SHARING WITH ME

This was another block buster event. «Van Gogh - Dreaming of Japan» and «Hiroshige - The Art of Travel». I have been in front of the Pinacotheque a couple of times since they started but the crowds have daunted any enthusiam until today. There was no-one. I would think that everything that can be said about Van Gogh’s (1822-1885) physcological problems, his schizophrenia, his crises which all had an effect on his work and the way of seeing the world generally. He must be the one artist who is known by everyone I would think we can all describe one of his paintings be it a sunflower, a night scene, his bedroom.....etc. etc. Every time I see an exhibition of his, the colours flash in front of my eyes, his unmistakeble brush techniques along with his use of paint. However, I had never thought of his relationship with the art of Hiroshige or Japan. To my knowledge, there has not been such an exhibition done which confronts both artists and looking at the landscapes today, it was not diff...

There are quite a few exhibitions that I «umm and ahh» at. Will I or wont I go. «Impressionism and Fashion» and a retrospective of Mary Cassat’s etchings were two such events. Both are ending next week. The first had very mitigated criticism from friends. "Brillant" or "boring". You can’t get too much between the two. Upon arriving, this is what I faced. On the left crowds without tickets and on the right, groups or priority passage. I noticed that the latter was moving so sighed and made the effort. 20 minutes later I was in the exhibition.  The fast line Three lines deep There was no possibility of reading the documents. Heads bowed and bobbing to see them prevented this. So I contented myself with the fashion and what I could see of the impressionist portraits Trends may have changed and a lot but even in the 19th century men and women wishing to keep up with the current fashions could consult a number of fashion magazines that disseminated and co...

Arriving in Lisbon, I was some what disconcerted  when the taxi driver told me that I was a long way from the centre. The hotel had been booked because of its proximity to the Calouste Gulbenkian and Modern Art Museum. Not in relationship with the old town. "A good hour's walk" I was told or 6 stops in the underground. I had also been told that Lisbon was very hilly - so far so good. A slow slope down to the Edward Park and having found Cortes Ingles, the very famous Spanish department store, I went in to buy some facial cream. It was a museum in itself and for an hour I wandered around watching customers change unwanted Christmas gifts. There were a lot of bored men around until I got to the men's department where the women were rushing around the men trying to get them to select something - they wanted! Or it looked that way to me. The Sales were already on so there were the frenetic buyers too but I wasn’t here for this. The sun was about to set when I ...