The Courtauld Gallery to reopen in November 2021
A message from Nancy Collinge, Student's Union President
The Fine Print Episode 4: The Impressionists as Printmakers
Avant et après (Before and After) by Paul Gauguin
We are pleased to announce that The Courtauld has acquired one of the most significant artist manuscripts ever to enter a UK public collection – a unique and richly illustrated text titled Avant et après (Before and After) by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin.
Part-memoir and part-manifesto, the 213-page manuscript was offered to The Courtauld as part of the Government’s Acceptance in Lieu scheme administered by the Arts Council. It is the last major manuscript by Gauguin in the world outside a public collection and reveals important insights into Gauguin’s life, relationships and thoughts, and includes numerous drawings and prints by the artist.
In addition to anecdotes about his friendships and opinions on the work of leading contemporary artists such as Degas, Pissarro and Cézanne, one of the key sections reflects on the brief yet tumultuous period that Gauguin stayed with Vincent van Gogh in Arles. Gauguin describes the incident in which Van Gogh severed his own ear after a violent quarrel with his fellow artist, a passage that was long regarded as the primary source of information about that fateful and infamous event.
The manuscript is also studded with examples of Gauguin’s opinions on literary figures and caustic comments on those art critics who did not understand (or appreciate) the modernity of his art, alongside excoriating attacks on the French colonial and church authorities in Polynesia, and examples of his own exoticist racial stereotyping.
By late 2020, the manuscript will be available to view and study as a scroll-through document on The Courtauld website, accompanied by a revised transcription and new English translation that remains as close to the original French as possible with an honest and unfiltered representation of Gauguin’s language that will aid research on the artist and his legacy.
The manuscript will be displayed alongside Gauguin’s paintings and sculpture in The Courtauld Gallery’s Great Room when the gallery reopen
In Detail: The Courtauld Metal Bag
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In the final episode of the series, Sussan Babaie (Reader in the Arts of Iran and Islam at The Courtauld) takes a closer look at ‘The Courtauld Metalwork Bag’.
Research suggests the metalwork bag was made for a noblewoman of the Il-Khanid dynasty (1256-1353), part of the vast Mongol empire descended from Genghis Khan.
Sussan will examine the court scene on the lid which shows a banquet and a lady seated alongside her husband on a double throne. They are surrounded by a retinue, including the lady’s attendant (to her right), who wears a similar bag suspended from his shoulder. Join Sussan to learn more about the history of this fascinating object and the story told on its lid.
The Courtauld metalwork bag is currently on display as part of our 'Precious & Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld Gallery' UK touring exhibition. Find out more: courtauld.ac.uk/gallery
In Detail: 'Landscape with the Flight into Egypt' by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 8, Ernst Vegelin Van Claerbergen (Head of The Courtauld Gallery) will revisit Bruegel’s ‘Landscape with the Flight into Egypt’, directing our attention to the tiny detail of the falling pagan idol.
This dramatic image tells the story of the Holy Family fleeing persecution in Bethlehem transposed to an imaginary Northern European landscape, above a river valley bordered by craggy peaks.
Ernst will look closely at the importance of this dramatic setting to enhance the narrative and the religious resonance carried through the detail of the idol tumbling into the shrine.
In Detail: ‘Young Woman Powdering Herself' by Georges Seurat
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 7, Karen Serres (Curator of Paintings) investigates Seurat’s ‘Young Woman Powdering Herself’, a painting that is a striking demonstration of his pointillist technique.
The modulation of light and shadow on the wall is achieved with the use of small dots of pure colour juxtaposed in varying concentrations and intensity. In this episode, Karen will look at the detail of the framed image, revealing its hidden self-portrait below the top paint surface that showcases the complexities of the relationship between painter and model.
In Detail: ‘La Loge’ by Pierre Auguste Renoir
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 6, Barnaby Wright (Deputy Head of The Courtauld Gallery and Daniel Katz Curator of 20th Century Art) explores Renoir’s ‘La Loge’, a work famously included in the Impressionists’ first group exhibition in 1874 that divided critics at the time. One critic used the woman as a warning of the dangerous temptations of the fashion industry; another praised her elegance.
Barnaby will look closely at the application of paint in this iconic work and the black ‘smudge’ to the centre right of the picture that looks like an accident, a blot on the symphony of black and white that is this composition. Barnaby will ask us to question if this smudge is in fact the ultimate painterly flourish, a sign of fashionable luxury, that tops off the picture.
In Detail: 'Virgin and child’ by Parmigianino
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 5, Guido Rebecchini (Associate Dean for Students (2019-2021) at The Courtauld) discusses Parmigianino’s 'Virgin and child’.
In this work, a bold sweep of green curtain separates the holy world of the Virgin Mary and her infant son Christ from the outdoors. Despite the elegance of the composition, Parmigianino left this picture unfinished. Many areas are unresolved; for instance, three positions for the Virgin’s lowest foot remain visible. Guido will focus on the loose and fluid brushstrokes, which the artist left visible even in the most finished parts of the painting, and will answer what this means about the artist’s image of himself as a truly modern artist of his time.
In Detail: ‘The Trinity Altarpiece’ by Sandro Botticelli
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 4, Scott Nethersole (Senior Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art, 1400-1500, at The Courtauld) re-examines Sandro Botticelli’s Trinity Altarpiece (1491-94).
This painting is part of an altarpiece commissioned for a convent, Sant’ Elisabetta delle Convertite in Florence. It features two small figures, the Archangel Raphael and Tobias, walking in the landscape below the Trinity. Their graceful style differs in technique from the main figures, which Scott will explore in this episode.
In Detail: ‘On Lake Lucerne looking towards Fluelen' by J. M. W. Turner
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 3, Rachel Sloan (Assistant Curator of Works on Paper at The Courtauld) explores J.M.W Turner’s ‘On Lake Lucerne Looking Towards Fluelen’.
Turner is best known for his prominent use of airy representations of sky and water in these Lucerne subjects and in this episode, Rachel will look into the materiality of this work — zooming into the traces left behind on the finished work through Turner’s highly tactile handling of watercolour, including smudging and scratching with his fingertips and nails.
In Detail: 'The Dream' by Michelangelo Buonarroti
‘In Detail’ is our series of weekly short films presented by our academics and curators that reveal the hidden details in some of the most iconic works in The Courtauld Collection.
In Episode 2, Ketty Gottardo (Martin Halusa Curator of Drawings at The Courtauld) focuses on a detail from a drawing known as The Dream, by the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti.
In this episode Ketty will focus on a small detail which evokes the erotic charge of the work rather than the overall veil of religious devotion. Appearing from misty clouds and surrounded by small, barely sketched heads is what appears to be a little bag made of fabric or soft leather held tightly by two hands. What does this bag hide, censor and represent? Ketty will explore this detail, what it erases, suggests and the creative impulse behind it.
Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Mikhail Karikas Artists Talk | Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday
Artists Andrea Luka Zimmerman and Mihkail Karikis come together for a special double bill screening of their films Estate, A Reverie and Children of Unquiet, which feature in the exhibition Unquiet Moments
Filmed over 7 years, Zimmerman’s Estate, A Reverie offers an intimate insight into the community of the Haggerston public housing estate in London in the years prior to its demolition. Made in close collaboration with the estate’s residents, the film looks to avoid the statistical lens housing estates are so often viewed through. Zimmerman’s film emphasises the ‘spirited existence’ of this community, whilst quietly drawing attention to the underlying neglect by wider social and political forces.
Also the result of close collaboration, in Mikhail Karikis’ Children of Unquiet a group of local children take over an abandoned geothermal power plant. Set within an area of Tuscany known as the Devil’s Valley, this failed modernist project stands as a metaphor for the economic and political disempowerment inflicted upon a younger generation by the changes of capitalist logic. Yet through their aural and physical interventions in the landscape, the children draw upon this sense of disquiet to challenge prevailing narratives, evoking an alternative, more hopeful vision for the future.
This double-bill screening will be followed by a conversation between the artists, who will explore how these films relate to themes raised by the exhibition Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday.
This event is part of The Courtauld and Somerset House collaborative digital programme which is supported by Morgan Stanley.
Artist Talk with Sunil Gupta | Programmed by students at the Courtauld Institute of Art
Artist Sunil Gupta and art historian Fiona Anderson discuss two of the artist's photographic series, Exiles and Mr Malhotra's Party, in relation to themes explored in the online exhibition Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday.
In 1986, Sunil Gupta was commissioned by The Photographer's Gallery to document the lives of gay men in Delhi. The resulting photographs, which feature anonymous volunteers, provide visual evidence of private moments of love and friendship typically undocumented. Exiles has been described by Gupta as ‘staged documentary’, originating from an activist imperative to create images of a community he felt ‘just didn’t seem to exist’ within cultural production. When Gupta returned to India in 2007, he found the younger generation more willing to identify themselves. In Mr Malhotra's Party, named individuals were photographed in spaces they live and work in, inscribing their presence within the city's social scene and family structures.
This artist's talk will place these two series in dialogue, exploring the continuities and differences between both bodies of work. Gupta and Anderson will discuss the activist impulse behind both series, Gupta's photographic process, and the reception of these images in relation to mainstream coverage of q***r communities in India.
This event is part of The Courtauld and Somerset House collaborative digital programme which is supported by Morgan Stanley.
Unquiet Moments Curator Tour | Programmed by students at the Courtauld Institute of Art
A special launch event to celebrate the opening of Unquiet Moments: Capturing the Everyday, the first online exhibition by the MA Curating students at The Courtauld Institute of Art.
Watch a curators’ tour of the exhibition, led by the nine students of the MA Curating programme. The curators will also offer insight into their creative process, reflecting on questions such as what does it mean to curate an online exhibition, and how can we harness the potential of digital platforms to interact with audiences in new and exciting ways?
The tour will be followed by an audience Q&A, moderated by Karishma Rafferty, Curator at Somerset House.
Unquiet Moments was initially conceived in response to a chapter of Somerset House’s history as the site of the public Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages. In its adapted, digital form, the exhibition speaks to a time in which a global pandemic has altered the rhythms of daily life for many. At a time where our everyday interactions have taken on new meaning, Unquiet Moments draws attention to the diversity of everyday life as experienced individually, collectively and across time and place. Drawn from the Arts Council Collection and The Courtauld Collection, these artworks speak to an enduring impulse to record, reflect upon and resist the everyday.
This event is part of The Courtauld and Somerset House collaborative digital programme which is supported by Morgan Stanley.
Online talk: Sensory experience in Islamic arts with Dr Sussan Babaie
Thank you to everyone who joined us on Sunday afternoon for our online talk, Sensory Experience in Islamic Arts, with Dr Sussan Babaie, Reader of the Arts of Iran and Islam at The Courtauld.
Sussan's talk was due to accompany our ‘Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld’ touring exhibition at Bradford Museums and Galleries earlier this year, but moved online due to the temporary closure of the gallery.
The talk is now available to watch again online, and highlights the remarkable pieces of Islamic metalwork in The Courtauld Gallery’s collection, many dating from the 13th to the 16th centuries, including some of the finest examples of this intricate art from modern-day Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey.
We will share an update soon about the rescheduled tour dates for ‘Precious and Rare: Islamic Metalwork from The Courtauld'.
The tour is organised in collaboration with the Islamic Art and Material Culture Subject Specialist Network (SSN) at Birmingham Museums Trust and is supported by Art Fund.
Watch the film below or on our Youtube channel: bit.ly/3eW79fA
Impressions of Modern Life: Prints from The Courtauld Gallery
Have you visited our Impressions of Modern Life exhibition at Royal Holloway, University of London yet?
Featuring 24 prints from our collection by world-renowned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Édouard Manet and Henri Matisse.
Come along to learn about modern print culture and printmaking techniques, and to see modern life in Paris throughout the late 19th and early 20th century through the eyes of some of the world's most influential artists.
Open 7 days a week
Free entry
More: bit.ly/2XsGbEV
Why does art history matter?
"Art history gives us the tools to interpret objects and images as documents of social worlds and bearers of meaning", explains Dr Esther Chadwick
Academics from across The Courtauld share their insights into the importance of art and art history, as part of HENI Talks ongoing series which asks leading cultural figures the question ‘Why does art history matter?’
Watch our series here: www.courtauld.ac.uk/why-does-art-history-matter
Why does art history matter?
Why does art history matter?
“When we study cultures other than our own, we start to have greater empathy for the way other people approach life”, explains Dr Stephen Whiteman, Senior Lecturer in the Art and Architecture of China.
Academics from across The Courtauld share their insights into the importance of art and art history, as part of HENI Talks ongoing series which asks leading cultural figures the question ‘Why does art history matter?’
Watch the series here: www.courtauld.ac.uk/why-does-art-history-matter
Why does art history matter?
Art history is the starting point for looking at objects of art and their associated values, including political, social and economic, argues Professor Aviva Burnstock.
Experts from across The Courtauld share their insights into the importance of art and art history as part of HENI Talks ongoing series which asks leading cultural figures the question ‘Why does art history matter?’ Watch all clips here: courtauld.ac.uk/why-does-art-history-matter
Why does art history matter?
“Art is a great creative force that both changes and challenges society”
Professor Antony Eastmond explains why art history matters, citing groups who have sought to destroy and control art across the world.
Experts from across The Courtauld share their insights into the importance of art and art history as part of HENI Talks ongoing series which asks leading cultural figures the question ‘Why does art history matter?’ View all the clips on our website: courtauld.ac.uk/why-does-art-history-matter
Why does art history matter?
“The study of art reminds us of things that can't be measured or described. It reminds us of beauty, awe, wonder, horror."
Dr Jessica Barker explains why art history matters when living in a world of quantification and statistics.
Experts from across The Courtauld were invited to share their insights into the importance of art and art history as part of HENI Talks ongoing series which asks leading cultural figures the question ‘Why does art history matter?’
View all clips here: courtauld.ac.uk/why-does-art-history-matter
Radical Drawing: Works From Coventry and The Courtauld
Have you visited Radical Drawing: Works from Coventry and The Courtauld at The Herbert Art Gallery & Museum, Coventry yet?
This free exhibition is a unique opportunity to explore a group of remarkable drawings by artists who have pushed the boundaries of what it means to draw.
The exhibition includes 16 drawings from our collection including works by Camille Pissarro, Pablo Picasso, George Romney and Linda Karshan, along with works from the University of Warwick and the Herbert’s own collection.
Open until 19 January 2020.
Find out more: bit.ly/38aeBkI
We are excited to be at V&A Dundee for RES|FEST x Dundee. Over the two-day festival, we will be joined by a range of speakers and performers.
Tonight, there will be a social media takeover by Rujazzle, a producer, host and performer. We start with an explanation of ‘Queering the Canon’, an installation which reimagines iconic works in The Courtauld’s collection.
