The Modern Portrait.
On my many trips to Paris, home of the Mona Lisa, I have found it intriguing to discover that the French are disinclined to consider modern portraiture. Paintings of their homes and beloved pets, certainly, but a painting of themselves, "Non"! They will happily acquire many other genres too, but mention the possibility of a portrait and even the most self assured become coy and self conscious. Is it because the French associate portraiture with the most famous portrait in the
Picasso Portraits
Picasso Portraits 6th October 2016 - 5th February 2017 As a portrait painter I don't automatically think of Picasso when I think of this genre but that is because his body of work is unique and refreshing. There were no distinct boundaries. He never accepted a commission. He painted what he wanted, when he wanted and how he wanted. He refused to be defined by a certain genre or style. He changed his style with the predictability of the changing seasons. His art work was a di
Beyond Caravaggio
Beyond Caravaggio 12th October-15th January 2017 National Gallery, London. An incredibly exciting, visually powerful and intense exhibition viewed even more dramatically in the subdued lighting of the Sainsbury Wing. Glowing candlelit scenes of rich colour and dynamic subject matter sit side by side. However, only six of the 49 paintings featured in this exhibition are attributed to the master painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610), and that is because this exh
