The Breakfast Table

 

The Breakfast Table, 1884

John Singer Sargent

Love the morning light - the new day - creeping in to this painting.

Breakfast is by far the best meal of the day; sustenance for adventures that lay ahead. A slightly hindered scope for that in Jan 2021, but there was lots of it here

Beaded Breakfast

Last week Tessa and Rosa took me to see the new Liza Lou exhibition at White Cube, Hoxton Square. Tessa had done a good job getting me interested in Liza Lou's work prior to the visit. It was a bit disappointing as what was exhibited differed such a lot to her earlier work, some of which I think is incredible - a beaded kitchen!!  Instead it was a lot more reserved:

Untitled #8, 2011

Untitled #1, 2011-12

Zulu Love Letter No.2, 2011-12

I do actually quite like these particular pieces and enjoyed seeing them at the show, but wasn't blown away by the exhibition at all. The intensity of her earlier works such as 'Kitchen' (below) had eased and the beads no longer seemed to make the statement that they could rival paint, but instead simply mimicked it.

Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and I generally love anything breakfast related... This probably explains why Liza Lou's 'Kitchen' is such a hit with me, it comes complete with fried eggs

 

Kitchen, 1995 

For anyone who wants to know a bit more, here is an enjoyable read in the form of W Magazine's feature on Lou a few years back. And just for good measure, here is another beaded post from Bethnal Green Road last summer.

Pope's Rings

After work today I walked over speedily to the National Gallery before it closed for the evening. As it is a Sunday I thought I might as well look at something religion related.

 

Portrait of Pope Julius II, 1511 Raphael

I remember this from school and the same Art History teacher I've mentioned before, gesticulating excitedly in front of it. The bit that sticks in my mind is her enthusiasm and wonder over the softness of Julius' beard. It does look pretty soft to the touch when you're up close. Apparently from 1511 Pope Julius wore a beard as a sign of mourning at having lost the city of Bologna.

What I really loved this evening were his rings:

 

I love cramming lots of ring onto my fingers and am very sentimental about the 3 I always wear, all heirlooms and gifts. Julius is doing pretty well here, wearing several big cut jewels set in gold next to each other.

Robe

I've just got home from Manchester, where I was attending the History of Art graduation ceremony. I found it quite difficult to take my robe and motor board hat seriously - the cocktails on the other hand, I found much more easy to handle. Manchester looked like a toy set from the bar at the top of the Hilton hotel.