At Christmas I was given tickets from my parents to see Viva Forever, the Spice Girls musical in the West End! I saw it yesterday with them and really enjoyed the music although the storyline wasn't the best, it was still feel-good and I had a great night!
Before the musical we went out for dinner and finished quite early, so we walked to Trafalgar Square and popped into the National Gallery. I'm well acquainted with the gallery, an Art History student who lives in London really should be!
Here's a couple of paintings I have picked out to show you!
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| 'Young Man holding a Skull' - Frans Hals (1626-8) |
The first painting is by Frans Hals - 'Young Man holding a Skull'. I love this painting and first discovered it after a good friend reproduced it for our Art A Level. I always thought naively that it was by Rembrandt and only found out it wasn't after recognising it in the National Gallery about a year ago, coincidently opposite 'Belshazzar's Feast' by Rembrandt. The painting is a reminder about the certainty of death and how short life is in time. He asks the viewer to think about death, here we have a young man holding a symbol of death.
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| 'An Elderly Couple' - Jan Gossaert (1510-28) |
I haven't actually seen this painting before yesterday! But I found it quite endearing, especially the slight attempt at a smile on the old man's face, reminding me of when someone is asked to pose for a photo. The woman looks disinterested, they're a couple who are very used to each other, acting like a typical old married couple. It also reminds me of 'American Gothic' by Grant Wood from 1930.
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'American Gothic' - Grant Wood (1930)
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| 'Rokeby Venus' - Diego Velázquez (1647-51) |
This painting actually has an interesting background. It depicts the goddess Venus laying looking at herself in a mirror held by her son, the God of Love, Cupid. In 1914, suffragette Mary Richardson slashed the painting in the National Gallery after the arrest of suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst the day before. I must say I went really close to the painting but couldn't see any sign of damage! Very impressed with the restoration team. Richardson stated "I have tried to destroy the picture of the most beautiful woman in mythological history as a protest against the Government for destroying Mrs. Pankhurst, who is the most beautiful character in modern history." She was imprisoned for 6 months! A long time for the destruction of a painting. This incident has come to represent the perception of feminists of the female nude... I guess they don't like the way women are depicted in these classic paintings!
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