2..…………………………………………………………………..Introduction 3. …………………………………………………………………. Map 4,5 …………………………………………………………………Room One - Claude 6,7. ………………………………………………………………..Constable 8,9 …………………………………………………………………Room Two - Turner 10,11. …………………………………………………………… Turner 12,13. ………………………………………………………….…Room Three - Monet 14,15. ………………………………………………………….…Monet 16,17.……………………………………………………………..Room Four- Monet 18,19. ………………………………………………………….…Seurat 20,21. …………………………………………………………….Room Five - Matisse 22,23. …………………………………………………………….Derain 24……..…………………………………………………………….Upcoming exhibitions and further information 1
Introduction The Royal Art Galley’s soleil exhibition brings you landscapes ,seascapes , suburban scenes and everyday scenes filled with vivid colour and light by some of the worlds most famous artists in history . From the vivid pastoral landscapes of Claude to the hot , Mediterranean suburbs of Collioure shown by Derain , The soleil exhibition gives an insight into the work and lives of these extraordinary artists . This exhibition is accompanied by an audio tour which can be purchased separately from the information and tickets desk marked
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Map 1 Room one ; Claude and Constable
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2 Room Two; Turner 3 Room Three; Monet 4 Room Four; Monet
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and Seurat
5 Room Five ; Matisse and Derain
Information and tickets CafĂŠ
Entrance /Exit 3
Room One
Claude Lorrain Landscape with Hagar and The Angel 1646 In this 1646 ,oil on canvas landscape by the baroque painter, Claude has combined his famous style of a picturesque pastoral landscape combined with the inclusion of mythological figures to heighten the status of the once considered low genre of landscape painting. The scene shows a biblical narrative from the bible , in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 16. On the left stands Hagar , an Egyptian servant to Sarah , childless wife of Abraham . In the biblical story , after quarrelling with Sarah , Hagar runs away with her child , Ishmael where she meets an angel at a spring in the wilderness . The angel , right of Hagar, tells of how Ishmael will find a great tribe and she should return back to Sarah. The low set horizon set just under halfway across the painting with a large sky creates a further sense of grandeur and deep space. Overlapping forms of the trees cut off and frame the painting also creating depth and direct our view into the painting. Claude's technique of smoothly applied oil paint to create a picturesque idealized landscape somewhat over rules the figures and the biblical narrative. Throughout history , Claude has been an influential artist, inspiring many artists such as John Constable , for his paintings such as Dedham Vale. Constable esteemed Claude as ’The most perfect landscape painter the world ever saw'.
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Room One
John Constable Coast Scene at Brighton: Evening c.1828 This c. 1828 oil on canvas coastal landscape painting was created by one of Claude’s biggest admirers, English romantic painter John constable . The painting depicts constables view of the sun slowly setting over Shoreham-by-sea, a seaside town and port , west of Brighton . Constable uses techniques similar to that of his famous ‘Dedham vale ‘ 1802 to capture the intensity of the sunset to create a tranquil scene which also reflects his own emotions as an individual , which is a typical concern of the Romantic movement . Constable also uses contrasting warm and cool hues which can also create a sense of melancholy in the scene , this may be linked to the illness of Constable's wife Maria, who died six months after the painting was created . Constable was born in Suffolk, later known as ‘constable country’ which is the setting for many of his famous painting such as Dedham vale. His father also owned land , which constable often painted .
Constable's landscapes were unique, showing his intensity of affection for the landscape he knew so well . Constable did not attend a grand tour , nor did he have any formal academic art training , instead constable viewed the work of other artists through black and white prints .
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Room Two
J.M.W Turner The Fighting Temeraire 1838 The Fighting Temeraire painted 1838 by J.M.W Turner is an oil on canvas romantic painting , displayed at the Royal Academy in 1839 . The painting depicts the last voyage of the 98 gun fighting ship , ‘The HMS Temeraire ‘which served during the French revolutionary , in the battle of Trafalgar, 1805 . In the painting the misty Temeraire ship on the left is being towed by a steam tug , towards its final destination, where it will be broken up for scrap . Turner has used impasto paintwork and loose brushwork to create the sunset scene . The composition is also based on contrasts such as warm tones against cool tones , and dark forms vs pale .
In the painting there is evident use of atmospheric perspective created by merging of colours . A bright intense sunset is created by the low lying sun and almost ¾ of the composition is filled by sky similar to constables depictions of Dedham vale . J.M.W born 1775 was an English romantic painter born in covet garden and is regarded as an artist that elevated the status of landscape painting (a low genre) to that of a history painting . Turner attended the Royal Academy schools from 1789 , developing a revolutionary , unique approach to painting . He as inspired by Dutch artists in the 17th century and by the Italianate landscapes of Claude Lorrain. The romantic painter created scenes with dramatic brushwork , a sense of movement and intensity of light, also being known as ‘the painter of light’ . 8
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Room Two
J.M.W Turner The Slave Ship 1840 The slave ship , 1840 is a large scale oil on canvas painting by Turner , depicting a slave ship on a rough stormy sea . The painting was influenced by antislavery, which was growing very popular at the time, led in 1850 due to the British empire forcibly ending the trade of slaves by trade nations. The painting has strong links to the Zong Massacre , a mass killing of African slaves that took place in1781 on the Zong (a British slave ship) . The ill and dying slaves were thrown overboard rather than being taken back to Britain , as insurance could be claimed . This is seen in the painting as the hands of slaves can be seen emerging from the sea in the bottom left side of the painting.
Right; An illustration showing slaves of the Zong massacre being thrown overboard
The painting was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in1840 , during the same time the anti slavery league meeting was held. John Ruskin , a famous Victorian art critic owned this painting , and championed Turners work , helping him become a successful artists moving away from academic art. Turner's painting in part represents nature punishing human beings, especially the precarious position of the ship at sea.
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Room Three
Claude Monet Impression Sunrise 1872 Impression sunrise , 1872 is an oil on canvas impressionist landscape by Claude Monet , shown at the first impressionist exhibition in 1874. During the Franco-Prussian War between 1870–1871, Monet was in Britain to avoid the conflict. Whist there he studied the works of Constable and Turner, who inspired Monet's innovations in the study of colour. Upon returning to France, in 1872 Monet painted Impression, Sunrise or ‘ Impression: soleil levant’ depicting a Le Havre harbour. The painting hung in the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874. From the painting's title, an art critic , Louis Leroy coined the term "Impressionism", which he intended to be derogatory. In 1874 after the first exhibition , the group of artists including Monet , previously known as ‘the anonymous society’ became the Impressionists. Claude Monet born 1840 , was a French painter and founder of French impressionism. Monet was a practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing perceptions of nature , especially the technique an style of en plein air landscape painting . The term "Impressionism" originated from the title of his ‘impression sunrise’ and its negative critique , which was exhibited in the first impressionist exhibition of 1874 , hosted by Monet and his fellow impressionist painters as an alternative to showing in the Paris salon.
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Room Three
Claude Monet Autumn Effect at Argenteuil 1873 Another impressionist landscape painting by Monet is Autumn effect at Argenteuil , 1873, oil on canvas. The impressionist painting ignores traditional High Art themes, but owes much to Realism. The landscape , painted en plein air , attempts to represent the brightness of the natural light and the reflections of the landscape on the river seine in the small town of Argenteuil. The painting also directly represents what Monet was viewing , known as the optical truth and depicts the contemporary world around him .Much like realism and Manet’s paintings , Autumn effect at Argenteuil depicts the life and leisure of the new Paris and Parisians and the suburbs around this new city. Impressionist paintings are often small scale as they are painted outside ‘en plein air’ Intense, new colours and freely applied brushstrokes. These landscape compositions are also inspired by Japonism and Japanese wood block prints. The impressionists also had the help of new colour theories and the availability of paint in metal tubes, allowing them to be portable to paint outside . Many Site of the first impressionist exhibition of the impressionist landscapes show Argenteuil and the suburbs of Paris , newly accessible due to transport links by train from the centre of Paris. The movement had no fixed rules or manifesto but collectively produced work with characteristics such as the use of complimentary colours, impasto , visible brushwork, a sketchy ‘ ebauche’ appearance and the use of colour to accurately depict light and its changing qualities in ordinary, often landscape scenes. 14
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Room Four
Claude Monet Rouen Cathedral Series 1892-94 The Rouen cathedral series was painted in the 1890s by Claude Monet. This series of paintings depict the facade of Rouen cathedral in, Normandy , showing the different effects of light at different times od day and throughout the year . The impressionist studies show the changes in the facades appearance and are a direct response to what Monet was viewing. In total , Monet had created more than thirty Rouen Cathedral paintings , created between 1892 and 1893, and then reworked in 1894 in his studio To create the paintings Monet painted from a rented property across the road from the cathedral , allowing him to be up close with his subject on a daily basis , and able to clearly see the cathedral at different times of day . The depiction of changing light on the façade of the cathedral was a challenging task for Monet , as described in Michael Howard's Encyclopedia of Impressionism ;
‘As always, the pictures gave him intense difficulties, which threw him into
despair. He had vivid nightmares of the cathedral in various colors – pink, blue and yellow – falling upon him… [Monet wrote:] ‘Things don’t advance very steadily, primarily because each day I discover something I hadn’t seen the day before… In the end, I am trying to do the impossible.’ (224)
Rouen Cathedral, Facade (Morning effect)
Rouen Cathedral, Facade (sunset), harmonie in gold and blue
Rouen Cathedral, Full Sunlight
Rouen Cathedral, Facade and the Tour d'Albane. Grey Weather,
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Room Four
Georges Seurat Bathers at Asnieres 1884 Bathers at Asnieres 1884 is a monumentally large scale oil on canvas painting by neo impressionist painter Georges Seurat. The painting shows working class men enjoying leisure time on a riverbank at Asnieres , an industrial suburb north-west of Paris on the river Seine . The painting is the first of two monumental sized painting he has produced . Seurat applied to the jury of the Salon of 1884 to have the work exhibited there, but bathers at Asnieres was rejected. Although It was exhibited in the last impressionist exhibition of 1886 alongside ‘La Grande Jatte’ The scene is a tranquil , peaceful representation of suburban leisure for the workers , who watch over the river seine as sailboats sail over in the distance . The composition is painted using neo impressionist techniques such as complex brushstrokes and the application of vibrant colour to create a warm summer scene with a glowing haze of heat . Despite the tranquillity scene shows no fun , exiting relationships between people like other scenes of leisure , it shows society fragmented into individuals . This painting also shows how working in this era can cause isolation in the working class in a new modern world. Seurat (1859-1891) was associated with the neo impressionist movement which came about at the end of the 19th century. Seurat’ s distinct style of working included his use of divisionism and colour theories along with pointillist to create new and exciting compositions , following on from the impressionists .
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Room Five
Henri Matisse Luxe , Calme et Volupte 1904 Luxe, Calme et Volupte , painted 1804/05 is a medium scale oil on canvas landscape by Fauvist painter Henri Matisse after a visit to St Tropez with Paul Signac. The references the contemporary world and demonstrates free, expressive techniques . Matisse has combined a landscape painting with the subject of a nude painting, and was interested in Arcadian imagery. There is subjective and imaginative use of bold, statured intense colours and the large colour palette features mostly warm colours such as reds, oranges and yellows . The composition features seven nude figures who’s forms are more decorative and simplified, resembling modelled shapes more than bodies Fauve artists like Matisse also appreciated, but moved beyond, the decorative, rhythmic and geometric qualities of Cézanne. Influence can be seen here with simplification of figures in Cezanne's bathers. Matisse’s use of pointillism and colour is also influenced by Paul Signac’s ‘the Papal palace’ The paintings name is derived from Charles Baudelaire’s poem ‘ L’Invitation au voyage ‘ from his collection Les Fleurs du Mal. This scene is Matisse’s interpretation of an ideal modern world of peace and tranquility . Henri Matisse (1869 –1954) known for his use of bold colour and fluidity of forms was associated with the fauvist movement in the early 20th century .Matisse is regarded, along with Picasso as one of the artists that define the revolutionary avant garde visual arts at the start of the 20th century. Matisse worked closely alongside fellow fauvist painter Derain to paint bold expressive scenes without regards to natural colour and traditional ways of representing subject matter
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Room Five
André Derain View of Collioure 1905 View of Collioure, painted 1905 is an oil on canvas landscape by fauvist painter Andre Derain. The painting depicts a warm Mediterranean scene from the coastal town of Collioure , in the south of France . This fauvist representation of the Mediterranean subject matter shows use of bold colour and avant garde brushwork techniques in an almost childlike , spontaneous manner . Derain uses this technique of an un natural style to give more emphasis to the use of colour . In the composition we can see , from a high viewpoint , a sloping landscape with many houses land tall trees , followed by the sea in the background . Similar to the direction of impressionist painting , this landscape was painted Painted en plein air emphasising the freshness of nature . Although the fauvist landscapes can appear somewhat simplified and flat , there is use of recessional perspective, especially for houses placed at o angles to suggest depth in the scene. Andre Derain was born in 1880 and was a close friend and co worker of Henri Matisse as well as a co founder of the Fauvist movement the pair worked together in the summer of 1905 in Collioure , a Mediterranean village and settings for Derain's ‘View of Collioure’ 1905 and Matisse’s ‘Open window Collioure’ also painted in 1905. The bright , un natural colours and child like naïve treatment of the fauvist paintings sparked the critic Louis Vauxelles to dub their works as ‘Les Fauves ‘ or ”the wild beats”, which translates to ‘fauves ‘ in French which started the name of the fauvist movement.
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For further information please visit Royal Arts Gallery website ;
www.RAGL.co.uk /Soleil www.RAGL.co.uk /Tickets Facebook page ; Royal Arts gallery London
Claude Monet exhibition 7th – 11th August 2017 Mechanical Age – Modern sculptures exhibition 14th – 25th August 2017
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Les Fauves 9th – 20th October 2017 Exclusive Christmas exhibition RAGL members only 11th -15th December 2017