Manchester Art Gallery

Hi everyone! :) Before i say anything i just wanted to say thankyou to every one of my 11 followers. It's really lovely to see that there are people interested in my posts, especially at such an early stage of the blog. With that out of the way i thought i'd chat on a bit about my day today, not because i have an especially interesting life, but because today i visited the Manchester Art Gallery. After a beautiful Spanish tapas meal with my family for my birthday last night, and rather alot of wine, i woke up today suprisingly fresh and ready to set off for Manchester all alone in the pouring rain at 12 o'clock, which for me is early for a weekend! It may sound a bit odd but i don't mind going into the city by myself, it's much easier. I always go shopping on my own and love being able to spend as much time as i want in whatever shop i want. But anyway! That's what i did. Incidently, just as i sat on the tram, a guy sat infront of me holding a polystyrene burger container stuffed full of American flags, and insisted on talking to me throughout my journey. Not that i minded particularly. Whilst i enjoy looking out of the window, especially on a rainy day such as this one, he was sweet and talked me through several books he'd bought for his 2 year old cousin that he was on his way to see. Between you me, he was a little crazy but it was quite amusing and he was - as i said before - very sweet. I did however feel the need to put my foot down when he asked whether he could accompany me to the art gallery (i couldn't think of a way out of telling him where i was going when he asked!). I told him firmly that i preffered to be alone on such excursions (although not in such fancy words haha). In retrospect it was rather like a scene from Catcher In The Rye, which is a great book (i studied it for my GCSE English Lit exam).

Right well sorry for that overly-long introduction to my day at the gallery! I had a great time. It's strange how you can love an artwork and admire an artist so much, and the go to see in it person a whole other dimension to your enjoyment of it. It's a bit like meeting or seeing a celebrity in real life. The realisation that they are a real thing hits you full on. I felt almost connected to the artists (in particular the ones i already knew about) just by looking very close up and the artworks and how they'd been painted. Sparsely in some areas, yet thickly in others, where they'd been gone over a few times. Whether this was/is down to effect or mistakes, the whole experience of noticing this creates a sense of intimacy with this person that is often no longer alive. For instance, when i first became familiar with John William Waterhouse, i loved his work. I then started to become more critical of it, but after taking a look his 'Nylas and the Nymphs' today, i'm back to being in love with it. In person, the Nymphs are so beautiful and the whole painting seemed more vivid and alive.

Hylas and the Nymphs - John William Waterhouse

I don't want to clog this post up with any more of my waffling, so here's some paintings that i saw today. The one below is 'Sappho' by Charles Mengin. I was really looking forward to seeing this painting as i've known and liked it for a while. It was also featured in the BBC series 'The Genius of British Art' in the episode 'Flesh' which was the only one of the series that i watched as, to be honest, it was the only one that interested me. In it the presenter visited the Manchester Art Gallery, amongst other places in Manchester and the rest of the UK.

Sappho - Charles Mengin

I've never liked the work of Lowry very much at all, although living in Manchester his work does crop up quite often. However, today i discovered the artist that Lowry studied under, Pierre Adolphe Valette, and i really loved his work! Though a French man, the majority and the most acclaimed of his work is scenes of Manchester.

He produced an extraordinary series of paintings of the Edwardian city, capturing it at the moment when it hovered smokily between the past and the present. Many of the smog-laden cityscapes subsequently became the property of Manchester Art Gallery. The influence of Monet on Valette’s work is unmistakable. Like Monet, he returned to the same scene several times, in different lights – and was also fascinated by bridges. He too was a master of light and dark – viewing with an artist’s eyes the industrial wasteland that was Manchester at the beginning of the 20^th Century and almost magically bestowing upon it an unworldly beauty.

(Taken from this webpage)

This is a quote from Lowry that i read today:

“I cannot underestimate the effect on me at that time of the coming into this drab city of Adolphe Valette, full of the French Impressionists, aware of everything that was going on in Paris … I owe so much to him”.

York Street Leading to Charles Street, Manchester - Pierre Adolphe Valette

 I also found it really interesting to see a Lawrence Alma Tadema painting at the gallery. It was rather small in comparison to the paintings that surrounded it, but when i looked closely at the brushstrokes and detail, it was exactly as i had imagined. So neat and perfect, as if he just didn't make mistakes. It is this quality that has caused me to be somewhat lukewarm when it comes to liking his art. It seems a bit artificial and fake - lacking in expression and emotion, or perhaps depth. This did not, however stop him becoming one of the most renowned artist of late nineteenth century Britain. Looking at his work again now though, i realise how amazing his skill as an artist was and that perhaps his style is/was so different to many that i have seen, that i find it hard to relate to. This is the painting that i saw in the gallery:

Silver Favourites - Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema

The colours are so light and bright, and i do love the pattern on the dress of the reclining girl. A description of his work that i found next to this painting commented on the fact that his depictions, though of Antiquity, were scenes of everyday activities that people found easier to relate to. 

Anyway, i think that's quite enough for one night. I really ought to get to bed so i'm not a complete zombie all day tomorrow. I am definately not one of those people that could ever survive on 4 hours of sleep or something ridiculous like that. I have a friend that often goes to bed at around 3 in the morning on a school night, and whilst she does often fall asleep in lessons, she seems to somehow take everything in and get straight As in her exams. I swear she's not human!

Lots of love
Lucy
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