Ile de France 1935 by Jean Hélion at the Tate Modern London

May 13, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Ile de France 1935 by Jean Hélion at the Tate Modern London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Jean Hélion, born on April 21, 1904 was a prominent French painter whose abstract creations during the 1930s positioned him as a significant figure in the realm of modernist art. With regards to this Oil paint on canvas the museum tell us: “Hélion was one of the most prominent abstract artists in Paris in the 1930s. He later returned to a more representational style. Ile de France is mostly composed of flattened planes of colour but the forms in the foreground appear solid and three- dimensional. At the time, Hélion reflected: ‘The more I advance the more

The Soviets in Space Poster 1963 at the Science Museum London

May 12, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting The Soviets in Space Poster 1963 at the Science Museum London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Soviet space posters often show a hopeful view of a better life through scientific progress. They depict new lands, planets, and societies, inspired by a movement called Russian Cosmism. The museum tell us: “Long live the world’s first female cosmonaut’: a Soviet poster (in Czech) celebrating Valentina Tereshkova, who orbited the Earth in Vostok 6 in June 1963. As with Sputnik in 1957, and with Yuri Gagarin, who had undertaken the first manned space flight in Vostok 1 on 12 April 1961, the flight of Tereshkova was an event deliberately loaded with symbolic meaning. It was to be

Cubist Head (Portrait of Fernande) by Pablo Picasso at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge

May 11, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Cubist Head (Portrait of Fernande) by Pablo Picasso at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Pablo Picasso Oil on canvas Cubist head (portrait of Fernande) was painted around 1909-10. The Museum tells us that; “The sitter of this painting was almost certainly Fernande Olivier, with whom Picasso began a relationship in 1904 and painted many times. Fernande (born Amélie Lang) had a turbulent childhood and she ran away from home as a teenager. She married but left her abusive husband before the age of nineteen, changing her name to Fernande Bellevallée and then to Olivier to avoid detection. Fernande modelled for artists in Montmartre and met Picasso at the famous artists’

Portrait of a Man in Red from the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace

May 11, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Portrait of a Man in Red from the Royal Collection at Hampton Court Palace in England. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Portrait of a Man in Red is a painting by an unknown painter in the style of Hans Holbein the Younger. It’s estimated to be dated around 1530 and 1550 and to depict Henry VIII of England. We do have the information submitted when this was acquired by the Royal Collection on the 20th August 1662; “object stated in reference as: Acquired by Charles II in 1660 from William Frizell at Breda (List I no 21) as Holbein of Henry VIII when young; recorded in the Queen’s Gallery at Hampton Court in 1666

The Flood By Claude Monet

May 11, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be taking a quick look at Claude Monet’s The Flood. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King.

Who’s Afraid of the New Technology By Alan Robb at The McManus Art Gallery & Museum in Dundee, Scotland

May 10, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Who’s Afraid of the New Technology By Alan Robb at The McManus Art Gallery & Museum in Dundee, Scotland. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Who’s Afraid of the New Technology, 1987 is an acrylic on canvas by Alan Robb who was born in Glasgow in 1946. The museum tell us; “In this major work, Robb explores the creation of pictorial space. He opens the composition out like a stage set, and includes recognisable motifs culled from windsurfing magazines and Mediterranean holiday brochures. Much of his work was inspired by cut paper collage. This work moves into the digital age inspired by Quantel Paintbox, which revolutionised 1980s advertising and post- production in video and film.

Aquamanile in the Shape of a Lion at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge

May 10, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Aquamanile in the Shape of a Lion at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. This aquamanile is from the middle ages. In Latin water is aqua and hand is manus. This kind of ewer was meant to wash your hands hands but also to create a bit of fun. The museum tells us: “Probably made in Lower Saxony in the Hildesheim area, c.1250-1350; the left hind leg and tail are of later date. Brass. Zoomorphic aquamaniles (vessels for pouring water) were made in pottery and metalwork. Lions may have been used for liturgical or a domestic purpose. This example later belonged to the painter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82) Given by

The Story of Abraham Tapestries at the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace in England

May 10, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting The Story of Abraham Tapestries at the Great Hall at Hampton Court Palace in England. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Filling the walls of the Great Hall are a series of tapestries depicting scenes from the life of the patriarch Abraham, as recounted in the Book of Genesis. It is likely that these tapestries were commissioned by Henry VIII and were first displayed in the Great Hall in 1546. Crafted in Brussels from a combination of wool, silk, and threads of gold and silver, these tapestries were assessed at a remarkable £8,260 during the valuation of the Royal Collection following the execution of Charles I in 1649. This valuation established them as the most