Hurrying to visit the two main Festival exhibitions ,(which are so opposite that they scream 'Not very subtle Marketing ploy' but who cares, ): Tracey Emin at the MOMA for the second time and 'Impressionism and Scotland' at the National Gallery of Scotland before it ends ,I whizz round latter. Small but beautiful. And for anyone in Scotland, interesting to see how millionaire industrialists in sugar, ships and jam were patrons both bringing the Impressionists to Scotland and supporting local 'Glasgow boys' and others. And co-incidentally on this week a TV programme on Russian oligarchs' (oil, aircraft engines) fine art investments and the mansions they display them in made the Scottish industrialist's homes look rather modest and homely.
Great to see some Imp. pictures from private collections such as F.D. Ferguson's 'A Puff of Smoke at Milngavie',* 1922 (http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibition/5:368/5116/5412) on loan from Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden - and therefore not so overly familiar that the eye skates over them as is the problem with so much of the Imp. works. The most interesting part for me were the selection of pictures which hung Scottish painter next to the French painter whose work influenced him...(and the exhibition continues with the influence of Matisse and Gauguin on Hunter (tho not strictly Impr. ). Colour and light of course the main influence...much needed in the gloomy north.
And just by co-incidence (following my blog entry under 18th Sept on 'through leaves' family saying) I find Peploe's 'Spring, Comrie' of buildings seen through a screen of trees hung next to a Sisley and Pissarro with the same 'through leaves' construction. Peploe may have seen these at the Caillebotte Bequest exhibition in Paris in 1897 and these two may have been influenced by Corot at Mantes in the 1860s. So it seems 'through leaves' has a prestigious pedigree.
*Note Milngavie (near Glasgow) is a trick word which Glaswegians like to test newcomers to Scotland on. Do I give the game away? Oh, go on. It's Mill - Guy. They'll never let me live this down in Glasgee now.
30.9.2008
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