Devotees of the Primordium

On Wednesday, Mr Cee and I went to the Tate Britain art gallery to see their exhibition Turner & Constable Rivals and Originals.   We were really lucky to get tickets! I'd completely forgotten about the exhibition until this week, but fortunately, we managed to get an afternoon slot.

Joseph Mallord William Turner (known as William) was born in 1775 in the centre of London to a working-class family (his father was a barber) and never lost his London accent. He travelled across the country and into Europe to find subjects to paint. He showed exceptional talent at a young age and was invited to enrol at the Royal Academy of Arts to study at just 14. He supported himself during his studies by working as an architectural draughtsman's assistant and watercolour copyist. He had a very long and successful career and died, aged 76, in 1851.

JWM Turner Self Portrait (1799)

John Constable was born in 1776 in a village in Suffolk in South-East England. He spent most of his career painting within this area, and during his lifetime, it became known as 'Constable Country'.  His family was wealthy, and even though they were nervous about their son becoming an artist, they supported him financially.  He began his studies at the Royal Academy when he was 24. He took longer to establish his career, but was also very successful and died, aged 60, in 1837.

John Constable by Ramsay Richard Reinagle (1799).  Reinagle and Constable were housemates when Constable moved to London.

Rivals in their lifetime, their approaches to landscape painting (which was becoming very fashionable) were very different, and critics described Constable's work as 'the truth' and Turner's as 'poetry'.  Their originality and innovation still resonate 250 years later, and seeing their works hung together was fascinating, highlighting their differing approaches.

Under the cut for far too many photographs of lovely things.
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It was a huge exhibition - and I'm glad we got tickets as they are in very short supply now, as it closes on the 12th April.

Yesterday was a chilly day here in the South East of the UK, but we braved the freezing cold wind and lower temperatures (4ºC/39ºF, although it felt colder) and headed out to the train station. We walked up to the British Museum from Charing Cross station. It's about a mile, so it took about 20 minutes, as we had to stop frequently to wait for the traffic lights to change on all the roads.

The exhibition charted the history of the Samurai from its beginnings as a fierce warrior class known as 'bushi' in the medieval period, which moved on to gain political standing by the 1100s. This then moved on to become an elite social class from the early 1600s.  By the late 19th century, the hereditary status of the Samurai was abolished, and the 'way of the warrior' (bushido) became the driving force behind their military exploits. By the 20th century, the myth of the Samurai had become idealised and crossed over into the West, where it was incorporated into film and graphic novels, and even influenced fashion.

There were a lot of exhibits ranging from armour, weapons, art, everyday items, woodblock prints, and examples of how the Samurai lived and governed during the height of their power, right up to the way the myths still influence present-day Japan and beyond.( Read more... )

I've hardly touched on what was in the exhibition - it's a fascinating and very detailed history of the samurai, and well worth visiting. It closes on 4th May.