Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon
Continuing with galleries in Lisbon, here are some paintings from the modern(ish) section of the Gulbenkian, fantastic museum in beautiful landscaped gardens. Again, surprising number of British artists represented.
Love this, but unfortunately, didn’t get name of artist. Think it’s Portuguese but looks Mexican, doesn’t it?
Howard Hodgkin – an early one, obviously.
Joe Tilson – painting, sculpture, collage – or all three?
OK, we’re in the same museum, but a different section.
Museo de Art Antiga, Lisbon
Another staggering collection – or rather set of collections – to rival the V&A. Well, resembles it, anyway. Below, triptych, showing the martyrdom and apotheosis of St.Catherine.
God has caused the torture wheel to shatter –
…but unfortunately, God’s intervention was not enough to save her. Perhaps His attention strayed…
But never mind; bring her up to heaven (and don’t forget the head).
Bronzino, the Holy Family (not sure if this is correct title). Notice the infant Jesus’ hand, near BVM’s breast – echoes the titty tweaking in Bronzino’s better known painting below:
Demon’s head
St. Jerome by ? Charming little picture.
Studio of Ribera (obviously)
We didn’t have time to go round the lot, unfortunately, but it’s a huge museum. Particularly striking were Japanese screens, showing the arrival of the first Portuguese to arrive on Japanese shores in the 16th(?) century. For some reason, they’d brought elephants with them, apparently.
Tate Britain – Hoyland and Ayres
There is a great pairing of two major abstract artists, very different but, like Bellany and Davie at the Newport Street Gallery recently, they complement each other wonderfully. I think it’s the colour and the size.
Gillian Ayres – Something Blues (forget the name). It’s about the size of the other two below.
Ayres, Phaeton – I presume the arc is the route of Phaeton’s chariot across the heavens
Ayres, Cleopatra – fabulous tangle of colours, each of them absolutely right, it seems to me.
John Hoyland – this is best viewed from across the gallery; near to, the scrapings in the dark red look a little muddy. Same order of size as the Ayres.
Hoyland again – sorry, took no note of titles.
Tate Britain rehang (sort of)
They haven’t done a full rehang by any means, but I noticed a batch of new paintings in the 50s/60s sections, a few of which I’ve put in below:
This is by Mary Martin, and it grabs your attention from the neighbouring room when you see it through the arch (whoever places the pictures really knows which ones should be seen through the arches – perhaps best example is the big blue Ayres above).
The Martin is actually a long sheet – or maybe four long sheets – of metal (aluminium?), crumpled into triangular shapes; the faces of the triangles reflect the colours of the paintings around it.
Keith Vaughan – great figure study, with his characteristic blue background.
Gillian Ayres again – something of Whistler’s Nocturne here, maybe (is it Nocturne? The one that Ruskin described as a pot of paint thrown in the face, or somesuch…) Fantastic, I call it…
Sven Hassel
A bit of a mood change now…
My latest reading; I see Joseph Porta as a thin Falstaff, going into battle with his flamethrower and top hat (prototype of many Satanic majesties in rock music and Gothic horror), with Tiny, Pluto, the Little Legionnaire, the Old ‘Un and Hassel himself, the anti-Nazi soldiers of the 27th Tank (Penal) Tank Regiment. OK, it’s not great literature but it hits that late night Discovery Channel spot, beloved of British men of a certain age…
Latest Lifeys
No new paintings this time, so a couple of my life drawings to end with:
Blackpaint
29/09/19
Tags: Bronzino, de Ribera, Gillian Ayres, Gulbenkian Museum Lisbon, John Hoyland, Keith Vaughan, Mary Martin, Museo de Art Antiga Lisbon, Sven Hassel
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