencer and Graham Sutherland. Finally there is a work by Hughie O'Donoghue, an Irish artist of recent times, to consider. Sadly the gallery at the Fitzwilliam displaying this work was closed this week. One of the pitfalls of a study of this duration is the difficulty of accessing works at the right moment. Not a problem when I spirit them away to that Desert Island.

Back in the nineteenth century

Turning back the clock this week to look at three paintings from the second half of the nineteenth century.

The Nativity by Arthur Hughes, the earliest, painted 1858.
David and Goliath by Edgar Degas, an early work of the artist painted 1864.
The Shadow of Death by William Holman Hunt, painted 1870-73.

Two of the works are English, one is French. I've spent today marshalling background information on the Victorian period and Pre Raphaelite Art in an effort to establish where there are gaps in my knowledge of the British scene. French history of the period is almost a total blank but more may emerge tomorrow. A reading day in Cambridge later this week should go some way to making good deficiencies.

At this stage, the three paintings seem to represent the main strands of changing religious thought of the period. Degas draws on a biblical story with no apparent spiritual intent; Hughes reflects the reinvention of tradition advocated by the Oxford Movement; Hunt uses his artistic skill to describe the role and identity of Christ much as a non-conformist preacher of the day might have done. Secularist, traditionalist and evangelist. Sounds remarkably contemporary.

Two thirds of the way through the sabbatical now. The Tour continues during August in Cambridge - the Fitzwilliam and Kettle's Yard - and back on the south coast to pursue Stanley Spencer. The absence of his work at Southampton was a disappointment but I hope a visit to the Memorial Chapel at Highclere will make up for that.

Back on tour

Pallant House Gallery in Chichester was a delight. Graham Sutherland's Deposition  is a focus work for my study and Dean Walter Hussey commissioned several works by the artist. Hussey's art collection was bequeathed to the Pallant and we found two religious works and one landscape on display today. A gallery label informed us that another painting was to be found in Chichester Cathedral just a few streets away.

Sutherland's religious work is challenging and has been controversial in the past. In particular his Crucifixion paintings with their visual reference to images from concentration camps published after World War II are harrowing. The very helpful Cathedral guide told us the their painting Noli Me Tangere was the subject of a knife attack in the early days and later suffered graffiti on the frame.

The day was a joy and more than made up for a disappointing visit to Southampton Art Gallery two days ago. The gallery there is undergoing building works, half the rooms were closed and nothing of relevance to my study is currently on display. At the Pallant we enjoyed an excellent lunch - the restaurant is small so booking a table was essential - and appreciated the setting of the paintings in both the original Queen Anne townhouse and the contemporary extension. Good to be back on tour.