Plein Air Painting - Europe 2016 - London - Part III
Saturday, July 30, 2016
Russia and the Arts - The Age of Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky
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| Sandra Nunes National Portrait Gallery London 2016 |
It is a parade of faces, feelings in a reunion of heroes from the end of the nineteen century till 1914. They are intense, tormented...
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| Modest Mussorgsky, 1881 by Ilia Repin |
This masterpiece by Ilya Repin portrays the composer Modest Mussorgsky on his last days is of his life at the age of 42. The painting was commissioned by Pavel Tretyakov, the philanthropist who founded the state gallery, it was painted in a military hospital in St Petersburg.The composer sat for four difficult days in 1881, dying before the planned final sitting. Repin found it the most powerful and poignant commission of his career, donating his fee to a memorial for the composer.
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| Mikhail Vrubel, Portrait of N. Zabela Vrubel |
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| Fedor Dostoesvsky, 1879 by Vasily Perov |
Nothing I can write here can describe what one feels seeing this masterpiece up close and personal.
"Russia and the Arts is an exceptional collection of works. Many of these had never left Russia prior to this exchange, and certainly most have never been seen in the UK before. But more than this, it is a genuinely fascinating show that reveals much of the variety in artistic styles in Russian painters at that time, and, in the shadows that haunt their sitters, these portraitists reveal much of the turbulence and turmoil that engulfed Russia in these years." Huffingtonpost
Time to rest my eyes and do my "homework". Painting the postcard, after all I am in London!
At this time of the year, days are longer, it is nice to watch the sunset at 10 pm!
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| Sandra Nunes Painting the London Bridge London 2016 |
You can read London part II here
Posted bySandra Nunes at 7:07 PM 0 comments
Labels: impressonism, london bridge, oil painting, painting in london, portrait painting, realism, Repin, Russian painting, Sandra Nunes, Sevov, simbolism, Vrubel
Plein Air Painting - Europe 2016 - London Part II
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Continuing from my last post, ( you can read it here) I´ll write now about my reencounter with another Great Master:
John Constable
Nature and Nostalgia
Constable took a long time to achieve recognition. While his work was just as radical as Turner's, it shows none of the latter's constant searching for new subjects. He admired earlier Dutch painters as "a stay at home people, hence, their originality" His work was located in familiar territory beginning with his native Stour Valley between Suffolk and Essex.
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| Salisbury Cathedral from river Avon, 1820 oil on canvas John Constable
Some of Constable sketches record individual motifs that reappear in finished paintings while others, provided the basis for entire compositions.
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| Cloud study John Constable |
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| pochade study John Constable |
From the 1780 s British and French painters began increasingly to make small scale oil sketches out of doors. These sought to capture subtle effects or light and atmosphere, and were not usually intended as finished works of art, John Constable was the great English Master of this medium. Being in a gallery surrounded by all that little gems was a dream come true!
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| Sandra Nunes at Constable Gallery of studies Victoria and Albert Museum - London |
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| John Constable |
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| John Constable |
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| John Constable |
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| Cloud study John Constable |
The largest surviving group of these studies, over ninety works, was given to Victoria & Albert Museum by the artist's daughter. They shed unique light on Constable's working practice and are remarkable for their spontaneity and accuracy.
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Time to rest the eye and do my "homework":
In a completely different surrounding than Constable's I went to capture the light and atmosphere of a wet day in London.
When I got to the site, it was only cloudy, but before I could start my work the rain came down. Fortunately there was a bus stop close by and I had shelter for the painting session.
This was one of that experiences that we never forget!
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| At the bus stop Euston Road |
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| Sandra Nunes Plein air painting - Euston Road London |
Next post, an amazing exhibition in the National Portrait Gallery: "Russia and the Arts"
Posted bySandra Nunes at 7:42 PM 0 comments
Labels: Constable, contemporary landscape painting, Euston, impressionism, London, oil on canvas, oil sketches, plein air painting, pochade box, rainy day painting, Sandra Nunes, Turner, Victoria and Albert Museum
Plein Air Painting - Europe 2016 - London Part I
Saturday, July 2, 2016
I´m back from Europe, as usual I'm late with my posts here and as usual greatly inspired after an overdose of viewing great Art, I feel like painting 24 hours a day!
I´ll try to show here some highlights of these amazing days.
London
Meeting Sargent...
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| Meeting Sargent - Tate Britain Gallery |
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| Study for Madame Gatreaux J. S. Sargent |
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| Trees and Skies J.W. Turner |
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| Goring Mill and Church - JW. Turner There´s no preliminary drawing in this unfinished work, the sky is sufficiently developed o show that the weather is fine and the war clouds suggest afternoon... |
Their function as studies allowed for greater freedom to experiment with format, medium and technique. Turner´s focus varies from the single motif to wider views of the landscape, encompassing foliage, mountains, rivers, skies and the sea which exerted a particular fascination for him later in his life.
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| J. W. Turner |
Turner drew prolifically in sketchbooks of various shapes and sizes, some of which(about 300!) are now held at Tate. In 1801 he used this small sketchbook during hs tour in Scotland, which included an exploration on the Highlands. This sketchbook below is open at studies completed in guache, a more opaque medium than watercolor, giving solidity to the mountain form.
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Turner's Sketchbook
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| Sandra Nunes Sketching in watercolor - Hyde Park |
To be continued in the next post with another Great Master: Constable!
Posted bySandra Nunes at 8:10 AM 0 comments
Labels: Constable, John Singer Sargent, landscape painting, London, madame gatreaux, oil painting, plein air painting, pochade, Sandra Nunes, sketchbook, Tate Gallery, Turner
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