It's raining ..but I found heaven at the Courtauld!

Yesterday morning the skies were grey and heavy, I blogged, did my washing and as I chewed on my muesli and beautiful english raspberries.... I gazed into the garden wondering if the little green apples on the tree would ever ripen in this cool, wet English summer - I was tempted to 'stay in' ..read my new book by Adam Nicolson on Sissinghurst - but the oyster card (London Transport version of MYKI) in my pocket was burning a hole in it - perhaps I should just go out and ride the buses? perhaps I should go to the Courtauld as planned?

I found myself at Waterloo Station, and after a walk across the Thames with stunning views up and down the river - in the rain - I finally arrived at Somerset House home of the Courtauld Institute of Art and the Gallery- an 18th century palace on the banks of the Thames, designed by William Chambers. Once the home of the Royal Academy of Art, these small galleries are the most elegant and intimate space in which I have had the pleasure to view art.

Having just been to Charleston Farmhouse in Sussex, I had heard there was an exhibition called Beyond Bloomsbury - keen to see this I came here never suspecting the rich colletion I was about to have the privilige to feast on. This exhibition explores a radical chapter in the history of 20th century British design. Established in 1913 by the painter and influential art critic Roger Fry, the Omega Workshops were an experimental design collective, whose members included Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and other artists of the famous Bloomsbury Group. They were a laboratory of design ideas, creating a range of objects for the home, from rugs and linens to ceramics, furniture and clothing – all boldly coloured with dynamic abstract patterns. No artist was allowed to sign their work, and everything produced by the Workshops bore only the Greek letter Ω (Omega).

This was truly an amazing experience ... here at touching distance I was standing in front of work by artists I have long admired - some of it was familiar (as seen in books etc) but there was a wealth of work which I had never heard of and much of the early beginings of some of the artists-their ideas and developments. Here is a sample:


Peacocks Roger Fry







Adam and Eve Vanessa Bell







Rug Design Duncan Grant



And, of course, my favourite piece .. The Conversation. This painting may have been one of Virginia's favourite's too ..she had commented to Vanessa about her fine skills at painting but more importantly said ..."and, you are a fine storyteller too". This painting has so much life to it ... and it has - a story.

This exhibition also includes rarely seen works on paper by Winfred Gill (1891–1981), the unsung heroine of the Omega Workshops.


After feasting my senses on the Bloomsbury collection for about 2 hours I found sustenance in the form of a cup of Earl Grey Tea and a Victorian Sponge Tea cake in the cafe - still raining outside!!!

Refreshed, I made my way through to the other Galleries - if anyone wanted to see a sample collection of Western Art from the Renaissance to the 20th C this is a the place - absolute gems ... many of my favourites so often looked for by me at other famous galleries and never found - because as I discovered today - here they are - and here is a sample for you:

First there was the collection of Italian 14th and early 15th century paintings apparently this is one of the most important in Britain and includes works by Bernado Daddi, Giotto’s greatest pupil, and Fra Angelico, the renowned monk painter of 15th century Florence.

This Triptych by Daddi is absoutely stunning, the colours are bright and luminiscent - as if the paint is still wet.



Then the Renaissance collection with paintings from both Italy and northern Europe. It included one of the few altarpieces by Botticelli to be housed in a museum collection together with works by Venetian masters such as Lorenzo Lotto and Tintoretto. Highlights of the northern schools include one Cranach’s greatest and most alluring paintings Adam and Eve.


The 17th Century collection features examples of Ruben’s sketches and preparatory works, such as The Descent from the Cross, which offer unique insights into the mind of this great Baroque master.



This gallery houses one of the finest collections of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintingsI have seen. All my favourites often looked for in other famous galleries - the collection has an array of outstanding works charting the development of modern French painting from Monet and Renoir to Seurat and Gauguin. Among them was world-famous masterpieces such as van Gogh’s Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear,

Manet’s great last painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère - I spent at least half an hour in front of her - the more I looked the more I was transported to that bar ...
and some outstanding canvases by Cézanne.
An entire room is dedicated to paintings, drawings and bronzes by Degas.




And of course, there was Monet's calming and dreamy landscapes...



and there was .....Gauguin's depiction of lost innocence through colonisation


Finally, I'm told that the he Courtauld Gallery is the only museum in Britain with such an outstanding display of paintings by the French Fauves (or Wild Beasts), including important works by Matisse, Derain and Dufy. This is complemented by German Expressionist paintings the highlight of which was the collection of Kandinsky’s works, and a wonderful Modigliani.


As you can imagine I was totally spent in every way - especially after making my way to the Gallery shop where my credit card joined in the spending!!!! how could I resist the catalogues?

I wandered aimlessly in the rain in the vast and empty courtyard of the palace - only with the company of a few pigeons who seem to be resilient and resistant to weather foul or fair... the fountains danced merrily in the rain, intermittently surging towards the grey sky and blending in with the torrential downpour - as I turned to leave I was drawn to a light in the window above ... and I reflected, and bade a warm farewell to the rooms of the Courtauld holding treasures beyond my wildest imaginations which I had had the privilige to experience in this life time. I can now die happy! but not yet.