N.B., Click on images to zoom.
View Towards the Coast
Oil on Panel w48 x h72 cm's
I rather suspect, (or perhaps I hope) that the work of the Russian realist artists has rubbed off in some small way onto my work. I certainly have a great respect for them, - for the honesty of their straightforward approach to painting and to nature, and their lack of pretentiousness.
I'm currently reading 'The Cossacks' by Tolstoy which has a similar straightforward approach, - 'telling it like it is' is the modern phrase - and this I think is what makes his writing so compelling.
Rooks have returnedAleksey Savrasov, 1871, Oil on Canvas.
Not so long ago Mari and I went to Moscow to visit the Tretyakov Gallery of Russian Art to look at the paintings. We particularly wanted to see the work of the realists such as Shishkin and Savrasov.
I’ve always admired their truth to nature approach.
Although they may have included some small nods towards symbolism, their works are fundamentally a straightforward depiction of the world around them.
Great stuff.
Pine Wood. Ship’s Timber in Vyatka Province
Ivan Shishkin, 1872, Oil on Canvas.
However, while in Russia I was somewhat taken aback by the constant low level corruption one came across. Here’s an example.
One morning, we were queueing with our group of fellow-tourists and tour guide to visit the tomb of Lenin in the Kremlin. While I was looking towards the head of the queue, which was quite a long way off, I saw someone (another tour guide) talk to a guard, then the guide went off to a large group of (Japanese, I think) tourists who were standing at a distance stage left, and then he shepherded them to the front of the queue and directly into the Lenin mausoleum, past the guard.
The guard had obviously been ‘bunged’. I was quite shocked that this bit of petty corruption had happened at what is surely one of the most revered places in the whole of Russia.
When we came out of the mausoleum I mentioned this quietly to our guide, who was a fresh-faced pleasant young Russian lady (If I remember rightly she was a student teacher earning a little extra by working as a guide).
She looked somewhat dismayed that the guard was apparently taking bribes, and said something along the lines of ‘unfortunately there is a lot of corruption here, and it will take a long long time to get rid of’.
In the afternoon, she took us to visit the Novodevichy Convent :
The Novodevichy Convent.
A UNESCO world heritage site.
We all wandered around looking at the many wonderful buildings and churches within the walls of the convent, until our guide gathered us together to take us somewhere ‘special’. She took us into one of the small free-standing churches where we looked at the wall frescoes.
It was a squarish building with wide square internal columns, and the dark paintings covered every inch of surface. Then she called us together into the central area where she introduced three priests who proceeded to sing to us (and very good they were too). At the end of their short acappella performance they pointed us to a table covered with their CD’s, and encouraged many of our group to buy copies.
I wandered off to look again at the wall paintings. A couple of minutes later, I was standing on my own in a quiet, dim corner of the church. My nose was fairly close to the wall paintings which were difficult to see because of the dark shadow cast by a large square interior column. I heard a small noise behind me which made me glance over my shoulder.
I was very surprised to see, at that precise moment, our young guide, standing on the dark side (i.e., my side) of the nearest column, engaged in a whispered conversation with one of the singing priests, who then surreptitiously slipped some money into her hand!!
Of course, given the recent reports of property developers bunging money to the British Conservative party to change the planning laws, and the reports of Chirac et al receiving suitcases full of cash, plus the phone hacking, etc, etc.... these particular Russian incidents were small beer.
So, remembering that many of my favourite artists and writers are Russian I won't allow these incidents to affect my admiration for the Russian people.
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ADVANCE NOTICE
NOTICE
I'm exhibiting a room-full of pictures at the Royal Cambrian Academy in Conwy running from 27th May for around six weeks.
The exhibition is called 'Paintings by Harry Robertson' (which I thought was a rather snappy title).
It will include a few new pictures although, as I tend to work quite slowly, (and as I've just recently completed another one-man show), the majority of the work will have been exhibited before in other places.
Nevertheless, I do hope you can find the time to drop in.
Opening Hours : 11am - 5pm Tuesday - Saturday
The Exhibition runs from May 27th to July 6th.
Royal Cambrian Academy, Crown Lane, Conwy. LL32 8AN. 01492 593413
The Gallery is located in the centre of Conwy just off the High Street behind Plas Mawr.
The nearest train station is at Llandudno Junction, 3km from the Gallery and served by the North Wales Coast route.Services run approximately hourly throughout the week. The Arriva Cymru (service 5) bus stop is 200m away from the gallery and runs at 30 minute intervals on weekdays.
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quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz
Any idea who painted this figure, and in which painting?
(The answer will be in the next posting.)
And here's the answer from the last posting -
'Death of Sardanapalus'
Eugène Delacroix, 1827, Louvre, Paris
quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz “details, details............” quiz quiz quiz quiz quiz