It is summer and the Laing Art gallery is host to yet another thematic compilation on the theme of The Family.The works in it are a very mixed back and include Stanley Spencer in fairly gross. So too Ms Rego.Shows like this are empty and pretentious. You could argue that a kind of musée imaginaire is being provided which is bound to strike some sparks-and that is true but it still seems an excuse to shoehorn whatever is available into a travelling exhibition.Produce a work of art and anyone with a degree of imagination will be able to relate it to a general theme.They are neither social histories nor a scholarly and therefore potentially enriching monographic show.This one is a ragbag of odds and ends and the captioning can be quite fatuous .
The explanation given for the lack of detail in Bell's portrait of her writer sister is that Virginia was diffident about having her portrait done-if there is any documentary evidence it isn't mentioned.It is true that Bell painted far more defined portraits. Could the explanation be that Bell was not much of a portraitist and that leaving things vague was just part of her style anyway? Artistically this exhibition is a mixture of the gross and the refined.Under the gross heading are Stanley Spencer at his worst and Paula Rego with another sterile production.
Amongst the most refined is Gainsborough's portrait of his two daughters.This is extremely well known and is a good enough reason to visit the exhibition.
This painting really does seem to say something about the intimacy and fragility of childhood.It is also very interesting from a technical point of view.The warm tone of the ground shows through in many places for the paint particularly on the dresses is quite thin and is becoming more transparent with age.
The explanation given for the lack of detail in Bell's portrait of her writer sister is that Virginia was diffident about having her portrait done-if there is any documentary evidence it isn't mentioned.It is true that Bell painted far more defined portraits. Could the explanation be that Bell was not much of a portraitist and that leaving things vague was just part of her style anyway? Artistically this exhibition is a mixture of the gross and the refined.Under the gross heading are Stanley Spencer at his worst and Paula Rego with another sterile production.
Amongst the most refined is Gainsborough's portrait of his two daughters.This is extremely well known and is a good enough reason to visit the exhibition.
