John Northcote Nash Frozen Ponds 1953
Day 7
Day 6
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
Saturday, 7 December 2013
Friday, 6 December 2013
Thursday, 5 December 2013
Advent Caldender 2013: Day 6
Attributed to Girolamo Macchietti The Charity of St Nicholas of Bari c.1555-60 National Gallery London
The story of our much loved Father Christmas originates with St Nicholas of Bari and this particular episode in his life. In this painting he is shown relieving the financial woes of the family inside the room to the right hand of the image. The father, painted seated in a wooden chair, is surrounded by his three daughters. He is faced with the prospect of having to sell these very daughters into prostitution. St Nicholas is shown at the window holding two gold balls, the third he has already thrown in and can be seen on the bed at the back of the scene.
These golden balls represent a gift of gold one for each daughter. These would be the dowries for the nobleman's three daughters saving them from a life of ill repute.
Day 5
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
RIP Nelson Mandela
The charismatic, and inspiring Nelson Mandela, an inspiration to us all, passed away today after an extraordinary life.
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - In which case never was a man so free
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - He has educated us all
"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days." - And his legacy will continue to do so ever after
Nelson Mandela Ian Homer Walters 2008 National Portrait Gallery
"For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." - In which case never was a man so free
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." - He has educated us all
"I hate race discrimination most intensely and in all its manifestations. I have fought it all during my life; I fight it now, and will do so until the end of my days." - And his legacy will continue to do so ever after
Wednesday, 4 December 2013
Advent Calender 2013: Day 5
Foundling Girl at Christmas Dinner Emma Brownlow 1877
The foundling hospital in London was the first children's shelter in the country. Set up in the eighteenth century by Thomas Coram it provided a safe refuge for the developing city's increasing number of abandoned babies and children. The building is now a museum where the charity's early history can be explored through various art and artifacts such as today's advent painting.
http://www.foundlingmuseum.org.uk/
Day 4
Day 3
Day 2
Day 1
Discovering William Nicholson
Some of you may have heard of the abstract artist Ben Nicholson he was even recently celebrated in an exhibition alongside his contemporary Mondrian at the Courtauld Gallery. Today I have discovered that when it comes to artistic brilliance the apple never falls far from the tree.
Flicking through the Tate Modern's collection online I came across a lovely still life The Lowestoft Bowl by William Nicholson which enticed me in and I simply had to find out more. I was not dissapointed.
William Nicholson (Ben Nicholson's father) had a charmingly diverse career working on still lives, landscapes, portraits, engravings, set design and illustrations. Even illustrating that children's book made famous in Friends, The Velveteen Rabbit. You know the one that Chandler buys for Joey's girlfriend who he is madly in love with and in the end Joey gives it to the girlfriend but she knows it's really from Chandler.... Oh Friends. Click here to see the fully digitized version of the original book with illustrations.
The Tate owns an impressive twenty eight works by this artist. Thanks to the incredible resource that is the BBC YourPaintings website I was also able to explore this artists paintings scattered all around the country and I have to say there are some gems. Lots of his works have a deeply British quality to them, the still lives include British china and crockery often brimming with beautiful native wildflowers.
His landscapes capture the simplicity and freshness of the English countryside.
While his paintings of the Oxford colleges, which are amongst my favourite of his paintings, manage to capture the grandeur and yet the humanity of the places. For example, 'The gates of Honour under Snow' evokes the students dreaming of passing through those very gates at graduation. In his St John's College Oxford an irreverent group of students, one of whom leans upon the arcade, gives a sense of the fun and frivolity of college life.
All in all I am a bit of a fan.
Ben Nicholson Painting 1937 The Courtauld Gallery
Flicking through the Tate Modern's collection online I came across a lovely still life The Lowestoft Bowl by William Nicholson which enticed me in and I simply had to find out more. I was not dissapointed.
Lowestoft Bowl William Nicholson 1911
William Nicholson (Ben Nicholson's father) had a charmingly diverse career working on still lives, landscapes, portraits, engravings, set design and illustrations. Even illustrating that children's book made famous in Friends, The Velveteen Rabbit. You know the one that Chandler buys for Joey's girlfriend who he is madly in love with and in the end Joey gives it to the girlfriend but she knows it's really from Chandler.... Oh Friends. Click here to see the fully digitized version of the original book with illustrations.
The Tate owns an impressive twenty eight works by this artist. Thanks to the incredible resource that is the BBC YourPaintings website I was also able to explore this artists paintings scattered all around the country and I have to say there are some gems. Lots of his works have a deeply British quality to them, the still lives include British china and crockery often brimming with beautiful native wildflowers.
Flower Piece with Books William Nicholson
His landscapes capture the simplicity and freshness of the English countryside.
A Glade near Midhurst William Nicholson
While his paintings of the Oxford colleges, which are amongst my favourite of his paintings, manage to capture the grandeur and yet the humanity of the places. For example, 'The gates of Honour under Snow' evokes the students dreaming of passing through those very gates at graduation. In his St John's College Oxford an irreverent group of students, one of whom leans upon the arcade, gives a sense of the fun and frivolity of college life.
The Gate of Honour under snow William Nicholson
All in all I am a bit of a fan.
Tuesday, 3 December 2013
Advent Calender 2013: Day 4
Five Variegated ivy leaves by Eliot Hodgkin 1975
The holly and the ivy,
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
When they are both full grown
Of all the trees that are in the wood
The holly bears the crown
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a blossom
As white as lily flower
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To be our sweet Saviour
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a berry
As red as any blood
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
To do poor sinners good
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a prickle
As sharp as any thorn;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
On Christmas Day in the morn.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly bears a bark
As bitter as any gall;
And Mary bore sweet Jesus Christ
For to redeem us all.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
The holly and the ivy
Now both are full well grown,
Of all the trees that are in the wood,
The holly bears the crown.
O the rising of the sun
And the running of the deer
The playing of the merry organ
Sweet singing of the choir
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