Continuing from last week's post, which looked at three great paintings with dark backgrounds, Malty expands, taking in Richter, understrappers and the meaning of art... There is another dimension to these three paintings, in that they reside in what must be their natural setting. Mrs Ionides, from an era when the 'if ... Read More...
Art
A real treat for art-lovers here, as the inimitable Malty takes us on a tour of three great paintings that make effective use of dark backgrounds. Part two will follow next week... A darkened backdrop in the right setting can be very effective, witness Gmail's latest inbox offering, very sexy, looks ... Read More...
Some people pose naturally. Others go out of their way to pose for certain reasons – to make money, for fame, for art, to be noticed for a cause. On the Continent, the poseurs’ evening stroll along the main street, or promenade, is something of a national sport. Then there ... Read More...
Perhaps I should be more patriotic, but much as I love the V&A, the latest exhibition is a bit of a bulldog’s dinner. British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age has a fundamental problem with time span and size – there’s simply too much to fit in. Still, this ... Read More...
Back by popular demand, here are some more of Brian Joseph Davis' creepy police identikit software sketches of famous literary characters... Top: Mrs. Danvers from Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier Someone advanced from the sea of faces, someone tall and gaunt, dressed in deep black, whose prominent cheekbones and great, hollow eyes gave ... Read More...
A special treat for Francophiles and lovers of art and architecture... These wonderful images are taken from a new book Catherine Brennand’s France. Catherine was an award-winning water-colourist with a special love of architecture. Diagnosed with breast cancer in July 2002 she continued to paint full time through two courses of chemotherapy before ... Read More...
Brian Joseph Davis uses police identikit software to create sketches of famous literary characters. It's creepy... Do you recognise the man pictured above? You won't have seen him before, other than in your mind's eye, or possibly your nightmares. According to artist and blogger Brian Joseph Davis, this is what Humbert ... Read More...
On Monday I heard an item on Radio 4's Today programme about bees and colony collapse disorder – I can’t quite recall, but I think it may have been something to do with the ‘zombie’ parasite fly honeybee killer reported in Scientific American? On Tuesday I visited the Royal College of ... Read More...
An eerily perfect etching casts a chilly spell over Jonathan Law. Winter in the cathedral city – somewhere in the north of England, some time (we might guess) in the earlier 1500s. Gothic structures rise from the earth, rear ponderously skyward, and lose themselves in the glistening, frosty light. Snow on ... Read More...
Our Most South-Westerly Tip of England Correspondent finds a wholly different and original perspective on the world outside his front door (Different Ways of Seeing is on at Penlee House Gallery & Museum in Penzance until 12 November). I recently visited a gallery (www.penleehouse.org.uk) around the corner from my home which ... Read More...
