Harryhausen
I’ve been referring to the great film modeller as Harry Harryhausen; I now find, sadly from his obit., that it was RAY Harryhausen. Sorry Ray – apposite really, as I’ve been in Budapest for a few days, and visited..
Memento Park
This is where they put a number of the Communist – era socialist realist and- what to call them? heroic mannerist?- statues to pose and beckon to each other across the grass and gravel paths. Amongst these monstrosities is a memorial to the Hungarian International Brigade that fought with the Republicans in Spain; the unfortunate volunteers resemble, to me, the inhabitants of that island of Goonies that were in the old Popeye cartoon (apologies to my younger reader). Some of these statues remind me of Ray Harryhausen’s work.
I was quite impressed that, so relatively soon after the end of communist rule, Hungarians can treat these relics with the irony shown here.
Budapest Fine Art Museum, Heroes Square
A Cezanne exhibition, Cezanne and the Past, in the museum at the moment; many of his drawings of Old Masters, and some paintings which were surprisingly bad. BUT – there was Madame Cezanne with her striped, picket-fence skirt (best picture), Madame C. in Blue, with her face almost a Modigliani (second best) – and “Basket of Apples” and “Kitchen Table”; fabulous fruit and tablecloths, tilting to the spectator. In both, the table fore-edges are out of line, as if there were two small tables in each picture, the divide hidden by the snowy tablecloths. My partner insists that this is part of the intentional (and revolutionary) distortion – I can’t see it, I think he just couldn’t be bothered to re-jig it.
In the permanent exhibition, which we had to shoot through at speed, I noted the following:
Sassetta, St. Thomas Aquinas in Prayer – beautiful, Duccio-like green “framing” – my favourite picture.
Maso di Banco; obviously “influenced” by Giotto – or maybe the other way round? No – one of Giotto’s best pupils.
Lorenzo Monaco – a cut-out crucifixion; never seen anything like it;
Bosch – “The Bacchus Singers”; one with a finger down his throat, puking on the floor behind the oblivious others;
Bosch again – a very damaged copy of a section of “Garden of Earthly Delights”;
Lucas Cranach – Salome with John B’s head, smirking at the spectator, really pleased with herself; JB looking less so;
Pieter Brueghel – John the Baptist (in happier days) sermon; the one with the woman in the Japanese hat.
Hans Holbein the Elder – “the Dormition of the Virgin”, in a style so much more archaic than the realist portraits of his genius son (although H the Younger’s biblical scenes were not so different);
A couple of brilliant Bonnards – look at them from across the room to see them as abstracts, they work brilliantly.
And lots more, will finish next blog.
Adrian Heath
Thought he was a minor painter, sort of link between London and St.Ives; but I’ve just got the new Lund Humphries book by Jane Rye – he was staggeringly good. There are obvious similarities in places to Poliakoff, Terry Frost (a friend and also ex -POW) and Roger Hilton; but I think they are richer and more interesting than any of them. Rye is right when she talks about the sense of calmness, balance, and chaos breaking through. they are just beautiful and I can’t over-praise them.
Andriassy
Blackpaint
2/11/12
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