One of the nicer things about working in the West End is being able to sneak out at lunchtime and go to museums and galleries.
I did this yesterday and spent half an hour in the National Gallery - just about the ideal time I think for someone like me who makes no claim to any particular artistic inclinations. (But as the cliche runs I think I know what I like).
There was an exhibition of Leon Kossoff - an artist and printmaker who makes drawings and prints of pictures hanging in the National Gallery.
He's been going there since he was a kid in the thirties - walking there from his home in the East End. He literally sits down in front of the pictures and either draws or engraves a plate on the spot.
His style has evolved over the years, but to my untutored eyes it looks like a kind of impressionism. In several cases I prefer the result to that of the original.
But that's not really the point - I really like the idea of the process - it seems to be a great illustration of what public galleries are for, and how art can be accessible.
I did this yesterday and spent half an hour in the National Gallery - just about the ideal time I think for someone like me who makes no claim to any particular artistic inclinations. (But as the cliche runs I think I know what I like).
There was an exhibition of Leon Kossoff - an artist and printmaker who makes drawings and prints of pictures hanging in the National Gallery.
He's been going there since he was a kid in the thirties - walking there from his home in the East End. He literally sits down in front of the pictures and either draws or engraves a plate on the spot.
His style has evolved over the years, but to my untutored eyes it looks like a kind of impressionism. In several cases I prefer the result to that of the original.
But that's not really the point - I really like the idea of the process - it seems to be a great illustration of what public galleries are for, and how art can be accessible.
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