A Manufacturing Town’ by L. S. Lowry at the Science Museum in London

May 1, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting the 1922 A Manufacturing Town’ by L. S. Lowry at the Science Museum in London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. 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. Please consider donating via Paypal to keep the channel going. I’ll be popping in and out with commentary as this video progresses but for now let’s take a close up look. Lowry became well-known for painting northern textile towns like Salford, where he was from. His early oil paintings show things he’d paint a lot later: factories, smoking chimneys, and lots of people in the streets.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet

April 30, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet which is currently at the Courtauld Gallery, London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Édouard Manet was born on January 23, 1832 and died April 30 1883 and was a significant French painter of the modern era. He was among the first artists in the 19th century to depict contemporary life and played a key role in the shift from Realism to Impressionism. “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère,” painted in 1882, just one year before he died and was displayed at the Paris Salon that year and is considered one of his final major works. It shows a scene inside the Folies Bergère nightclub in Paris and

Amedeo Modigliani’s 1916 Female Nude

April 26, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Amedeo Modigliani’s 1916 Female Nude which is currently at The Courtauld Gallery in London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy in 1884. He mainly worked in France and he painted this nude around 1916. He’s celebrated for his innovative take on portraiture and the human form, where faces, necks, and figures take on surreal stretches. It’s always difficult to rank art but I think that this, for me, is certainly one of the greatest paintings of all times. I’ve spoken previously about Van Gogh’s Starry night over the Rhone painting and the power it has in real life … this is similar … it has a presence and power

National Windrush Monument at Waterloo Station in London, England

April 25, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting the National Windrush Monument at Waterloo Station in London, England. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. The description beside the Monument reads: “The National Windrush Monument was designed to acknowledge and celebrate the outstanding contribution and dedication of the Windrush Generation of British history. The Monument symbolises the courage, commitment and resilience of the thousands of men, women and children who travelled to the UK from 1948 to 1971. It has been created as a permanent place of reflection, fostering greater understanding of the Windrush Generation’s talent, hard work and loyalty to Britain, inspiring future generations forever. The National Windrush Monument has been funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. By Anthony

Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue 1935 by Piet Mondrian at the Tate Modern in London

April 25, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting Composition C (No.III) with Red, Yellow and Blue 1935 by Piet Mondrian at the Tate Modern in London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Piet Mondrian, was a famous Dutch painter and art thinker born 7th March 1872 and died 1st February 1944. He’s considered one of the best artists of the 20th century. Mondrian was one of the first to explore abstract art in the 20th century. He started with realistic paintings but later focused on simple shapes and lines in his art. There are many ways to interpret his line works. I personally, don’t. I try not to complicate the clean visual. About the piece, The Tate Modern tell us: “Mondrian used a

The Munition Girls by Stanhope Alexander Forbes at the Science Museum in London

April 25, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting The Munition Girls by Stanhope Alexander Forbes at the Science Museum in London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. The Munition Girls oil on canvas was painted in 1918 by Stanhope Forbes. He was born in Dublin on the 18th November 1857 and died on the 2nd March 1947. We find some incredible paintings and works of art at the Science Museum dotted around and this is no exception. The Science Museum tells us: “Commissioned by John Baker & Co of Rotherham, the painting depicts women workers at the firm’s Kilnhurst Steel Works. The First World War made unprecedented demands on industry and the Kilnhurst works were converted to the manufacture of artillery shells. With

The Little Peasant by Amedeo Modigliani at the Tate Modern, London

April 3, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting The Little Peasant by Amedeo Modigliani at the Tate Modern, London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. Amedeo Modigliani was born in Italy in 1884. He mainly worked in France and he painted The Little Peasant Oil on canvas around 1918. He’s celebrated for his innovative take on portraiture and the human form, where faces, necks, and figures take on surreal stretches, offering a glimpse into a unique artistic realm. The Tate Gallery tell us: “This is one of a small group of paintings that Modigliani made of young people. There is some doubt over the accuracy of the title, as the same model seems to appear in another portrait by the artist, titled The

Roman Hercules Bust at the British Museum, London

March 4, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting the Roman ‘Hercules’ Bust at the British Museum, London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. We are looking at a Roman ‘Hercules’ Bust from the 2nd Century AD which is made of marble and is in the corner of the enlightenment room at the British Museum. The actually bust represents the Greek hero Herakles who was the Roman hero Hercules. This statue is a copy of a bronze original by the renown Greek sculptor Lysippos who was from the 4th century BC. Lysippos is considered one of best sculptors of all time, in fact he’s known as being one of the top three of classical Greek sculptor – although it’s a challenge to identify his

The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, at the British Museum, London

February 12, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting the remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World: The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, at the British Museum, London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, also known as the Tomb of Mausolus, stood as a monumental tomb constructed in Halicarnassus (present-day Bodrum, Turkey) during the period between 353 and 350 BC. It served as the final resting place for Mausolus, the ruler of Caria (377–353 BCE), and his sister-wife Artemisia II of Caria of the Achaemenid Empire, the First Persian Empire. This empire, centred in modern-day Iran, held the distinction of being the world’s largest at the time, encompassing a vast expanse of 5.5 million square kilometres (2.1 million

The Bacchanal Relief by Aimé Jules Dalou

February 10, 2024

In this episode, we’ll be visiting the Bacchanal Relief by Jules Dalou at The Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King. This is the first of several versions of Jules Dalou’s Bacchanal. It was originally exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in 1879. There are several versions of this piece including a bronze at the Musée d’Orsay, Paris. Jules Dalou was born December 31, 1838 in Paris and died April 15, 1902. This relief of painted plaster was made in 1879 by Dalou and shows a drunken orgy which was part of the ancient cult of Bacchus. The word Bacchanal is defined “a wild and drunken celebration” from Bacchus the Greek god of wine.