Not the Impressionists, AGAIN

Actually, I enjoyed 'Impressionist Gardens', the other main 2010 Int Edinburgh Festival's offering As Michael Clarke, the new Director of the National Gallery said at the Members' preview event we went to the other evening, if you were putting on operas you'd have to include Verdis and Puccinis as well as other stuff, so why not the Impressionists again, but this time with the added bonus of gardens. (And why not, say I, especially for those like me who love gardening for colour.) Surprisingly, he said, this theme has not been put on before.

The early section, precursers to the Impressionists looks fascinating - especially the botanical sketch books and engravings of early private and public gardens - and conservatories, where assignations took place. I say, 'looks' - impossible to get more than a taste with the crush of the Edinburgh Great and Good there but the beauty of being a Member and living here, is we can revisit as many times as we want for no extra cost.

The other section I will go back to are the rooms on the Post-Impressionsts or movements that came out of the Impressionists such as the Luminism which was new to me. I was particularly stunned by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida's The Garden of Sorolla's House, 1920 where the colours were indeed luminous.

There's all the kitsch you could possibly want. (The Fragrant Air by Leon Frederic is probably the worst example but good for sales on tea-towels, cards, mugs and notebooks in the shop no doubt. )But there are also more subtle works such as the lovely dappled light of Manet or Berthe Morisot. The usual suspects (Renoir, Manet, Monet, Sisley, Bonnard,Van Gogh, Gauguin, Klimt) but other lesser known, or at least to me, such as the Belfast John Lavery's My Garden in Morroco, the Scottish , James Guthrie's Midsummer, or the German Fritz von Uhde's The Artist's Daughters in the Garden. All with a wonderful atmospheric light. ‘Mood' Impressionism I gather it was called in late 19th c Germany and Austria (Stimmungsimpressionismus- what a word. I just love German.))

As a gardener, I was delighted to see that there is an attempt in the catalogue by the curator of the exhibition, Clare A.P. Willsdon to identify some of the plants. In the shop a book on Monet's plants in Giverney looked rather tempting. I'll put it on my Christmas list. Happy memories too. I persuaded my Hub to visit Giverny on a day-trip from Paris on our honeymoon. Gone are the days I can drag him round gardens! Surprisingly, he enjoyed this exhibition too. So it's not just for kitsch lovers or gardeners.
http://www.nationalgalleries.org/whatson/exhibition/5:368/9312/19287