Eric Knowles and William Moorcroft; "I'm a potaholic!"

"I'm a pottaholic!" Exclaimed Eric Knowles, off of the Antiques Roadshow, at a conference in New York when introducing the History if Moorcroft Potters. It was with anecdote he began his talk last night at the De Morgan centre. Moorcroft established himself as a potter in Stoke -on-Trent a hundred years ago, following the success of his designs in the 1897 studio of James McIntyre. The Moorcroft reputation was fiercely and quite suddenly elevated to speciality status through a contract with Libery in the early 1900s. 

William Moorcroft, who started the firm, was a contempory of Morris an his circle and would have undoubtedly been influenced my De Morgan; another key figure in ceramics and art pottery of the time. The company is still alive and flourishing today. Much because of the influence of the still alive and flourishing Eric Knowles.

Elizabeth I & Her People

Elizabeth I's reign is defined by the lives of those she reigned over. During her time cities boomed, the economy flourished and the world became that little bit less daunting thanks to successful exploration and trade.

This exhibition at the portrait gallery aims to convey the impact and success of the Queen, based on the people responsible for these endeavours. At first, it seems promising. We encounter hand-tinted maps and plans of London and grand portraits depicting the Queen's coronation. The curators even point out those people in the crowd who were responsible for her success as a monarch.

As we move forward, we are treated to a room dedicated to the image of Queen and how her people grew to recognise her. There is a lovely display of otherwise seldom seen portraits, a divine Frederick Zuccaro sketch and a selection of coins. This draws upon the relationship of the people to the Queen. The real focus of the exhibition- how those close to the Queen rose in power- is best demonstrated with portraits and artefacts in the third room. Elizabeth Talbot, Bess of Hardwick, William Cecil, Sir Walter Raleigh and the Duke and Duchess of Norfolk are all displayed, telling the story of how either charming or impressing the Queen could lead to vastly improved social standing.

After this, the exhibition goes downhill. The organisers have hereafter attempted to show the lives of the ordinary and how they were lived throughout Elizabeth's reign. Too much information, with not enough space or material to back it up, is added on to the end of the modestly sized exhibition almost as an after thought. You feel as though they should have stuck to telling us about the rich and powerful, which would have been interesting in itself. The rushed ending leads to huge oversights, such as William Tyndale, champion of the bible of the people, who gave the word of God to the Elizabethans, being omitted.

Despite this, the portraits are truly charming and give a real feel for the age. In particular the portrait of three Elizabethan children with their exotic pets, shows off beautifully the fashion for Dutch paintings and the impact of trade, as the children clutch their furry and feathered friends!

Wimbledon

A brilliant two weeks of tennis fever struck hard this summer. I had a particularly great time venturing out to Wimbledon and watching some tennis there.

At midnight struck, Pix and I weren't going to bed like the rest of the country, we were in Gizel Kebab buying what unfortunately turned out to be sauce in a pitta. We manned up and ate it anyway, knowing we'd need our strength for the evening ahead. Some packing, a bus and a cab (because we were lost) later, we arrived, unscathed to what is, without exception, the most British thing I've ever participated in: The Wimbledon Queue. Now everyone knows queuing is quintessentially British, but the Wimbledon queue is on another level. As we entered the the queuing campsite- a large field- we were met by two jovial security guards who explained the rules of the queue and showed us where to pitch our tent. Yep, a queue so long and regimented it has staff and toilet facilities. Some people had been there for three days!

Anyway the whole thing was actually quite enjoyable and we even got interviewed by the BBC and managed to watch the Murray match in the sun on Murray mound.

Our keen supporting led us to invent the excellent game of drink tennis with some electrical tape, pack of cards, a grass green rug and lots of cider! Ahhh British summer time!

TEN MINUTE TALK: Cuyp

Not a particularly inspired title for such a uniquely glorious painting. There's little more appealing than standing before this masterpiece at the National Gallery and being plunged into the honeyed glow of late afternoon light and enjoying the peace of the rural idyll.

Painted in the late 1650's by the master of landscape in the Italiante Style of Dutch Golden Age painting, Aelbert Cuyp. Cuyp lived and practiced exclusively in Dordrecht in the new Dutch Rebpulic, established in 1581 amidst the 80 years war. 

Prior to this the Netherlands, literally meaning low lying countries, were under the strictly Catholic rule of Charles V of Spain. Becoming restless with Spanish rule, war broke out between those seeking Dutch independence and the Spanish in 1568. At this time, 17 provinces made up the Netherlands. The first two to be captured by the seafaring Guezen leading the rebellion were Holland and Zeeland. The countries rapidly converted to Calvinism, a branch of Protestantism that teaches truth from the word of the Bible. Thanks to advances in printing technology and the Protestant reformation, ripple could easily access printed Bibles and read for themselves the truth. Churches did away with gilt alter pieces and gaudy church interiors to provide vast, stark interiors for congregations to read and worship.

The desire for independence grew and in 1579 the Union of Utrecht was signed: seven provinces in the north were united by the word, the word they would fight for their cause and the word of God under new rule and new religion.

In 1581 the Dutch Republic was fully established, with independence fully granted by the Spanish in 1648 under Philip III of Spain.

The new Dutch Republic boomed. The Golden Age of the 17th century is a name well deserved, whilst their churches may have done away with all that glittered, trade, the military, seafaring, science, literature and art were indeed, golden. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was established which quickly became the world first global company. People were out-posted to India and Indonesia to establish trade there. The country was trading goods, art, spices and textiles with the east and was very profitable, making it one if the richest countries in the world at this time.

This is the world that in 1620 Cuyp was born in to: fiercely independent, devoutly Calvinistic and horribly self-assured. For the painter, new opportunities were abundant. With the Church no longer acting as patron, it was the new merchant, aristocratic middle classes who wanted paintings; paintings of their wonderful, successful everyday life.

Cuyp's father Jacob Gerritz, was a portraitist and his work reflects the patrons one could expect working as an artist. Although Aelbert Cuyp is best know for landscapes, his interest in portraying human life probably comes from his father. In River Landscape with Horsemen and Peasants, for example, although it is clearly a landscape, the foreground is rich in details of 17th century Dutch life: the social types of aristocratic horseman and shepherd; the breeds of cow one can trade in; the joy of the hunt and hunting game and being out of doors enjoying the day.

Cuyp's most influential acquaintance was undoubtedly Jan Both. Whilst Cuyp never travelled to Italy, he carefully studied the worth of Both who had worked in Rome under Claude. Cuyp's depiction of the Italianate landscape comes from his careful observation of Both's work. For his distinct use of light, he is vicariously indebted to Claude through Both's paintings. River Landscape is typical of this style that Cuyp adopted. The scene is certainly fictional; the low lying Netherlands he saw simply do not have mountain ranges. The way the light is painted makes the painting radiate the amber heat Cuyp has captured. His minutely accurate and expertly executed brushwork on the bracken in the foreground ensures the light source illuminates the whole picture. This also cleverly pushes the mountain village into the far distance, allowing him to achieve an exciting level of depth in the painting.

In 1658 Cuyp married a wealthy Dordrecht widow and strict Calvinist, Cornelian Bosman. Shortly after their marriage Cuyp became a Deacon of the Reformed Church and the number of paintings he produced rapidly plunges after this date. River Landscape is one such painting from this period, where his patrons were almost certainly wealthy members of his congregation, buying for their large townhouses. Certainly the sheer size of this painting- the largest known of Cuyp's work- suggests that is the case.

The painting was the first of Cuyp's to be bought in England, by the 3rd Earl of Bute before being bought for the nation in 1989.

Leighton House

The Arab Hall at Leighton House

Frederic, Lord Leighton (1830- 96) was once of the most influential artist of the late Victorian Period. His work was patronised by Queen Victoria and still has huge influence today, hanging in Tate Britain and the National Gallery as well as a plethora of other important institutions. Such was his fame even in his own time that he was honoured with a burial at St Paul's Cathedral.

Amongst his close friends, he counted enigmatic artists of the day such as G. F. Watts, Millais, De Morgan and Rossetti. Whilst his fame and his privileged position in society undoubtedly helped him get ahead in the arts, he was a genuine man who worked hard for his own artistic merit; something recognised in 1878 when he became the President of the Royal Academy. Just before his death from heart failure in 1896, he was ennobled, becoming Frederic, Lord Leighton, Baron of Stretton. He is the only British artist to have been awarded this honour.

Leighton House, is set just outside the idyllic Holland Park in West London. This set a vogue after its 1866 construction for artists to design and build their own houses in their own, individual styles, around the area. Artists such as Val Prinsep, and G. F. Watts, the book printer Cockerill and architect Philip Webb all built houses in the area, becoming known as the Holland Park Circle. 

Walking to the house through Holland Park today is worth a visit in itself, in order to see this wonderful architecture and play a pretty decent game of spot the blue plaque!

Leighton House is a purpose-built studio house, with provision for living, domestic staff and a working art studio. Much of the house is preserved as it was in Leighton's day; original documents strewn across a writing desk and plaster casts of classical figures around the studio. In this sense in reeks of National Trust, who part own the house.

The collection of paintings is fabulous and it's a real treat to see these in their original environ. The real treat of the visit has to be Leighton's Arab Hall. Following his travels to Turkey, Egypt and Syria in the 1870s where he amassed an impressive collection of traditional tiles and ceramics, Leighton transformed part of the house into an Arabian Nights' dream. His friend, the celebrated ceramicist, William De Morgan, was entrusted with the design and construction of this, using Leighton's tiles. It is a unique experience to admire the tiles whilst tredding carefully to avoid falling into the water feature!

Visiting Leighton House

Feeding time for the Pelicans

Pelicans were first introduced to St James' Park in 1644 as a gift from the Russian Ambassador and have been entertaining the tourists ever since. What they (tourists and pelicans) particularly like is feeding time at 2.30, when these hilarious birds leave their island and waddle to the gamekeepers hut to be fed. It really is a must see!

Playing at the Serpentine Gallery

I've never been to the Serpentine before, but have wanted to for years. Especially for the 2010 pavilion by Jean Nouvel, which I thought was brilliant. 

This year's however did not disappoint. Designed by Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the large white matchstick like climbing frame is a complete joy. It transcends the boundaries of space, shape and design to present a completely unique approach to the interaction of people and place. You can admire it, climb it, get in it or simply admire it. What's great is how it complements the exact shape of the gallery behind it; you can just make out the outline of the building through the bold white structure. The fact that people are encouraged to climb up it and sit with a treetop vista highlights the sense of play at work in the design.

Inside, sadly, the premiere exhibition of American Sturtevant's work, a retrospective of 1970- now, does not match up to the pavilion. Leaps Jumps and Bumps showcases everything that's wrong with modern and contemporary art, it's boring, uninspiring and not even controversial. Apparently her rip offs of Warhol screen prints and Duchamp doors call into question authorship of art work: the eternally dull question of what is art. The row of blow up dolls in the window should be playful and arresting but instead they contribute nothing to the overall display. Credit where it's due to those responsible of the design and installation of the video pieces in the show. Old television sets stacked on the floor and projectors swirling images around a circular room that force you into the piece as its projected on to you achieve everything Sturtevant does not;a playful  and stimulating experience.

I also loved Fischli/Weiss piece, Rock on top of Another Rock. The Norwegian duo  have created this witty piece to question both art and nature: where does one end and the other begin. It's rocks, it's outside, it's nature. But it's an impossibly positioned rock, on top of another one. Led by their humour they have cleverly and- it has to be said- beautifully presented the natural as the artificial.

Overall impression of the Serpentine is outside 10/10, inside 2/10.