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| London: The Old Horse Guards from St James's Park, c1749, Canaletto |
Off yesterday for a breath of spring air in the Cotswolds and a visit to lovely Compton Verney. This Canaletto - normally in Tate Britain - belongs to Andrew Lloyd-Webber and I love the detail. (You need to click on the image.) The servants beating carpets outside Downing Street, the housemaid dusting the windowsill, bedclothes airing in an open window and a tiny figure just visible up in an attic - not to mention two chaps having a wee up against the wall. And to think this was where they held the Olympics volleyball! I wonder what the fashionable ladies and housemaids would have made of it?
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| Capriccio: St Paul's and a Venetian Canal, c 1795, William Marlow |
This is another painting on loan from Tate Britain and I've never paid it much attention before, but yesterday it jumped off the wall at me. And something about the crumbling palazzi and the timelessness of St Paul's made me think of wartime images like this ...
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| St Paul's 1941, Duncan Grant |
Looking at the first picture made me wonder why the shopping trolley wasn't invented centuries ago .
ReplyDeleteI've just been admiring a lovely Canaletto in the Groninger museum ... the tiny details are fascinating .
You'd think it would be quite easy to invent a shopping trolley! Perhaps it's simply that all inventors are men?
ReplyDeleteJust caught up with your posts, telly to watch and books to read. Thanks for the heads-up about the Boy in the Striped pyjamas. Plus I've always wanted to go to Compton Verney. Lots to add to the To Do/Visit list.
ReplyDeleteIt's not the easiest place to get to, Katharine - but It's lovely on a fine day when you can enjoy the lake and the grounds. And the permanent collections are beautifully displayed.
ReplyDeleteSuch a wonderful day, Mary! I love paintings with a lot of detail and rooting out what everyone is up to...must remember not to get too involved (and close) though.
ReplyDeleteHow long was the train ride?
Only an hour by train, Darlene - but unfortunately, quite a long way from the station (though I believe there's a bus that runs infrequently, so it might be manageable by public transport if you did a bit of research).
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