Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement, Royal Academy of Arts

Dance was Degas’ obsession, throughout his life he examined and depicted figures with a hunger to show movement accurately and beautifully. He had no need to make money, his family were wealthy enough to support his vocation, and looking around the Royal Academy’s tribute to the artist, I wondered whether Degas ever intended these works to be displayed at all. Without the need and struggle to earn a living, Degas created art for his own enjoyment, his desire to realistically demonstrate figures in motion was a personal challenge.

The ‘Picturing Movement’ exhibition at the Royal Academy documents all aspects of the artist’s obsession through not only paintings and drawings but also photography and the influence this innovation had on his work is well covered. The earlier paintings were the most recognisable to me - demure scenes from the ballet rendered with a subdued palette. Though Degas shows examples of movement here, it is often calculated and carefully measured; sometimes the models were required to hold tricky en pointe poses for hours so Degas could capture ‘a single moment’.

His later work demonstrates an urgency - paintings that are busier, blurred and colourful; the looser brushstrokes show greater freedom and expression. A room is dedicated to the paintings of Russian dancers, an obvious preoccupation for him at the end of the 19^th Century. They are wonderfully dramatic but show less of the romanticism of the earlier pictures, instead there is a sensuality which draws the viewer in. Whereas in the earlier paintings we are voyeurs at a private rehearsal watching the shy ballerinas, here the show is blasé, in your face, they want us to watch them performing and dancing.

My favourite aspect of this show is the lovely sculpture, of which ‘Little Dancer, aged fourteen’ is of course the most famous, the largest and most exquisite, made in painted bronze and adorned with delicate muslin and silk. It is also the only sculpture exhibited in Degas’ lifetime. It is spectacular to see such fragile ballerinas moving with fluidity and yet cast in the toughest most solid bronze, it is a curious juxtaposition of movement and material.

Degas’ work has a timeless beauty and dignity and this exhibition presents this, I would happily go again and again, to wander round in a dream.

Degas exhibition continues until 11 December, book here.

‘Forests, Rocks, Torrents: Norwegian and Swiss Landscapes from the Lunde Collection’, National Gallery

I only had a very quick whizz around the ‘Forests, Rocks, Torrents’ exhibition at the National Gallery, an intimate show of Norwegian and Swiss Landscapes from the Lunde Collection. It is a serene room of misty and evocative paintings, exploring the vital role that landscape painting played in European culture 150 years ago.

Swiss and Norwegian artists are completely unknown to me, I couldn’t name one... apart from Klee... isn’t he Swiss? Turns out they are rather talented, well at least the few showcased in this exhibition are. In particular I discovered and liked the work of Alexandre Calame (1810-64) known as the father of the Swiss tradition and Thomas Fearnley (1802-42) student of Christian Dahl, the apparent ‘inventor’ of Norwegian landscape. Both produced wonderfully naturalistic and atmospheric paintings, many of which are on display here.

Though the paintings are beautiful and in pristine condition, it was a shame to see many framed in such clumsy heavy and often unattractive frames, quite a distraction from the quality of work. The works shown are exemplars of the Romantic, I couldn’t help imagining the characters of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights amongst the wild forests and gushing rivers. I often find I am dissatisfied viewing just landscapes but this show was unique and exciting.

I must take this opportunity to apologise to the poor man I asked to direct me – I was wrongly told (via text) to go to the Sublet room, and when the usher looked confused I scolded him for not knowing his place of work properly, turns out I was needing the Sunley room, which despite my rudeness he directed me to kindly after discovering the phone error, sorry.

Visit National Gallery website here.

Close Examination at The National Gallery

‘Close Examination: Fakes, Mistakes and Discoveries’ explores and displays revelations about some of the Old Master paintings in The National Gallery. A topic I find particularly interesting as my mother is a restorer of paintings similar to those on display.

It is a large exhibition with completely free entry. As you wander round you inevitably learn a bit of art history too... the interactive nature of the show meant I began to feel slightly like a detective, desperately trying to work out the anomaly in a particular painting and the reason why it had made it into this exhibition. An interesting final room features works by, and not by, the Renaissance master, Botticelli – it is surprisingly difficult to spot the differences! The pretty pictures sit alongside case studies explaining the background and discoveries in a clear and informed way.

I cannot say much here without giving away secrets, but if you happen to be near Trafalgar Square go in and see this show, I found it accessible and intriguing. Considering that fakes and forgeries are commonplace in the art world, an exhibition of this type is long overdue.

Exhibition continues only until 12 September, 2010.