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.

Midsummer Medley

Cambridge this week had all the essential components that go to make it a strange yet wonderful city. Traditions - 800 years since the charter was granted for the annual Midsummer Fair, a degree ceremony handing out honorary degrees to the great and the good, May Balls in the oldest colleges. Tourists - parties of foreign exchange students, coach loads of more mature visitors and a few independent travellers all begin to descend just as the students leave for the summer. Traffic chaos - pedestrians and vehicles alike struggle to get around with the city so busy and this was made worse with the closure of the A14 on Friday afternoon.

All of this made for an interesting couple of days. A short walk from Michaelhouse to the Fitzwilliam after lunch on Thursday turned into an obstacle course and leaving the city by road on Friday was one of those Cambridge experiences I could do without. All said, it was great to be back on tour there and the work on William Blake progressed as hoped. Pleased to find myself at a halfway point with the initial research on 6 of my 12 focus paintings already complete and still just a third of the way through the sabbatical.

A pause now until the next phase of the Tour begins mid-July. Centered on the South Coast I'll be visiting galleries in Southampton and Chichester, studying art from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionists and Post War Britain all fall into the remit - more familiar territory than the Italian Renaissance so looking forward to getting started on all of that.

The Divine Comedy

William Blake, whose Ugolino and his sons in prison  is my focus this week, has provided some interesting connections to earlier work. The picture in the Fitzwilliam is one of over 100 illustrations Blake worked on in the last year of his life. Commissioned to illustrate a translation of  Dante's 'Inferno', the artist became obessessed with the project but failed to complete before he died in 1827. Commentators believe that Blake, a Dissenter, intended his drawings as a critique of Dante's apparent approval of the punishments meted out to souls in Purgatory.

Medieval thinking on Purgatory was responsible for the development of the system of Indulgences that so upset Martin Luther. The link here with my current work is with Carillo's Mass of St Gregory. This painting has an inscription on the reverse that describes the 73,000 years or more of indulgences available to anyone reciting prescribed prayers in front of the painting. From our Post-Reformation perspective all this is difficult to grasp but the sincere belief that underpinned it is beyond doubt.

Studying the art of the Medieval church gives a fascinating insight into beliefs and religious practice at the time. It also draws out some themes that will bear closer study - the veneration of the mass at a time when taking communion was generally an annual event not a weekly occurence, the doctrine of transubstantiation that arose from that and now, unexpectedly, ideas about hell. I hope to look more deeply at these themes over the next two days.

In Cambridge this week is the annual Midsummer Fair which is 800 years old this year, tomorrow is the Feast of Corpus Christi and Friday the Feast of the Nativity of John the Baptist. Hoping to connect with the city centre churches for at least one of those occasions. I've become much more aware of this cycle of Feast days on my visits to the city - there are five churches on my walk from the library to the museum so it's hard to miss.

Art, war and faith

Wars and rumours of wars. Strange that so many the paintings I'm working with were painted against a backdrop of war. And most difficult of all is the realisation that most of these wars are to some extent 'religious'. That's not a new thought but making my way through four hundred years of European history has brought the point home.

A newer thought is the recognition that painters (and their clients) respond to the situation of their day, often in the context of their own Christian faith. Some of the responses are apocalyptic - Francois de Nome's 'King Asa destroying the idols' and much of William Blake's work. Other artists reassert fundamentals of faith - Carillo's 'Mass of St Gregory; Van Dyck's 'Virgin and Child. Still others refer back to the suffering of Christ - Liberale da Verona and Guido Reni. And beyond the content of the paitings, there is the style.

Despite living in difficult times, painters in these earlier times still seek to create images that are beautiful. A reflection maybe of their perception of God or even a celebration of the human capacity to look for something of value at even the worst of times.

Weaving not drowning

Bringing together everything I've gathered to date for each of the focus paintings has been a slower process than anticipated.  I sometimes do feel I'm drowning in a sea of notes and books but so far I haven't gone under. Historical background, social and economic factors and the religious context all have a bearing on the art that is made but covering all bases means looking at a lot of books across the many subjects areas. We called this 'interdisciplinary study' when it was new but now it seems to be commonplace within all academic fields. 

I've succeeded weaving all I have collected so far into a single record sheet for each painting and have managed four so far - the ones by Carrillo, Liberale da Verona, Reni and Van Dyck. Just one left to tackle before I begin the next round of information gathering in a week. Themes are emerging like small islands but it's too soon to tell if they will be hospitable places to base further study.

Taking some time off  this weekend. Dinner with friends, a sewing machine to take for repair and a brief pause for reflection.