We walked to the National Gallery today, which I wasn’t initially excited about. But, as I walked through the hallways, I increasingly got more excited. As I came across paintings by VINCENT VAN GOGH, MONET, AND LEONARDO DA VINCI, I realized that this was a very good day. Surprisingly though, I won’t be talking about these famous artists as they weren’t necessarily my favorite experiences of the day.
As an artist myself, I don’t think it really hit me that I was seeing an original painting in front of me by artists that I was always fascinated by. I actually plan to go back to the gallery as I didn’t get to explore as much as I probably should.
I did come across a new exhibit called “The Ugly Duchess,” which had a very interesting story. There is a painting by Quinten Massys from 1513 that is famously referred to as “The Ugly Duchess” while the painting is actually titled “An Old Woman.” After reading more about it, I learned that the painting isn’t based on any specific person at all. The painting is to represent an old woman that is offering a flower as a romantic gesture. The clothing and the headpiece are very extravagant and revealing, but in that time period, they were also very outdated, which is meant to be comical and satirical of a woman being “ridiculous.” Not only was there a painting of the old woman in oil on canvas, but a drawing in the original sketchbook when it was first drawn. But, along with the old woman, is “An Old Man” painted by the same artist. This painting is set up so the man in the painting is facing the old woman with his hand raised. The question is, is his hand raised in a welcoming gesture or to signify his turning down of the old woman’s advances?
These paintings had a piece of glass over the original work, so I could stand extremely close to them. The attention to detail and the ability to make the smallest adjustments or strokes of paint made the painting seem so realistic. Even now, I can’t get my head around how Massys painted such a realistic-looking headpiece and jewelry.
While browsing through the gallery, I came across a section of oil paintings of Venice, Italy – more specifically – a location near the canals. There are gondolas in nearly every landscape, and I loved seeing different artists create basically the same scene. Some artists painted the sun in a beautiful blend of yellows, while one specific artist used lines to resemble the light coming from the sun (which I found kind of goofy, to be honest). Other paintings showed very intricate scenes of figures reflected on water or very intense waves carrying a ship.
But my favorite thing 0f these paintings was Canaletto’s “Venice: The Grand Canal with S. Simeone Piccolo.” Canaletto’s pieces were all of the canals in Venice, but specifically, the way he painted the waves caught my eye. The reflections of the waves weren’t as intricate or “realistic” as I would have assumed they would be. After seeing many paintings portray water with beautiful reflections and intricate waves with massive detail, I wasn’t expecting little ripples in the water that remind me of squiggles used in children’s drawings.
What I found most interesting, though, was another painting by Bernardo Bellotto called “Venice: The Grand Canal facing Santa Croce.” This painting was created around 1738 and also has similar patterns in the waves of the Venician canals.
It turns out, Bellotto is Canatello’s nephew and took a lot of inspiration from his uncle’s paintings. I would have never known the family history of paintings, let alone realize that this similar style of painting was influenced by family, not just the style of a time period. I think it’s amazing that two members of a family are displayed next to each other, let alone at a national gallery among household names like Monet and Van Gogh. I love that even among some of the greatest artists, I am still learning little details about less commonly known artists that lived almost 300 years ago.
Theatre in London U of A 