It has finally happened. We were waiting for it for a long time, and it has happened. Spring has finally arrived. The sun is up, the sky is blue… it’s beautiful, and so are you. And even though the sunglasses are out, it is still way too cold to put the tights back in the wardrobe, along with the scarves and coats. But the good thing is that this weather is the perfect one to take a break from the cold and visit museums. The good mood given by the blue sky will make you enjoy exhibitions even more. The museums in London have understood this and are, once again this year, welcoming the perfect exhibitions to fully appreciate. Here is a small selection from Pastime., just for you.
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Inventing Impressionism, The man who sold a thousands of Monet
The National Gallery (4 March 2015 - 31 May 2015)
£18 adult, £9 children and concession.
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| http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/ |
In the mid-19th century, the impressionism, a form of artist that let the artist represent his vision of reality with bright colours, was invented by a group of a few French artists. It later was considered as the movement which made the Modern art break with the academic form of painting.
In the period of important change in art that was the mid-19th century and the beginning of impressionism, the society refused to accept this new form of art, this new era in painting. Names like Monet, Renoir, Sisley, and others were very unpopular and rejected from The Paris Salon, the official art salon by the Académie des Beaux-Arts since 1725.
One man, Paul Durant-Ruel believed in the talents of all of these talents that we know and would soon change the lives of these artists. Durant-Ruel, a now important name of the art dealing world, was an art dealer from Paris when impressionism was invented. By the end of the 19th century, he had become one of the most famous art-dealer as well as the main sponsor of the impressionists, morally and financially, regardless the state of his own personal debts.
To find a financial support that he could not found in France using the same concept, he decided to exhibit the work of impressionists in the US, which was in a great economic growth. In April 1886, a couple of years after the first American exhibition for the impressionists, Works in Oil and Pastel by the Impressionists of Paris in New York was a great success, the first one for impressionism.
In 1887, he opened his first art gallery in New York. This success of impressionism crossed the ocean and became great in France, Germany and the rest of Europe. By 1890, Renoir, Pissarro and Monet eventually started to be more and more acknowledged by the art world.
The National Gallery presents 85 paintings of the movement, almost all of which passed by Durant-Ruel’s hands.
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More information: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/whats-on/inventing-impressionism
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Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
Victoria & Albert Museum (14 March 2015 - 5 August 2015)
£17,50 adult
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| http://www.vam.ac.uk/ |
This is the first European exhibition featuring the work of the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen, whose inspiration he constantly found in London.
Student at Central Saint Martins for a MA in fashion, McQueen learned how to get his inspiration from the city he lived in, its history, its culture, its people. All his life, he was promoting the freedom of thought and expression, which helped him to challenge his own creativity and become this artist that we now know.
Considered a romantic, McQueen was also known for his methods of cutting and construction, which were both revolutionary and innovative, especially by creating his own silhouettes — which would relatively stay constant throughout his career.
From his gothic collections inspired by the 19th century and the Victorian Gothic, to the ‘Romantic Primitivism’ inspired by the Yoruba mythology, to the ‘Romantic Nationalism’ inspired by his Scottish heritage and the last battle of the Jacobites Risings, McQueen managed to impress and inspire the fashion world throughout his career.
Master of invention making people’s curiosity blossom, his work remains impressive and revolutionary, as well as unique and timeless.
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Revelations: Experiments in Photography, Learn about the influence of early scientific photography on 20th century art
The Science Museum (20 March 2015 to 13 September 2015)
£8 adult, £7 children 12- 16 and concession, FREE for children under 12
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| http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/ |
Since its invention, photography has always fascinated. Portraits, landscapes, architecture; everything can become the subject of a photographs.
In its exhibition, the Science Museum presents scientific photography to show how they had influence on the modern and contemporary arts.
From the early days of this new art, scientists were using photography to record and measure phenomena, which could not be fully perceived and analysed by human vision. The revolutionary techniques used by scientists helped to develop this new art and its aesthetic beauty, which later helped the modern and contemporary photographers.
Are featured in the exhibition: ‘an original photographic print of X-Ray, the earliest recorded images of the moon and 19th century photographs capturing the hidden beauty of electrical discharges’.
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More info:
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Beard
The Somerset House (5 March 2015 to 29 March 2015)
FREE admission
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| https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/ |
The exhibition presented for the first time at the Somerset House features the photographs of Mr Elbank, whom subject is beard, all sort of beard.
With over 80 pieces, the exhibition celebrated the current beard trend which has taken the world.
At the origin of the exhibition was a project that the artist did to help Jimmy Niggles’s charity following the death of one of his friends of skin cancer. During #Project60, Mr Elbank photographed 60 people with beard to raise awareness to the disease.
‘The #Project60 images have been widely shared on social media and have encouraged viewers to go for skin checks which can prove life-saving.’
The exhibition features the #Project60 photographs as well as new ones, unseen by the public.
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Nick Waplington/Alexander McQueen: Working Process
Tate Modern (10 March 2015 to 17 May 2015)
Adult £16.00 (without donation £14.50), Concession £14.00 (without donation £12.70), Under 12s FREE
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| http://www.tate.org.uk/ |
The exhibition presents the unique collaboration between the artist Nick Waplington and the late fashion designer Alexander McQueen.
Thanks to the photographs taken by Waplington during McQueen’s 2009 Autum-Winter collection Horn of Plenty, the exhibition presents a rare and unique behind-the-scene work of this creative journey. It is also very powerful as it was one of the final shows the designer created before he died in 2010.
‘Raw, bold and thought-provoking, Waplington’s photographs provide a unique insight into one of the most celebrated fashion collections in recent history.’
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Have a good day,
Emilie
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