Today we had planned a museums day, very suitable for the somewhat dreich weather, starting with a return visit to the National Gallery, which we had only visited briefly yesterday. We started off by visiting the Frans Hals exhibition; I enjoyed his many paintings of cheery aristocrats and cheery peasants many of whom were giving a cheeky sideways glance at the artist. As James said, “If you have a winning formula why not stick to it!”
Then we had a really interesting time looking at more Northern Renaissance paintings such as the Arnolfini Wedding Portait. It was amazing to see some of the paintings up close that we have studied in our history of art course. We walked from there to the Tate Britain and had lunch in the members’ room which is very attractive; the tables surround a carved stone stairwell with an impressive high ceiling. We didn’t really have a plan for this visit so just had a wander around. There was some modern art; we saw an art exhibit made entirely out of mounds of rice, with neon light strips along it. Hmmm. It was kind of striking I suppose, and the rice, I think, had been poured carefully into position rather than glued together. There were also lots of Gainsborough paintings; dull and brown landscapes, not my favourite artist. We didn’t get any further, for example to my beloved New Romantics, because it was time to head to Andalusia, the little Spanish tapas restaurant beside the Harold Pinter Theatre. We had a tasty meal with Ally and Cat, and the service was nice and quick so we felt very relaxed. We met Andrew, who was joining us, outside the theatre, and were soon ensconced in our seats ready for the play; Lyonesse, starring two top luvvies, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James. They were very good and so were the rest of the actors, however the play was not the best. It did raise some very interesting issues about how women are treated by men (and other women) at home and in the workplace, and the blurring of truth and falsehood, but it rather laboured its points and could have dealt with the subject better. The fact that it was still somewhat enjoyable was mainly down the valiant efforts of the talented actors. We headed back to the flat for a cup of tea, en route showing Andrew where we had walked yesterday with Sir Ian McKellen striding in front of us. Ally very amusingly played the part of Sir Ian, rushing along the pavement while giving frightened looks over his shoulder, which I must emphasise is not what happened yesterday!
Then we had a really interesting time looking at more Northern Renaissance paintings such as the Arnolfini Wedding Portait. It was amazing to see some of the paintings up close that we have studied in our history of art course. We walked from there to the Tate Britain and had lunch in the members’ room which is very attractive; the tables surround a carved stone stairwell with an impressive high ceiling. We didn’t really have a plan for this visit so just had a wander around. There was some modern art; we saw an art exhibit made entirely out of mounds of rice, with neon light strips along it. Hmmm. It was kind of striking I suppose, and the rice, I think, had been poured carefully into position rather than glued together. There were also lots of Gainsborough paintings; dull and brown landscapes, not my favourite artist. We didn’t get any further, for example to my beloved New Romantics, because it was time to head to Andalusia, the little Spanish tapas restaurant beside the Harold Pinter Theatre. We had a tasty meal with Ally and Cat, and the service was nice and quick so we felt very relaxed. We met Andrew, who was joining us, outside the theatre, and were soon ensconced in our seats ready for the play; Lyonesse, starring two top luvvies, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily James. They were very good and so were the rest of the actors, however the play was not the best. It did raise some very interesting issues about how women are treated by men (and other women) at home and in the workplace, and the blurring of truth and falsehood, but it rather laboured its points and could have dealt with the subject better. The fact that it was still somewhat enjoyable was mainly down the valiant efforts of the talented actors. We headed back to the flat for a cup of tea, en route showing Andrew where we had walked yesterday with Sir Ian McKellen striding in front of us. Ally very amusingly played the part of Sir Ian, rushing along the pavement while giving frightened looks over his shoulder, which I must emphasise is not what happened yesterday!
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