Michelangelo's The Dream: A closer look at melancholy

As my interest is predominantly early modern/Renaissance, I thought a brief excursion into the sixteenth century was in order. I wrote this a few years ago but it's still interesting so thought I'd share it.

London's admittedly wide and varied collections of art cannot compete with the palaces, churches, museums and art galleries of Rome when it comes to treasures from the high renaissance (a 'fluffy' term but usually accepted as around 1500). However at London's National Gallery, British Museum and other places, the works of art freely and publicly available are masterpieces of their type. One of the best small galleries in London, the Courtauld Gallery is in possession of an excellent collection of over 7000 drawings and includes one of these masterpieces.

Michelangelo's drawing Il Sogno (The Dream) (1533-4) formed the centre piece of an exhibition where specialists brought together the artist's poetry, correspondence and drawing by other artists such as Raphael and Durer. As The Dream is rarely on display due to conservation issues, it not only provided an opportunity to see it in the flesh but also to see it in its historical, social, artistic and romantic context. On a quick point of access, it is possible to make an appointment with the prints department and see anything in the collection.

Landscape

There is a clock that says;
'The world and all its desires pass away'.
Never more so than in these vast landscapes
Where our tiny mindscapes founder
Contemplating a fabulous mutability.

The skyscape feathers by far above,
Black clouds threaded with lichen light
At once threatening forceful engulfment
But careless elemental nature disregards,
Passing over and through leaving us breathless

Simply dropping soft water on exposed dark earth
Black crows scattered over the silent soil,
Plumage shining like hanging droplets.
Reflected greenish hue subsumed by ancient desire
The world remains, not passed away, merely changed.

Wiener Library: Information is Powerful

Having promised the utterances of a renaissance woman here are some musings on something a little more serious.

I am currently doing a course on Investigating the Archive at Birkbeck College which is taking us to the photo collections variously of the V&A, Magnum Agency, Royal Anthropology Institute, London Metropolitan Archives and RIBA. So far it's been incredible and each individual archivist providing a fascinating insight into their topics. However the archive that has moved me to write this was different.

The Wiener Library: 'For the Study of the Holocaust and Genocide' probably contains some of the most shocking images of modern times. We know those photographs well and they rightly form part of our collective consciousness. So our visit was to ask questions such as; how do you store them? How did they get in this collection? How do you ensure they are used correctly? How does such an archive survive and remain actively relevant? Not to mention funding...

Art Erotica 2012: 'It's all a bit wanky'

Sex has been very much on my mind recently. One way or another I've been confronted with a lot of sexual imagery. What with art (Johnathan Yeo), film (Shame) and a lot of people kissing around the City of London (I blame the time of year), I wondered if I'd reached sensory overload when I contemplated visiting the ArtEroticaExhibition2012 in Cork Street, W1.

Turns out I'm insatiable and there were a number of pieces with which I'd quite like to have another encounter.

This open exhibition has two aims; to showcase new talent and raise money for charity. This year was their first themed show and they wanted 'to explore the erotic in a wide variety of ways, to be a showcase for contemporary work in the genre, and to make a meaningful contribution to the genre'. With these thoughts in mind let's turn to the art.