Not only does the "One New Change" shopping mall offer a great view of St.Paul's but it has interesting aspects of its own, like this opening between two glass walls with slivered reflections - a nearly abstract image.
Inspite of it being very crowded, I am glad I got round to visiting the Da Vinci exhibition on Friday. It proved definitely worth queuing for! On show were sketches and paintings created during Leonardo's time in Milan, highlighting his two versions of the "Virgin of the Rocks" and of course the "Last Supper", of which a full scale copy was on display, painted by one of his pupils just before the original work deteriorated. It was interesting to be able to compare the two virgins - shown together for the first time - as they had been painted with a time lag of several years and "reveal a change in Leonardo's ideas from an art rooted in the observation of nature to one where the artist's powers of invention might reveal a glimpse of the devine imagination" (quoted from the exhibition leaflet). Of the two, I personally preferred the first one, because it seemed more alive and warmer than the second one. On the whole, I was more taken by his drawings, of which to my surprise most were very small, if not tiny. (Needless to say anything about the quality...)
oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9" sold
Not only does the "One New Change" shopping mall offer a great view of St.Paul's but it has interesting aspects of its own, like this opening between two glass walls with slivered reflections - a nearly abstract image.
Inspite of it being very crowded, I am glad I got round to visiting the Da Vinci exhibition on Friday. It proved definitely worth queuing for! On show were sketches and paintings created during Leonardo's time in Milan, highlighting his two versions of the "Virgin of the Rocks" and of course the "Last Supper", of which a full scale copy was on display, painted by one of his pupils just before the original work deteriorated. It was interesting to be able to compare the two virgins - shown together for the first time - as they had been painted with a time lag of several years and "reveal a change in Leonardo's ideas from an art rooted in the observation of nature to one where the artist's powers of invention might reveal a glimpse of the devine imagination" (quoted from the exhibition leaflet). Of the two, I personally preferred the first one, because it seemed more alive and warmer than the second one. On the whole, I was more taken by his drawings, of which to my surprise most were very small, if not tiny. (Needless to say anything about the quality...)
oil on wood panel - Öl auf Holzplatte - huile sur plaque de bois
15 cm x 15 cm / 5,9" x 5,9" sold