The Tate Britain

 

A Proper Good Morning to You

There are some ominous looking clouds, and rain is in the forecast for tomorrow, but today is still warmish.

After a quick trip to the grocery store, I took the Piccadilly Line to Green Park where I maneuvered through the long tunnels and up and down stairs to transfer to the Victoria Line. A few stops took me to Pimlico where I alighted for my visit to the Tate Britain. I had a pleasant stroll through a semi posh neighborhood and arrived at the museum just before it opened. My arrival coincided with the arrival of a huge school group, but I'm happy to say that that was the last I saw of them.

I discovered that I'd neglected to charge my phone, so I took only the one photo, even though I saw a lot of wonderful paintings. There is truth in advertising. The Tate exhibits exclusively British Artists and is rather a project. I confess I did not cover it all. I was there for Turner and Constable, but I saw plenty of other artists.

But let's begin with JMW Turner.  The Tate Britain is where you go to see the best and most extensive exhibit of his works. He could pretty much paint anything, but landscape is where his heart and greatest talent lay. He disliked painting people, but in his early works, he felt obliged to dress up his landscapes with historic or mythological themes, so they do include figures--frankly looking like undefferentiated props. These works brought him early critical and financial success.

Turner continued to invent himself, and his later works seek to portray the power of nature though water, wind, and atmosphere.  Like many other Romantic Painters, he considered himself a natural scientist, but his works also have a visionary quality.

I admire Turner, but I love Constable, his great (and less successful) rival. John Constable also painted landscapes, but his preferred subject was the green and gentle river country of East Anglia. He painted fields, ferries, mills with great accuracy. He portrayed plants, and weather with scientific rigor. The result gives us a glimpse into pre industrial England with its beauty and occasional roughness. Ironically Constable achieved recognition first in France, where the fresh green of his landscapes were much relished.

This is the place to come if you like the Romantics or the Pre Raphaelites, both of which I enjoyed. I'm less keen on the Victorians and Modern British Art, but I was extremely pleased to see a lot of women artists represented. I had never heard of these women before, but I appreciated their talent and insight into humanity.

I had a longish walk back to the tube and then the ride back. When I got on the Piccadilly Line, a nice young man offered me his seat, which I gratefully accepted. Yep. I am a rather obvious Little Old Lady, and sometimes I take advantage of the fact.

Cheerio!