Our day at the National Gallery was successful! After exploring the many rooms full of iconic and beautiful artwork and spending seventy pounds at the gift shop, I left feeling fulfilled. The National Gallery had multiple rooms that included biblical paintings. Many featured the birth and crucifixion of Christ, and some portrayed other stories and figures from the bible such as Samson and Delilah or John the Baptist. I wanted to look at one of the paintings that depicted mythology and Christianity. The painting on the left is by Giovanni Battista Tiepelo and is named An Allegory with Venus and Time. The shape of this piece was different than any other painting as it was in the shape of a huge oval and was mounted from the wall facing down. It depicts the goddess Venus with an angel holding an infant. Though this piece was placed with the other Christian painting, this piece could be perceived as Jesus in the heavens or just something of a mythological symbol of infancy and mortality. I was drawn to this piece because of the colors, details, and blending, however, the face of the baby is what made me stay. This painting and a few others within the museum depicted a distorted baby’s face. At the time, artists were either unfamiliar with an infant’s features, the baby couldn’t sit for long enough, or they just used a grown man’s face on a baby’s body. With such a beautiful piece, whether it be mythological or Christian, even the beauty of Venus couldn’t save that baby’s face.
I also focused on the still life paintings within the museum, as a floral still life will always catch my attention. I noticed a beautiful Rachel Ruysch still life titled Still Life of Flowers in a Glass Vase on a Marble Edge. This realist painting pictures an abundant bouquet with a dark background. The colors were vibrant, and the detail was prominent. Like the Tiepelo piece, it has amazing pastel colors and told a story, even if it was just a still life rather than a mythological story. It was so exciting to see such a difference in pieces, especially works with such big names in the Gallery like Van Gogh and Monet. I can’t wait to go back!
Theatre in London U of A 