Apollo and the Nine Muses from 1580 at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

January 15, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Apollo and the Nine Muses from 1580 at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Created in the late sixteenth century, Apollo and the Nine Muses is an oak panel that blends French mid-16th-century carving styles. Despite its French influence, the piece is believed to have been crafted in England towards the close of the same century. Depicting Apollo and the Nine Muses, the artwork symbolizes the Arts at large, making it suitable for an esteemed chamber in a grand residence. Commonly utilized as overmantels, these panels, in conjunction with the chimney-piece, constituted the focal point of the room. Courtiers appreciated such mythological adornments, indicative of their education and grasp

The Raphael Cartoons by Raphael at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

January 12, 2024

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of The Raphael Cartoons by Raphael at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Born on either March 28 or April 6, 1483, Raphael, an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance, created the Raphael Cartoons, a set of seven full-scale designs for tapestry. Alongside Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, he is part of the

The Stoning of St Stephen by Grinling Gibbons at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

January 5, 2024

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of ‘The Stoning of St Stephen’ by Grinling Gibbons which is made of limewood between 1680 – 90 at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. According to biblical history, Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin was scathing and it was the angry crowd who threw the first stones. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. This piece is behind glass but I tried my best to capture it for you. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for

Doulton House Frieze by Gilbert Bayes at The Victoria and Albert Museum

January 4, 2024

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of the 1939 Doulton House Frieze by Gilbert Bayes at The Victoria and Albert Museum. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Gilbert Bayes, a distinguished British sculptor of the early 20th century, was renowned for his ability to breathe life and emotion into his creations. He left an indelible mark on the artistic landscape with a career that traversed the Arts

The Wolsey Angels by Benedetto da Rovezzano commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

January 4, 2024

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of The Wolsey Angels by Benedetto da Rovezzano (born 1474) which were commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. They’re at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Benedetto da Rovezzano, an Italian sculptor active in England from 1519 to around 1540, created the Wolsey Angels—four statues commissioned by Cardinal Thomas Wolsey for his tomb. Wolsey, once a

Thalia the Muse of Comedy, Roman Marble at the British Museum, London

January 2, 2024

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of ‘Thalia’ the Muse of Comedy, which is a Roman 2nd Century Marble at the British Museum in London. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Unearthed in 1776 at the ancient bath ruins in Ostia, Rome, this marble statue embodies Thalia, the Muse of Comedy in Greek mythology, one of the nine Muses overseeing comedy and idyllic poetry. In Greek mythology,

Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus by J. M. W. Turner at the National Gallery in London

December 29, 2023

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of Ulysses Deriding Polyphemus painted in 1829 by J. M. W. Turner at the National Gallery in London. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. In this painting, Turner draws inspiration from Homer’s Odyssey, portraying Ulysses sailing away from the island where the one-eyed giant Polyphemus had imprisoned him and his crew. Ulysses, adorned in a helmet and scarlet cloak, triumphantly raises

Crouching Venus at the British Museum in London

December 27, 2023

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of the Second century AD Aphrodite or ‘Crouching Venus’ at the British Museum in London. We’ve visited many a Venus on my channel but I think that this might be my favourite of all. There is something about the placement of the statue, which is so visible and also it’s height. When I was a child I was also so impressed that this was on loan from Queen Elizabeth – I found that impressive and very kind of her I remember thinking! As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the

The Age of Innocence by Alfred Drury at The Victoria and Albert Museum

December 21, 2023

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of an 1897 plaster cast bust by Alfred Drury at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London called ‘The Age of Innocence’. As always, I take all the photos and videos myself on location, ensuring you get an up-close and personal view of the fascinating world of art and culture. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Edward Alfred Briscoe Drury, a prominent figure in the New Sculpture movement, crafted variations of this sculptural bust between 1897 and 1918, modelling it after a friend’s daughter. While most iterations were cast in

Leonardo da Vinci’s Codex Forster number I at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London

December 20, 2023

Welcome to “Art, Culture & Books” with me Anthony King. Today I’ll be taking you on a video and photographic tour of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebook, Codex Forster number I from 1505 which is at The Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Leonardo da Vinci (1452 – 1519), renowned globally for iconic works like the Mona Lisa, is equally celebrated for his notebooks documenting thoughts and inventions. The V&A collection houses five such intriguing notebooks, forming the Codex Forster, gifted to the Museum in 1876 by John Forster. These volumes, dating from approximately 1487 to 1505, offer insights into Leonardo’s deeply curious mind. The V&A’s collection comprises three codices named the Forster Codices, with no discernible logical order. Bequeathed by John Forster, only Codex Forster I