Van Gogh, the Tate, and Rutherford and Son

[smallhobbit]

As I said in my last review, we went up to London to see the play because the run finished before I was having my short break in London.  It turned out the same was true of the exhibition at the Tate Gallery Van Gogh and Britain.  So we bought tickets for the Saturday afternoon.  SM enjoyed the exhibition greatly, I was slightly less taken with it, although it was still good and I managed to do some sketching (hooray!).  I suppose in some ways it felt like the idea was to display a number of van Gogh's paintings (good idea) but then they'd looked for a handle for it.  The first two galleries were mostly by artists who had influenced van Gogh, so it wasn't until the third room that his paintings started to predominate.  Which, together with my realisation that I like some of van Gogh's paintings, but not all, meant that it wasn't the best exhibition I've been to.  However, it was worth seeing and I liked the last two galleries which showed paintings by people who had been influenced by van Gogh (including Vanessa Bell).

While we were in the Tate I went to see the other Vanessa Bell painting, together with a couple by Duncan Grant, to tie up with my reading about the Bloomsbury Set in the spring.  I also saw a painting by Stanley Spencer, who I'd heard about, but don't recall ever seeing.

   

To continue with the theme of 'things finishing before I want them to' Sam Troughton was in a play at the National Theatre called Rutherford and Son.  Fortunately Rutherford himself was played by Roger Allam, (and therefore the father of John Jnr, played by Troughton) so SM said he'd be happy to go and see it.

The play, written by Githa Sowerby, is set in the home of the owner of a Tyneside glass works in about 1910.  Rutherford dominates the household and his three adult children and the play shows how they ultimately rebel and walk away from the house, but without any particular hope that their new lives will be successful as they are shells of what they could be.  The whole cast are excellent.  I've seen both Justine Mitchell (daughter, Janet) and Joe Armstrong (Martin, the work's foreman) before and really enjoyed their performances, as well as the rest of the cast.

The ending is dramatic, more realistic in its outcome than hopeful, and although the play won't get the recognition of Present Laughter, I thought it equally good, if rather different in tone.  It was totally absorbing and again I'd recommend it.

Comments

[corvidology]

the description of that play is making me think of In Celebration.

[smallhobbit]

I think there may be similarities, although Rutherford and Son is earlier and therefore the father is very Victorian in outlook and behaviour.

[solosundance]

I went to see the Van Gogh last Sunday morning and your comment about them needing to find a handle for some of his paintings seems about right. Lovely to see Sunflowers and Starry Night etc but I was disappointed in the curation - there was no real coherence to the narrative, and some of the blurbs were really poorly written. My favourite painting in the exhibit was probably the Millais one, Chilly October. I did find the Dickens stuff interesting though! (And the 'Van Gogh Breakfast' was excellent :D)

[smallhobbit]

I'm pleased you agree with me - I'm clearly not alone. And yes, I found some of the blurbs disappointing. My favourite was probably Whistler's Nocture in Grey and Gold: Westminster Bridge.

[solosundance]

Yes I liked the Whistler. It was my friend's favourite, too.

[aome]

I'm not a huge art-museum fan, but we went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Honestly, though, part of that was because we had picked up some "scavenger hunt" leaflets being handed out to children (and although our kids were 11 and 13 by then, we still got some for them) and that made it much more interesting, with special tidbits to look for in the paintings, and why they were significant, or why a particular painting was significant.

[smallhobbit]

I like visiting art galleries, we do go to a number of special exhibitions (the advantage of our ArtCard is half price entry). I find if I sketch bits of some of the paintings I like I come to appreciate them more, because I need to look at them properly.

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

Which one is the Bell painting? Glad you had a good weekend!

[smallhobbit]

The first one is the Bell: Studland Beach.

And thank you.

[luthienberen]

I have never been to an art gallery (I know, terrible - castles and museums yet, but specifically art galleries), but your experience makes me curious. Would you recommend visiting the Tate?

Glad you enjoyed he play :)

[smallhobbit]

I quite like the Tate, but I prefer the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. If you go, make sure it's Tate Britain (in Pimlico) not Tate Modern, which is all modern art. I've not made it to Cardiff Museum yet, but I understand they have a very good art section. A lot depends on your preferences in art.

[luthienberen]

I have visited Cardiff Museum numerous times yet never wandered into the art exhibit - I really should rectify that!

Thank you for the recommendation re the Tate. I am not into modern art, (unless you count manga!) or Picasso and prefer traditional styles.