The Rembrandt House

“Painting is the grandchild of nature. It is related to God.”
Rembrandt
— As quoted in Rembrandt Drawings (1975) by Paul Némo

The Netherlands has provided the world with a large number of great artists but one stands out above all the rest: Rembrandt (1606-69). Generally considered one of the preeminent artists to date, Rembrandt is also the most important figure in Dutch art history. Not only was he an exceptional painter, he was also a draughtsman, collector and teacher. He excelled after his move to Amsterdam, the city rich in opportunity for artists at the time. In order to celebrate this famous Dutchman, the house he once owned has been restored to its 17th-century appearance and opened as a museum. The Rembrandt House Museum (Museum Het Rembrandthuis to the locals) gives visitors a complete Rembrandt experience with furniture, art and objects from that time.

Self-Portrait, Open-Mouthed, 1630

Rembrandt moved into the merchant house in St. Anthoniesbreestraat (now Jodenbreestraat) in 1639 but his artistic vocation had already begun long before. Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born on 15th July 1606 in Leiden, a city in the Dutch Republic (now the Netherlands). He came from a large, well-off family, being the ninth child born to Harmen Gerritszoon van Rijn and Neeltgen Willemsdochter van Zuijtbrouck. Although his parents had no creative background, it is thought that Rembrandt’s mother’s deep Roman Catholic faith influenced many of his religious works.

Remaining in Leiden throughout his schooling, Rembrandt eventually became an apprentice to the local painter Jacob van Swanenburgh (1571-1638). Van Swanenburg was known for his religious paintings, which may also have influenced the young Rembrandt. He remained here for three years before travelling to Amsterdam where he became apprenticed to the history painter Pieter Lastman (1583-1633). However, Rembrandt did not stay here for long; six months later, he had returned to his hometown to set up as an independent artist.

Whilst Rembrandt was working in Leiden, he took on his first pupil, Gerrit Dou (1613-75) and began to receive important commissions from the court of The Hague. Life for Rembrandt was going well, however, in 1630 his father died and, without his support, Rembrandt’s financial worries began. Fortunately, he was able to borrow one thousand guilders from the art dealer Hendrick Uylenburgh (1587-1661) and moved to Amsterdam to reside as his lodger.

Through Uylenburgh, Rembrandt met his future wife, Saskia Uylenburgh (1612-42), who he married in 1634. For the remainder of the decade, Rembrandt continued to teach and paint successfully, culminating in the commission to paint The Night Watch, now found in the Rijksmuseum, in 1639. In the same year, after taking out a considerably large mortgage, Rembrandt and Saskia moved into the merchant house in St. Anthoniesbreestraat.

 

The Night Watch

Although Rembrandt continued to receive commissions and was well-known in the art community, his family life was suffering due to circumstances outside of his control.  Of Rembrandt and Saskia’s four children, only the youngest, Titus, born in 1641, survived infancy. The following year, Saskia also died. Over the next decade, Rembrandt had relationships with two women, Geertje Dircx (1610-56), Titus’ nanny, and Hendrickje Stoffels (1626-63), his housekeeper. The latter gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Cornelia, in 1654.

Throughout his career as an artist, Rembrandt also collected a huge quantity of objects and artefacts, which can be seen in a couple of rooms in the museum. He also owned a large art collection, which would not have helped his growing debts. Finally, in 1658, Rembrandt’s property was sold at auction after he was declared bankrupt.

Nonetheless, Rembrandt continued to paint and deal in art, for which he enlisted the help of both Hendrickje and Titus. Sadly, they both died before him, Hendrickje in 1663, and his son in 1668. Rembrandt followed them the following year, shortly after welcoming his only grandchild, Titia.

The life of Rembrandt van Rijn is narrated via an audio guide as visitors make their way around the rooms of the Rembrandt House Museum. The museum also owns the building next door, which contains a small art gallery on the upper floors and the entrance to the museum on the lower. The tour begins in the basement with the keucken (kitchen), which, as with all the other rooms, has been refurbished to look as it would have during Rembrandt’s residence. The furniture and 17th-century objects have been sourced or reconstructed based on a list written by the Insolvency Office.

 

The kitchen was where everyone in the household cooked and ate. Unlike upper-class families, there were no separate dining areas for the family and staff. Not only that, the maid would have slept in the box bed in the corner. These types of beds were common in the Netherlands, they could be shut-up during the day, making additional bedrooms unnecessary. They were also particularly small because the Dutch would never lie completely flat to sleep. Lying down was associated with death, therefore, people slept in a half-upright position.

 

The tour continues up a twisted staircase to the ground floor and into the voorhuys (entrance hall). This is the room people would have seen on first entering the house. It is spacious and well lit and has a good view through the windows onto the street. Today, the entrance hall contains many paintings by “Pre-Rembrandts” and his contemporaries, including his teacher, Pieter Lastman. A tiny room at the back of the hall contained Rembrandt’s study where he kept all his important papers. Whilst it is too small for visitors to go in, it is possible to peer through the door to see how it may once have looked.

To the left of the entrance hall is the sijdelcaemer (anteroom) where Rembrandt held his art dealing business. Similarly to the previous room, the walls are full of paintings by Rembrandt’s contemporaries and pupils. Another box bed can be found here where a family member may have slept. The most interesting aspect, however, is the mantlepiece above the fireplace. Whilst the floor and pillars are made of marble, the mantlepiece is not, but without an audioguide, no one would know. It is actually marbled wood, a very fashionable feature during the 17th-century. This was a lot cheaper than real marble, but not many would be able to tell the difference.

On the same floor but at the back of the house was Rembrandt’s living room or sael (salon). The artist would also have slept here in the box bed by the door. The high ceiling allows room for numerous paintings to be hung, mostly by Rembrandt’s most successful pupils.

 

Up another flight of stairs is Rembrandt’s groote schilder caemer (large studio) where he painted many of his masterpieces. This north facing room receives a lot of daylight, which would have been perfect for an artist working throughout the day. Being a large room, it would have been possible to set up scenes with models and props from which to paint. If need be, the light could be adjusted by closing the shutters of some of the windows.

During the day, the museum demonstrates the 17th-century method of paint-making in this studio. Visitors are amazed that artists had to create their own paints, whereas, today, we only need to squeeze it out of a tube. Various pigments were ground together with linseed oil to create the correct consistency of paint. Artists were limited to what colours they could make because the range of pigment was rather small. Lead, for example, was used to create white, and insects’ blood and plants could create different shades of red and yellow. A demonstration of another art technique Rembrandt frequently used: the printing press, can be observed on the floor below.

In the attic is a cleyne schilder caemer (small studio) which would have been used by Rembrandt’s pupils. It is separated into five cubicles so that each artist could work undisturbed. Often, his pupils would produce copies of his own work, for example, Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene, of which a version by Ferdinand Bol (1616-1680) can be seen on the ground floor.

 

Opposite the large studio is a room titled kunstcaemer (cabinet) in which Rembrandt stored his exceptional collection of art and rare objects. It is easy to see how easily Rembrandt went bankrupt from the purchase of these extraordinary items. He collected everything from plaster casts of classical statues to beautiful butterflies and shells. Since he often painted stories from the Bible, classical mythology or history, Rembrandt would regularly use these objects as references to draw from – there was a method to his collecting madness.

 

The Lamentation of Abel – Pieter Lastman

Christ Appearing to Mary Magdalene

Christ on the Cross, Pieter Lastman

It is a shame that there are not many paintings by Rembrandt in the museum. Being one of the world’s greatest artists, galleries are quick to purchase his work when they become available. Fortunately, the museum owns 250 of Rembrandts 290 etchings. Although they cannot all be displayed at once due to their fragility, a selection can always be found in the recently added print room. These highlight Rembrandt’s exceptional artistic quality and draughtsmanship.

 

Self-Portrait, Frowning

The Three Trees

The Fall

The Three Crosses

I have seen various of his printed works which have reached this country; they are very finely executed, sensitively and skilfully etched. And I regard him unequivocally as a great virtuoso.”
Don Antonio Ruffo (1660)

Rembrandt’s etchings are equally as impressive as his paintings. He began learning the printing technique in 1625 when he was working as an independent artist in Leiden. Rembrandt’s etchings were produced by making spontaneous, sketch-like lines onto metal plates that would be covered in ink and placed in a printing press to transfer the image on to paper. (As mentioned, a demonstration of this is available during the tour.) The deepness of the lines would determine how dark the image would appear, therefore, Rembrandt was able to produce several tones to create dramatic lighting within his compositions.

An etching plate could be used to print several impressions, which made them very popular with collectors. Whereas only one version of a painting would exist, numerous copies of the same etching could be owned by different people. They were also a lot cheaper to purchase.

Unlike his paintings that mostly focused on popular stories from religious or historical contexts, Rembrandt’s etchings covered a much broader range of themes. Initially, Rembrandt practised etching by drawing his face making different expressions. He continued to use himself as a model throughout his career. He also studied the heads and faces of people on the street, resulting in a number of interesting characters.

Rembrandt would go for walks around Amsterdam with his sketchbook and come home to copy his sketches onto etching plates. As well as people, Rembrandt studied and drew landscapes. Nonetheless, there are also a few etchings of the typical classical and Biblical stories.

“Rembrandt’s extraordinary manner of etching which is characterised by the free and irregular use of line, without delineation of outlines, and which results in a deep, powerful chiaroscuro of painterly quality.”
Filippo Baldinucci, 1686

Since it was opened to the public as a gallery on 10th June 1911 in the presence of Queen Wilhelmina (1880-1962), the Rembrandt House Museum has undergone many changes. Initially, the house was used as an art gallery to display Rembrandt’s etchings. It was not until 1998, when the building next door became available, that the opportunity to restore Rembrandt’s house to its original appearance became available. Historians and curators have done a phenomenal job to present a realistic as possible 17th-century home in which the greatest Dutch painter lived and worked. Everything has been completed with painstaking accuracy to provide a true insight into the artist’s life.

The Rembrandt House Museum is continually being updated as funds become available in order to provide the best possible experience. The latest updates took place earlier this year, including the print room and Rembrandt’s study.

With helpful staff and audio guides available in several languages, the Rembrandt House Museum is a wonderful place to visit. It is educational in a variety of ways, from the background of the artist to the methods painters used in the 17th-century. It is also a great way of discovering what the inside of the tall Dutch houses once looked like, imagining how a family would cope in the narrow building.

The Rembrandt House Museum is open daily from 10 am to 6 pm and costs €13 for adults and €4 for children. The audio guide is included in the entrance fee. Guidebooks are also available for purchase in a number of languages. Photography is allowed throughout the museum unless a sign requests otherwise (no flash), however, be prepared to leave large bags in the lockers provided.

“Of course you will say that I ought to be practical and ought to try and paint the way they want me to paint. Well, I will tell you a secret. I have tried and I have tried very hard, but I can’t do it. I just can’t do it! And that is why I am just a little crazy.”
Rembrandt

 

 

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Ingatestone Hall

Sans Dieu Rien

“Sir William hath at his own great costs and charges erected and builded a new house, very fair, large and stately, made of brick and embattl’d.”
Thomas Larke, 1566

It is not often that stately homes stay in one family. Many throughout England now belong to councils, trusts or associations and are seen as relics of the past. The Petre family, however, have retained their grade one listed manor house through fifteen generations. Ingatestone Hall, built during the reign of Henry VIII (1491-1547), maintains its Tudor appearance and is owned by the 18th Baron Petre.

Since 1992, parts of the house have been open to visitors during the summer months, including the ten acres of enclosed gardens. The south wing remains off limits and contains the living apartments of the heir of Ingatestone Hall, Dominic Petre. Either with a private tour or exploring on one’s own, guests can discover the history of the Petre family and their connection to the history of Great Britain.

Plan of Ingatestone Hall showing the additions and demolished sections

Set slightly outside the village of Ingatestone, Essex, five miles from Chelmsford, and twenty-five from London, the Hall is easiest to travel to by car, however, the view of the building is obscured by trees. After parking in a meadow and starting to walk towards the Hall, visitors are welcomed by a red outer court building supporting a turret and one-handed clock engraved with the motto Sans Dieu Rien (without God nothing). Passing through the archway below brings you to the inner court, still referred thus despite the demolition of the west wing.

Built with red bricks, the manor house contains many features typical of Tudor architecture. Some of these are the originals and others were installed in the 20th century when attempting to convert the building back into its initial appearance, these include the many mullioned windows. Crow-stepped gables and ornate chimney pots decorate the roof, and a tall, crenellated turret containing an octagonal staircase stands to face the courtyard. It is unusual to see a private residence with crenellations because these are traditionally reserved for defensive structures, such as city walls and castles. Permission had to be granted by the king before the first owner could add this characteristic to his home.

Sir William Petre (c1505-1572)

The first owner was Sir William Petre (c1505-72) who bought the estate around 1540, however, the history of the land goes back much further. In circa AD 950, King Edgar granted Barking Abbey land in Yenge-atte-Stone (the old name for Ingatestone) to build the Abbey of Our Lady & St Ethelburga. The Nunnery remained in use until 1535 when Henry VIII ordered the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

The Dissolution of the Monasteries was an anti-Catholic process that took place between 1535 and 1541. The monarch suppressed all Roman Catholic properties, taking their money and belongings as well as their buildings. This, in part, was a result of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, however, for Henry VIII, it was more likely a monetary issue.

William Petre, a lawyer from Devon, first came to Ingatestone as Thomas Cromwell’s (1485-1540) assistant. Cromwell was ordered to lead the Dissolution of the Monasteries and it was Petre’s job to create a record of each establishment’s possessions and persuade the inhabitants to peacefully surrender to the king. One of the places Petre was assigned to was the Abbey of Our Lady & St Ethelburga, a building with which he quickly fell in love.

Taking out a mortgage, which he quickly paid off, Petre bought the grange from Henry VIII for £849 12s 6d. Unhappy with parts of the building, Petre demolished it and built the house which is essentially what visitors can still see today. William Petre, knighted in 1543, lived the remainder of his life at Ingatestone Hall with his wife and children. Henry VIII appointed him Secretary of State, a position he kept throughout the reigns of four Tudor monarchs. On his death, his eldest son John (1549-1613) inherited the house, becoming the first Baron Petre.

Stone Hall

The tour of Ingatestone Hall begins in the Stone Hall, so called due to its flagstone flooring, which was recreated in the 20th century to replace the Great Hall lost in the demolition of the West Wing of the building. In the Georgian era, the decor had been modernised, however, Lady Rasch, the wife of the 16th Baron Petre, restored the room, which would have originally been three rooms, to the traditional Tudor appearance. Although electrical lighting has been added, the hall is quite dark due to the oak-panelled walls, giving visitors a sense of life in the 16th-century.

The Dining Room, also decorated with oak-panels, is set up as it would have looked at the beginning of a family meal. The table is set with cutlery, crockery and candlesticks, making the meal look like a grand occasion. The most interesting feature in the room, however, is the Mortlake Tapestries that adorn the walls around the table. Although they have become discoloured with time, the tapestries, which may have once belonged to James I and Charles I, are still impressive pieces of woven art.

The Old Kitchen with its wide fireplace is another interesting part of the house. This room would have been full of serving staff preparing meals but today it is no longer used as a kitchen. A cabinet holds examples of old kitchenware from past generations and the walls are filled with paintings of horses in the style of George Stubbs (1724-1806). Rich families often commissioned paintings of their prized horses, even more so than portraits of their own children.

Dining Room

Bedchamber

Upstairs, the Master Bedroom has been refurbished to appear as it may have looked when the first few generations lived in the house. The Tudor oak-panelling is also seen here but it has had some additions over time, including a walk-in wardrobe. In contrast, another room on the first floor reveals the Georgian decoration the Hall wore in the 18th century. Instead of oak panels, the room is covered in pine, a much lighter colour to its predecessor.

Finally, visitors reach the Great Gallery, which is a lengthy 29 metres, containing 40 portraits of the previous Barons Petre and their families. Display cases reveal various items, including clothing, letters, and old Catholic objects that may have once been hidden in priest holes in the walls of the building. Two priest holes were found by accident by past members of the family. These can be peered into by visitors as they make their way around the house.

The Petre family were recusants that refused to accept the new Anglican church. For their safety, they kept their Roman Catholic practices hidden from the public, holding covert masses in their private chapel. The priest holes may have been used to store their Bible and so forth in order to prevent nosy visitors from discovering their secret. They also helped to shelter several priests who were being hunted by Anglican lawmen. One of these priests was St. John Payne (1532-82) who had been arrested at Ingatestone in 1577. It was thought that he returned to the Hall after being released from the Tower of London where he may have made use of one of the priest holes. Although the Petre family succeeded in concealing him within their walls, Payne was later arrested elsewhere and beheaded in 1582. The clothes he wore on the scaffold are on display in the Great Gallery, complete with blood stains.

Summer Parlour

After visitors have finished exploring the Hall, they may relax in the Summer Parlour, or the Ballroom as it was in the original plans. Here you can order teas, sandwiches and large slices of cake, freshly prepared by the kitchen staff. The room has a positive atmosphere and is a great place to regroup after a tour or a walk around the gardens.

With splendid scenery and a beautiful building, Ingatestone Hall is a popular location for weddings. Various rooms can be used for the ceremony and reception and the Summer Parlour is the perfect size to cater a meal for a large party. At other times of the year, exhibitions or plays may be put on by local artists, which always attract a large number of visitors.

Every now and then, the current Baron Petre or his son Dominic may make an appearance. Until recently, John, the 18th Baron Petre had a big role in public life. Until a recent birthday, he held the title of Lord Lieutenant of Essex and has had opportunities to meet the Queen and the previous President of the United States, Barrack Obama. In 2016, he was appointed Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order. Lord John Petre will forever be associated with a large number of local organisations, such as Brentwood Arts Council; Brentwood Shakespeare Company; Ingatestone and Fryerning Horticultural Society; Ingatestone and Fryerning Angling Club; and as the President of St John Ambulance Essex, to name but a few.

Putting aside its history, Ingatestone Hall also has several claims to fame. It has been hired numerous times by film companies for a range of productions. These include: Lovejoy (BBC TV: 1992); Lady Audley’s Secret (Warner Sisters: 1999); an advertisement for British Gas (2001); Blue Peter (BBC TV: 2002 & 2005); a music video for Snow Patrol; Bleak House (BBC TV: 2005); and Jekyll and Hyde (ITV: 2015).

Ingatestone Hall is well worth a visit for both locals and those living further afield. Historians will love seeing the Tudor building and learning about the previous members of the Petre family. Others will enjoy the gardens and tea room as part of a peaceful day out. Children are also catered for with special events throughout the summer. Details of these can be found on their website. Due to it being a private residence, access to the Hall is limited. The opening times are from noon to 5 p.m on Wednesdays, Sundays and Holiday Mondays between Easter until the end of September. Visitors are advised to check the website before arriving to make sure the Hall will be open.

ADMISSION PRICES (2018)
ADULTS	£7.00
PENSIONERS	£6.00
CHILDREN (5-16)	£3.00
UNDER FIVES	FREE

Simeon goes to Amsterdam

Meet Simeon the red-haired gibbon (toffee-coloured, if you please). Instead of swinging from tree to tree in the subtropical rainforests of Bangladesh, Borneo or Sumatra, Simeon enjoys going on trips with his human friends. Fortunately, being a stuffed toy (do not mention that to him, it is a sore subject) Simeon can easily fit in hand luggage and be taken into all sorts of places where animals are not usually welcomed. This year, 2018, was a very special year for the small ape; in May, Simeon experienced his first trip abroad to the artistic capital of the Netherlands: Amsterdam.

Jetting off from London Southend Airport, Simeon landed at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol a mere 35 minutes later. It took less time to get from England to the Netherlands than it did to get from home to Southend! Schiphol is the main international airport of the Netherlands and sits nine kilometres southwest of Amsterdam. Despite being the third busiest airport in Europe, Simeon and friends whizzed through security to discover their luggage was already waiting for them on the conveyor belt – a complete contrast to most of London’s airports!

Without any to-do, Simeon found himself on a train heading to Amsterdam Centraal. Not only was this his first trip abroad, it was his first ride in both an aeroplane and a train! And what a good experience it was, too. Despite understanding little Dutch, it was quick and easy to get from A to B, the only issue being which exit to use at Centraal Station.

 

 

Soon to be connected to the Eurostar line, Amsterdam Centraal is the largest train station in the Netherlands and has been listed as a rijksmonument or national heritage site.  The Gothic/Renaissance Revival station building was designed by the Dutch architect Pierre Cuypers (1827-1921) and first opened for public use in 1889. Like the majority of buildings in Amsterdam, the station was constructed on the canals and required 8,687 wooden poles. The structure and surrounding area have since been redeveloped to make it more pedestrian friendly.

Despite renovations, Amsterdam Centraal Station is one of the most impressive buildings in the city; it looks more like a palace than a station. The building is richly decorated both inside and out. The façade is made up of red brick with prominent carvings on the towers either side of the main entrance. Each tower is topped with a spire and displays a large dial, however, only one of these is a clock. The other, which at a glance may look like a clock, is a read-out for the weather vane that sits on top of the station.

Amsterdam has an area of approximately 84.68 square miles, which is far too much for a little gibbon to walk. Fortunately for Simeon, there are 16 tram routes across that city, the majority of which begin their journeys outside Amsterdam Centraal. So, with 72-hour travel pass to hand (other time periods are available) Simeon was ready to check in and out of the trams as he made his way from one destination to another.

Although trams travel all over the place, the best way to experience Amsterdam is on the canals. There are plenty of canal trips to choose from of varying lengths that traverse the 60 miles of water. The most famous canals in Amsterdam are Prinsengracht, Herengracht, and Keizersgracht, however, the small ones are just as interesting to travel along – gracht means “canal” and Prinsen, Heren and Keizers can be translated to “Prince”, “Lords” and “Emperor’s” respectively.

 

 

Initially, the 17th-century canals were a form of defence but eventually became a means of navigating the city. Today, they are one of Amsterdam’s greatest attractions. Simeon opted for the open-top tour by the Blue Boat Company that took its guests around the more narrow canals in the city. The trip began at the company office on the edge of the water in Stadhouderskade, which is a short walk from the Museumkwartier where the major museums are located.

Depending on the tour company and guide, not only does a canal trip offer extensive views of the city, it provides a lot of interesting information and local knowledge that may not necessarily crop up in guidebooks. On an hour and 15-minute ride, after Simeon had got over his disappointment about not being allowed to drive the boat, he learnt a lot of fascinating facts about Amsterdam.

The name Amsterdam comes from Amstelredamme, indicating its origins as a 12th-century fishing village around a dam in the river Amstel. Although the city has lots of canals, it sits around two-metres below sea level. Originally, the area was farmed for peat, which was used to heat houses, resulting in the low level of the land. Due to this, Amsterdam was not inhabitable as a city until grand developments in the 14th and 15th centuries when the majority of canals and original buildings were constructed.

Most of the buildings in the city look fairly old, however, they do not date back as far as the conception of the city. Many of the buildings in Amsterdam were built during the 17th century and, as Simeon was amazed to see, stand rather crookedly, leaning forwards, backwards or even sideways. There are a number of theories for this strange sight but do not worry, they are unlikely to topple over.

Original buildings were built on wooden poles so that they would be raised above the water level. Unfortunately, due to the peaty quality of the soil, the poles began to sink into the ground as they tried to sustain the weight they were holding. This may be the cause of many of the slanted buildings around the city. Thankfully, the situation has been rectified by filling up the gaps below houses with cement so that they would not sink any further.

What surprises some people to learn is that some of the structures were deliberately built at a slant. This is known as op de vlucht bouwen and was a building regulation pre-1800. This may have stemmed from medieval times when the top floor of a wooden building traditionally jettied out further in order to prevent rain from flooding the floors below. The strongest reason for the leaning buildings is for economical purposes. As a staple port, Amsterdam was receiving daily deliveries from merchant boats of cotton, spices and so forth. Warehouses tended to be situated in the attics of the buildings along the canals and in order to store the crates, they were winched up on ropes from a hook on the top of the building. In order to prevent damages to the walls and windows, buildings were slanted forwards to provide enough room for the boxes to swing without hitting anything.

One thing that will not go amiss, regardless of whether you take advantage of a canal tour or not, is the width of the tall, Dutch buildings. Typically, houses are three windows wide and four windows high and were built as such due to heavy taxes imposed upon the people of Amsterdam. Similarly to London, Amsterdam had a window tax meaning that the more windows a building had, the more its owners would have to pay. Another tax was on the width of the houses – the wider, the more expensive. Large families were forever going up and down narrow, spiralled staircases in order to navigate their tall but thin houses. Any buildings wider than three windows were likely owned by the wealthier people of Amsterdam.

A good thing about travelling via the canals is, at least in Simeon’s opinion, you are not at risk of being hit by any of the 881,000 bicycles zooming around the city … or so you would think. To the astonishment of the people on the boat, the tour guide revealed that 15,000 bikes are pulled out of the canal every year. These are not necessarily a result of clumsy cyclists; thousands of bikes are parked against railings on the edge of the canals or bridges every day. It only takes one to fall over before a domino effect pushes them all into the water. Cars are also parked by the side of canals and risk falling in, fortunately, only five unlucky drivers are affected by this!

Returning to the Museumkwartier, Simeon had the opportunity to visit two of the most popular museums in Amsterdam. The city itself is one of the most visited cultural places in Europe and it is without a doubt in part due to its most famous museum, the largest museum of art and history in the Netherlands, the Rijksmuseum. Opened in 1885 and designed by Cuypers in the same Gothic-Renaissance style as his station building, the Rijksmuseum houses a number of different collections including 19th-century art and art from the middle ages. The most well-known section, however, is the masterpieces of the 17th-century painted by the school known as The Dutch Masters.

 

The Night Watch

The Milkmaid

The majority of artworks in the museum are of Dutch origin and can be found in all the collections, however, the artist visitors flock to see is the magnificent Rembrandt (1606-99). The Rijksmuseum owns 20 of his works including the extraordinary Night Watch or De Nachtwacht, which impressed Simeon with its colossal size (363 cm × 437 cm). Initially called Militia Company of District II under the Command of Captain Frans Banninck Cocq by the artist, it portrays the eponymous company being led out by Captain Frans Banning Cocq and his lieutenant, Willem van Ruytenburch, who are captured in a dramatic use of light and shadow, giving the impression of movement. Traditionally, portraits of military groups were static and posed but Rembrandt broke away from this custom.

Visitors also get to see paintings by other famous Dutch artists such as Vermeer (1632-75), Hals (1582-1666) and Van Gogh (1853-88). Simeon was particularly ecstatic to see The Milkmaid (Het melkmeisje) by Vermeer as well as look at examples of sculpture and decorative arts.

Amsterdam is a great city for art-lovers and on the opposite of the Museumplein is a museum devoted to one of the greatest Dutch artists from the 19th-century. Vincent van Gogh was born in Zundert, a small town in the south of the Netherlands. Although he spent a large amount of his artistic career in France, the Van Gogh Museum has brought 200 of his paintings back to his home country. As well as paintings, the museum has an enormous collection of drawings and letters made by van Gogh at various times during his life.

Visitors are not allowed to photograph the exhibits, however, they have provided a couple of areas where snap happy tourists can record a few memories. Simeon was pleased to discover that one version of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers was in one of these areas – this vain, little gibbon loves having his photograph taken!

The museum is set out in chronological order so that guests can learn about the artist’s life as they peruse his paintings. This also allows the more art savvy to notice and compare the development of van Gogh’s paintings as he progressed through his ten-year career. These are interspersed with artworks by other notable painters who inspired van Gogh or had a personal connection to him, for instance, his friend-cum-enemy Paul Gauguin (1848-1903).

The museum is located in two buildings joint together by way of underground passage. One side houses temporary exhibition and the other contains three floors of van Gogh’s work and timeline. Designed by Gerrit Rietveld (1888-1964), and eventually completed in 1973, the museum is a stark contrast to the Rijksmuseum. The architecture is modernist and features wide open spaces, although, once the crowds enter, there is not much space left!

Already seen in the Rijksmuseum, the Netherlands boasts another famous artist, however, to discover more about him, Simeon had to move away from the Museumplein and get the tram to Rembrandtplein. This artist is, of course, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.

Rembrandtplein, originally called Botermarkt, was established in 1668 as the central square for a dairy market. Today, it lies in homage to the 17th-century Dutch artist with a large cast iron statue of Rembrandt standing in the middle. Although Rembrandt was born in Leiden, South Holland, he bought a house nearby in Amsterdam, making him a significant famous association with the city.

In honour of his 400th birthday in 2006, a bronze-cast representation of his famous painting, The Night Watch, was erected in front of the statue of Rembrandt. Tourists are drawn to the square like magnets thanks to the brilliance of these figures produced by the Russian artists Mikhail Dronov and Alexander Taratynov. With so many cameras around, Simeon had to be quick to get his photograph taken with the majority of the characters.

The house Rembrandt owned is not on the square but a short walk will bring you to the very building now known as Museum Het Rembrandthuis. Decorated to look exactly how Rembrandt lived, Simeon enjoyed exploring the 17th-century rooms and seeing hundreds of collectable items that the artist had amassed during his career.

Rembrandt both lived in and worked from this building between 1638 and 1658, painting and teaching new students. His studio, kitchen and sleeping areas give the impression of an artist’s life during the 17th-century. People were shorter and did not need tall doorframes, causing visitors to duck in order to enter a room – not a problem for Simeon! Their beds were also much shorter but not because of their stature; the Dutch slept sitting up in fear that lying down would cause the blood to rush to their head and kill them.

With the main art museums fully explored, Simeon had time to visit smaller, lesser-known museums in Amsterdam. These were Cromhout Huis and Het Bijbels Museum. The former is a canal-side house once owned by the Cromhout Family who lived there for almost two centuries. The house faces the Herengracht canal and is decorated as splendidly as it would have during its Golden Age. An audio guide educates visitors about the seven generations of the Cromhouts, their ups and downs, and their unique pieces of furniture and art collection.

On the top floor of the house is Amsterdam’s Biblical Museum where the Bible is mixed in with art and Dutch culture. The collection features rare Bibles, including the oldest printed copy in the Netherlands (1477), Egyptian artefacts and many other treasures. Simeon’s favourite was the model of the Tabernacle and the 19th-century model of Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

There may be many museums in Amsterdam but there are so many other things to see. Dam Square, where the national monument and Koninklijk Palace can be found, provides several photographic opportunities and is surrounded by souvenir shops. However, the best places to buy mementoes is at one of the city’s markets, particularly the Bloemenmarkt situated along the Singel Canal. This flower market has been a tradition since 1862 and is open all year round so that both locals and tourists can benefit from the brightly coloured plants. The best time to visit this market is in the spring when the Dutch tulips are in full bloom, however, at any other time of year, the market is full of fake but beautiful tulips (Simeon thought they were real), or you can purchase bulbs to take home to plant in your own garden.

Simeon was only in Amsterdam for a few days, and although he visited so many places, there is still so much to explore. Amsterdam is the type of place tourists can visit time and again and discover something new on every trip. There is, of course, the “other side” to Amsterdam that gives it a bad name and evokes the saying “Good girls go to heaven, bad girls go to Amsterdam” but that is an extreme exaggeration. Nonetheless, Simeon has compiled his top tips for those wanting to visit the Dutch capital city.

Simeon’s Top Tips

1. Be careful crossing the road. Bicycles and trams have right of way.
2. Don’t take photographs in the Red Light District. This is where all the prostitution and sex-oriented businesses can be found.
3. Avoid Coffee Shops. You may end up purchasing 5g of cannabis with your order!
4. Try the Stroopwaffels (syrup waffles) but make sure it does not contain a certain ingredient … Marijuana
5. Book museum tickets before you go. Particularly the Van Gogh Museum, it works on a timed entry system and runs out of tickets quickly.
6. Don’t fall in the canal. That would be silly.
7. Don’t eat the cannabis lolly pops or ice cream. It may look yummy but might not do you any good.
8. If purchasing tulip bulbs, make sure you can legally bring them home. Some bulbs need special licenses to be taken abroad.
9. Always check in and out of trams. Not just in.
10. Be prepared to pay by card. Not all shops take cash.

Portraits at the Mall

Every year, hundreds of people visit the Mall Galleries in London to view a diverse and exciting programme of exhibitions. From well-established artists to amateur painters, the Galleries host an abundance of different shows. Known for being Central London’s leading gallery for contemporary art, a whole range of visual arts can be viewed and purchased annually.

Run by the Federation of British Artists, the Mall Galleries gives individual artists and societies the opportunity to showcase their work. Established in 1961, FBA is a visual arts charity that comprises several of the UK’s leading art societies, including the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the Royal Society of British Artists and the New English Arts Club. With each of these societies hosting an annual exhibition, the Mall Galleries becomes host to an eclectic range of artworks from all types of mediums: oil paintings, watercolours, pastels, prints, sculpture and so forth.

One of the more recent exhibitions, which opened for two weeks during May 2018, was curated by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. Carefully selected by professionals, around 200 works by serious contemporary portrait painters of all stylistic approaches were there to be admired and appreciated, including various competition winners.

Now registered as a charity with Her Majesty The Queen as its Patron, the Royal Society of Portrait Painters was established in 1891 with painters such as Millais and Whistler as members. With the intention of promoting enjoyment and appreciation of the art of portraiture, it aims to encourage up-and-coming artists and develop new modes and perspectives of painting.

The past 500 years has seen portraiture at its most popular in Britain, beginning with the likes of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Hans Holbein and Van Dyck, the latter two famous for portraits of the monarchy. These painters have helped to illustrate English history and give us great insight into the upper classes during the Tudor, Stuart and Victorian era. In more recent years, portraits of the middle classes began to emerge followed by the working class, as contemporary artists began using their family and friends and models. Examples include paintings by Lucien Freud and David Hockney who were prominent during the 20th century.

Present day portrait painters have entered an “art for art’s sake” period where commisions for sittings are less common leaving artists to their own devices and experimentation. With so many past art movements to be influenced by, painters have far more scope to play with, rather than in the earlier years when a particular style was expected. As seen in the Royal Society of Portrait Painters’ exhibition, there is a huge range of techniques that not only portray a likeness of the sitter, express emotion and personal concerns as well.

There will come a day when these portraits of 2018 may be reflected back on in a similar vein to society’s appreciation of painters from the 16 and 1700s. Particularly in the case of well-known faces, such as Michael Noakes’ portrait of Her Majesty the Queen, some of these paintings will help to reveal what the people and lifestyle were like at the beginning of the 21st century (although, we also have photographs for that job). However, the majority of the paintings submitted to this exhibition were portraits of anonymous people, personally known by the artists, and therefore meaningless in terms of documenting history. On the other hand, they are a great way of studying different styles, techniques and talents of individual people.

Sophia – Miriam Escofet

Starting off the exhibition was an incredibly detailed portrait titled Sophia by the Spanish fine artist Miriam Escofet (b1967). An associate member of The Royal Society of Portrait Painters, Escofet describes herself as a contemporary figurative painter and has been painting ever since graduating from art school in 1991. Her work is inspired by classical painters, which can be seen in the smoothness of the brushstrokes that are virtually invisible in this hyper-realistic painting of a young woman. What makes the painting so remarkable, and arguably the best in the exhibition, is the attention to detail, particularly in the lace dress. It is almost as though one could reach out a hand and feel the material or stroke the hair. Sophia is a phenomenal piece of work, it is hard to believe it is a painting.

Yvonne – Sandra Kuck

Ilea – Neil Worley

There were a few other extremely realistic portraits that took on the appearance of photographs rather than paintings. An example is Sandra Kuck’s (b1947) Yvonne in which a flawless young girl sits in front of an elaborately decorated background. In this painting, Kuck not only shows her talent for portraiture but displays her skill at working with intricate detail, delicate lighting and vibrant colours.

Although photorealistic portraits are awe-inspiring, the majority of the works included in the show were of a more impressionist nature. Neale Worley’s (b1962) small painting Ilea sits on the border between impressionism and realism. From a distance, the portrait could be mistaken for a photograph, however, up close the brush strokes are more visible. Similarly to Kuck, Worley is also extremely talented at capturing skin tone and the texture of the fabric in the background.

Self Portrait with Brushes – Alice Boggis-Rolfe

Fiona – Nneka Uzoigwe

Girl With a Ring – Toby Wiggin

Some people confuse the concept of impressionism with surrealism but often these paintings still look realistic, however, with more obvious brush strokes. Although they could not be mistaken for a photograph, they provide a lifelike impression of the sitter. Alice Boggis-Rolfe‘s (b1990) highly commended Self Portrait with Brushes is produced with loose brushstrokes that concentrate more on the application of colour than the preciseness of the composition. Nonetheless, the final result is a faithful portrayal of the artist at work as seen through the reflection of a mirror.

Nneka Uzoigwe’s portrait of Fiona, on the other hand, is produced with more precise brushstrokes, yet still adopting an impressionistic approach. The model almost appears to be emerging from or fading into the dark background and looks ever so slightly blurred, resulting in an ethereal quality that most realistic paintings fail to achieve. Uzoigwe is mostly known for floral still lifes but she has managed to transfer her method of painting to portraiture to produce something as equally beautiful.

Toby Wiggins‘ Girl with a Ring may be more recognisable than other paintings in the exhibition since it was selected to be featured on the advertisements published online and in magazines. Wiggins studied at the Royal Academy Schools and is an established portrait painter and member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters.

“With every new sitter, I try to respond afresh to the repeated challenges that portraiture offers. I hope that my work is an honest expression of the particular individual(s), a translation of what I see and what I feel”
– Toby Wiggins

Girl with a Ring (stop looking at her hands, it is a lip ring) is more than just a portrait. It is full of unexpressed emotion and tension revealed through the contrast of the background with the blue dress, which leads the eye to the tense posture of the model. Although the girl appears to be attempting to suppress her true feelings, her wary facial expression and stance suggest a notion of unease.

Franke – Bernadett Timko

Em and Bruno – Anna Pinkster

Study of Tatiana – Michael Travis Seymour

Whilst the favoured medium of the exhibition tended to be oil paint or acrylics this was not everyone’s preference. Produced in monochrome, some artists opted for charcoal or etching for their portraits. The latter has reduced in popularity since the advent of digital art, so it was refreshing to come across an etching hidden amongst the numerous paintings. Bernadett Timko (b1992) is a figurative painter but chose to use the method of etching for her portrait of Franke. This allowed her to expressively draw the tightly curled hair and scratchy stubble, something that would have been nigh on impossible with a paintbrush.

Anna Pinkster was awarded the Prince of Wales Prize for Portrait Drawing for her charcoal sketch of Em and Bruno. Complete with a black background, charcoal was an interesting choice for a portrait containing a black cat; he almost disappears into his surroundings and merges with the material of Em’s shirt.

Michael Travis Seymour (b1976) also chose to work with charcoal for his Study of Tatiana. Unlike Pinkster, Travis Seymour has a much more delicate approach to drawing and does not rush the process. Although it is not a finished portrait, the face and hair almost look like a black and white photograph due to the fine lines and shading.

Dame Judi Dench – Michael Noakes

Nick Park and the Dinosaur Gallery, animator – Carl Randall

Raymond Briggs and Ashen Grove – Carl Randall

As well as Her Majesty the Queen, there were a handful of well-known people framed on the walls of the Mall Galleries. One of these was Dame Judi Dench by the English artist Michael Noakes (b1933) who was elected as a Member of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters in 1967. Known for painting several important people, including members of the royal family, Noakes comes across as someone who takes portrait painting very seriously, however, there is something not quite right with his portrait of Judi Dench. The 83-year old actress leads a very busy life and it was often hard to find a date to sit for the royal painter. On the occasions that she was able to meet with Noakes, she was often fidgeting, resulting in the artist deliberately adding an extra appendage to Dench’s body in an expression of his frustration. “That is why I portrayed Judi with three arms, showing her in a rushed state.”

Carl Randall (b1975) is another painter who produced portraits of famous names, however, his results are a little unusual. The two examples of his work submitted to the exhibition were of the animator Nick Park (b1958) and the illustrator Raymond Briggs (b1934). Animator Nick Park and the Dinosaur Gallery, to give it its full title, shows the Wallace and Gromit creator behind a representation of the Natural History Museum. In the foreground are eight three-dimensional, cartoonish-looking dinosaurs, prancing around outside of the building. Randall’s choice for this scene was inspired by Park’s memories of visiting the museum to sketch the dinosaurs when he was a student.

This portrait is part of a series called London Portraits in which Randall asked 15 British celebrities who had contributed to British society and culture to choose a location in London that meant something to them to be used as the background of their portrait. In this instance, Park became part of the background with his chosen location in front of him, however, the clouded sky that makes up the backdrop is remarkably eye-catching.

Walking into a gallery and seeing Animator Nick Park and the Dinosaur Gallery on the opposite wall, the eyes are immediately drawn to the optical illusion effect of the white clouds. Until seen standing directly in front of the portrait, the painting appears to be three-dimensional. It is easy to be fooled into thinking the clouds are made of plastic and stuck on to the canvas.

The portrait of Raymond Briggs, famed for The Snowman (1978), is less bold and does not “pop” like its neighbouring painting. Briggs selected 65 Ashen Grove as the backdrop of his portrait, which is where he grew up as a child. It is also the setting of one of his famous graphic novels Ethel and Ernest (1998) and, therefore, holds lots of meaning for him.

Sisters – Saied Dai

Quite a few of the portraits at the Mall Galleries had won or been selected for various awards. One of these prizes included the RP award presented by the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. This year, 2018, judges were looking for painters who had produced portraits that incorporated the theme “friends”. The £2000 prize was awarded to Saied Dai (b1958) whose portrait, Sisters, contained the interesting and engaging aspects the judges were looking for.

Dai was elected to the Society in 2004 and has since won several awards, with the RP being the most recent.

Seeing all the portraits together, it is clear that no artist has the exact same style as another. Whether photorealistic or impressionistic, everyone approaches the canvas differently. Naturally, there are similar styles, however, there were a couple that stood out from the others. These were not necessarily the best of the bunch but they were very different in terms of technique.

Adam and Marsell, his Friend since Nursery School – Melissa Scott-Miller

Coptic Priest, Jericho – David Graham

Melissa Scott-Miller, a middle-aged English artist, had two paintings in the exhibition. Both of these featured a figure named Adam, her son, who regularly appears in her compositions. Adam and Marsell, his friend since nursery school stood out for its cartoon-ish appearance, vibrant colours and detailed setting. The artist did not only focus on the human subjects, she painstakingly included everything in the room around them, from the apples on the table to the crucifix on the wall. She also added a picturesque view from the windows situated behind the two boys. Although this style may not be what people expect when thinking about portraits, it is still pleasing to look at and is refreshing to come across after so many generic portrait paintings.

David Graham, who likes to work in oils without any preparatory sketches, produced the portrait Coptic Priest, Jericho. This initially stood out for its energetic colours and brushstrokes, however, it also attracted attention for being one of the few paintings to represent a different culture.

“I relish working with artists who help me view the world from a different perspective, often challenging my own views in the process.”
Aliona Adrianova

Alongside the main exhibition was a smaller display of photographs by Aliona Adrianova who photographed many of the portrait artists in their studios. This is part of the Mall Galleries major project “In the Studio” which aims to encourage new artists by revealing the ways different artists work and to learn about the creating process. With her photographs, Adrianova aimed to capture the artists in their creative settings as well as reveal their relationship between life and art.

This was a perfect addition to the portrait exhibition, providing the opportunity to discover the artists behind the artwork and appreciate the time and energy focused on the creative process rather than only viewing the finished product. It is easy to forget the challenges and difficulties painters face in order to create the perfect outcome. These photographs reveal the artists as human beings rather than portrait producing machines.

Although this particular exhibition closed on 25th May, there will be future opportunities to view portraits by members of the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. The Society uses the Mall Galleries for their annual exhibition, therefore, keep an eye on the gallery’s diary for 2019 so that you do not miss out next year.

The Mall Galleries next exhibition is the New English Art Club Annual Exhibition 2018, which runs from 15th June until 23rd June. Admission is £4 (£3 concessions), however, National Art Pass holders receive 50% off. All exhibitions are free for Friends of Mall Galleries and under 18s.

Auguste Rodin and the Parthenon Stone

It started with a kiss …

The Kiss, 1889

Walking into the Rodin and the art of ancient Greece exhibition at the British Museum brings visitors face to face with The Kiss, one of Rodin’s most famous sculptures. This special exhibition explores the influence the museum had on Rodin’s work, which he visited for the first time in 1881. Home to the Elgin marbles, Rodin was instantly captivated by the beauty of the ancient Parthenon sculptures. Containing a mix of Rodin’s work and the early masterpieces, the British Museum explores how the ancient world influenced his aesthetic imagination.

 

 

“Your beautiful museums, with their marvellous collections, Greek, Assyrian, and Egyptian, awakened in me a flood of sensations, which is not new, had at any rate a rejuvenating influence, and those sensations caused me to follow Nature all the more closely in my studies.”
– Auguste Rodin

The French sculptor Auguste Rodin (François-Auguste-René Rodin, 1840-1917) was one of the most influential European artists of the period and the first since the heyday of Neoclassicism to engage the public with his form of art. Although he is now a famous name, his background was not so propitious. Rodin came from a poor background, the second child of Marie Cheffer and Jean-Baptiste Rodin. He was mostly homeschooled until age 14 when he attended the Petite École, a school that specialised in art and mathematics, however, his application for further study at the École des Beaux-Arts, was rejected on three separate occasions. For many years, Rodin worked as an ornamental mason but he aspired to be something of much more importance.

Rodin’s first major influence, before he visited the British Museum, was Michelangelo (1475-1564), whose statues inspired him when he visited Italy at the end of 1875. Michelangelo’s male nudes were one of the stimuli for Rodin’s The Age of Bronze (1877), which also sits near the entrance to the exhibition. In order to produce this particular bronze statue, Rodin studied the body of a Belgian soldier, Auguste Neyt; a Roman statue of the spear-bearer Doryphoros; as well as Michelangelo’s Dying Slave (1513-16). When The Age of Bronze was first exhibited, it sparked controversy because of its naturalistic appearance. Although Rodin had sculpted it by hand, he was accused of having cast it from a live model.

 

 

 

The Age of Bronze, Rodin, 1877

Auguste Neyt, Model for “The Age of Bronze”

Doryphoros. Marble. Roman copy after a Greek bronze original by Polykleitos of the 5th

By 1880 at the age of 40, Rodin’s reputation had been established, earning him a commision by the Paris state to produce a decorative door for the proposed Musée des Artes Décoratifs. Entitled The Gates of Hell, Rodin poured his finest creative energy into the work for 20 years, however, the museum never came into being. Nonetheless, it resulted in 200 figures of which many formed the basis of Rodin’s most famous sculptures, such as The Kiss and The Thinker (1881-2).

The name and the figures featured on The Gates of Hell were inspired by Dante Alighieri’s (1265-1321) Divine Comedy. The individual figures, ranging in height from 15cm to 1m, represented a scene from the first section of the narrative poem, Inferno.

Through me the way into the suffering city,
Through me the way to the eternal pain,
Through me the way that runs among the lost.
Justice urged on my high artificer;
My Maker was Divine authority,
The highest Wisdom, and the primal Love.
Before me nothing but eternal things
Were made, and I endure eternally.
Abandon every hope, who enter here.

Dante, Inferno, 3.1-9

The Kiss and The Thinker, both featured in the exhibition, are large marble versions of the original sculptures Rodin produced for the gate. It was normal for sculptors to produce several versions of their work in various sizes, particularly when the originals were in miniature form. In order to exhibit his work, Rodin created the larger versions that the British Museum has borrowed for this show. In fact, one cast of The Thinker sits overlooking Rodin’s grave in the garden of Meudon, where he once lived.

The Kiss, whilst seemingly romantic, has a darker side. The two figures are Paolo and Francesca, two lovers featured in The Divine Comedy, who are about to be discovered by Francesca’s husband – also Paolo’s brother. In a fit of rage, the husband/brother kills the pair; this scene is their final, bittersweet embrace.

The Thinker was designed to sit up high on The Gates of Hell, looking down on all the people wishing to enter. This was originally going to be Minos, the judge of the damned as described in Dante’s version of Hell. After the gates never came to fruition, the soon enlarged sculpture became known as The Thinker. It shows a man with an athletic body sitting with his chin resting on the back of his hand as though lost in meditation. Alternatively, art critics have interpreted it as a man in a state of depression over the tragic nature of the human condition. The pose in which he sits is typical of the sign of mourning in ancient Greek art.

Other figures from the gate are also displayed in the exhibition, however, they are significantly smaller and less impressive than the two previously mentioned. These include The Crouching Woman, Falling Man and Sister of Icarus, the latter being a character entirely made up by Rodin’s imagination.

Interspersed between Rodin’s sculptures are examples of the remains of the Parthenon marble statues produced between 438-432 BC. The majority of these have lost their heads and extremities, leaving only their torsos and upper legs intact. Nevertheless, Rodin saw the beauty in these sculptures, proclaiming, “… they are no less masterpieces for being incomplete.”

As visitors to the exhibition will notice, Rodin frequently created works that resembled these ancient Greek sculptures, complete with missing heads. He aimed to honour the remains he so admired, relying on the bodies to give expression to the figures.

 

 

 

The Gates of Hell

Rising Goddess

Iris

Horse of Selene

Torso of Venus

“This is real flesh! … It must have been moulded by kisses and caressess … one almost expects, when touching this torso, to find it warm.”
– Rodin, 1911, speaking about Torso of Venus

For many years, Rodin spent a large amount of his time at the British Museum; it became his second home and allowed him to visit ancient Greece without leaving London. The statues he so admired were originally from the Acropolis of Athens, which Lord Elgin (1766-1841) had brought to England in 1803; these sculptures are often referred to as the Elgin Marbles.

It is thought that many of the Elgin Marbles were designed by Pheidias (480-430 BC) who is regarded in antiquity as the greatest artist of all time. Unfortunately, the most famous of his works have not survived, notably the statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  In 447 BC, the Greek statesman, Pericles, commissioned Pheidas to produce sculptures, which would later decorate the Parthenon in Athens, in celebration of the Greek victory against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon during the Greco-Persian Wars (490 BC).

Although only fragments of the original marble statues survive, Rodin was inspired by the headless, limbless figures and deliberately appropriated this all’antica (“after the antique”) look in his own sculptures. He was particularly drawn to the way motion could be expressed in stationary stone.

During his lifetime, the process of photography was rapidly developing and artists were able to capture and study movement for the first time. Rodin, however, disliked the photographic outcomes, stating “It’s the artist who tells the truth and the photographer who lies. For in reality, time does not stand still.” (1911)

Pheidias, or other artists who worked on the Parthenon, depicted movement through the position of the body. Despite the limbs no longer existing, movement can still be detected by the angle of the torso and the drapes of the tunics or cloaks the figures wear. With this in mind, Rodin replicated the ancient master’s technique, particularly in his bronze sculpture of The Walking Man (1907). This decapitated body is full of energy, which makes it appear as though he has been walking purposefully for a length of time.

“It is not my Walking Man in himself that interests me but rather the thought of how far he has come and how far he has yet to go.”
– Rodin, 1907

 

 

 

The Walking Man

Cavalcade from the north frieze of the Parthenon

Whilst Rodin has a reputation for lopping off heads and appendages, he also produced a number of sculptures with all their limbs intact, for instance, The Kiss and The Thinker. Another example is a monument commisioned by the city of Calais in honour of six men who were willing to sacrifice themselves to end Edward III’s siege on Calais during the Hundred Years’ War. Fortunately, as described by the medieval writer Jean Froissart (1337-1405), one of the wealthiest of the town leaders, Eustache de Saint Pierre, volunteered as a sacrifice, followed by five other burghers, however, their lives were spared by the intervention of England’s queen, Philippa of Hainault (1310-1369), who persuaded her husband to let them go, claiming that their deaths would be a bad omen for her unborn child.

Rodin’s monument, The Burghers of Calais (1884-9), depicts the six hostages in a range of stances from anguish to courage as they anticipated the threat of death. Each figure is dressed in sackcloth and their bodies and facial expressions reveal the tension and anxiety they felt. Along with Eustache de Saint Pierre, who looks like a worn-out old man, stands Andrieu d’Andres with his head in his hands, Jean d’Aire, Pierre de Wissant and his brother Jacques, and Jean de Fiennes.

The result of Rodin’s hard work was not exactly what the civic authorities had hoped for; they were expecting something that portrayed the burghers as heroic and patriotic. Nonetheless, The Burghers of Calais is a strong example of Rodin’s radical designs.

 

 

The British Museum’s exhibition contains the bulk of Rodin’s masterpieces, beginning with The Kiss and The Thinker, and ending with The Burghers of Calais and The Walking Man. Interspersed between Rodin’s works are several ancient marble sculptures, the majority of which the British Museum already owned.  What is interesting to note, aside from Rodin’s appropriation of the Parthenon sculptures, is the skill and technique used to produce such perfect figures.

It is safe to assume Rodin never actually worked the stone but rather produced plaster models for others to copy. Likewise, it is doubtful that Pheidias produced the Parthenon stones, most likely only being the designer. Nevertheless, the marble versions of Rodin’s sculptures are made to look exactly like his initial versions, complete with finger marks and indents.

To engage visitors, the museum has provided examples of the tools used to sculpt marble and the process the stone goes through, from rough edges to a smooth finish. Everyone is invited to touch and feel examples of marble during different stages of the sculpting process.

The first stage labelled “roughing out” is the least delicate of the processes. With a hammer, tools such as a pitcher and a point are struck against the stone in order to remove large, unwanted chunks. The remaining stone has a rough texture where pieces have broken away. The sculptor then applies various chisels to refine the surface and gradually shape the stone into their desired appearance. Finally, the marble is finished with a rasp or emery stone, which creates a highly polished surface.

Another technique that Rodin employed was bronze casting. For this, the artist would produce his sculpture in clay with his hands, which would then be covered in plaster by studio assistants. When dry, the plaster could be carefully removed, thus producing moulds to be sent to a foundry where it would be filled with bronze to create the final outcome. This was a particularly expensive process and Rodin only used it when he was commissioned to do so, for instance, The Burghers of Calais.

From beginning to end, Rodin and the art of ancient Greece is set out by theme, finishing with Rodin’s ability to depict motion in his statues. It is fairly easy to navigate with a semi-one-way system ensuring that visitors get the opportunity to view everything in the exhibition. The only issue with this is in busy times queues form in order to read the information by each individual sculpture. Also, as photography is permitted, people are forever waiting to get a clear shot of the statues.

Although the sculptures are given the praise and justice they deserve, the information about Rodin himself is rather limited. Rodin is described as a radical sculptor who was not appreciated as much during his lifetime as he was after his death. Now considered one of the greatest sculptors of the 19th and 20th centuries, Rodin was ridiculed for his ideas, which were simultaneously modern and antiquated.

The information provided by the museum is only in relation to Rodin’s work or his response to the Parthenon sculptures. Missing are details about his upbringing, family life and personal factors that help connect visitors with the artist. Granted, the British Museum focuses on antiquity rather than art, but it would have been beneficial to know more about Rodin’s history. There is barely any reference to his models, particularly his lovers Gwen John (1876-1939) and Camille Claudel (1864-1943). Nor is there any meaningful acknowledgement of his 53-year relationship with Rose Beuret, whom he finally married in 1917, a mere two weeks before her death. Rodin died in November of the same year after suffering a severe bout of influenza.

“At certain times, he simply stands before his relics, meditating … How his fingers tremble when he touches these old stones!”
– Gustave Coquiot, 1917

Essentially, Rodin and the art of ancient Greece is as much a celebration of the ancient Parthenon sculptures as it is a reflection on Rodin’s work. There is something of interest for both the historian and the artist. Although not particularly educational, it makes up for this with the brilliance and awe-inspiring nature of the sculptures on show. It is a fantastic opportunity to see Rodin’s most famous works up close and to appreciate the detail in the art of the ancient Greeks.

Rodin and the art of ancient Greece organised by the British Museum with Musée Rodin, Paris is on show until 29th July 2018. Tickets are priced at £17 per person, although discounts for certain visitors are available. Members of the British Museum can visit for free with a valid pass.