Resources & Recommendations #9
to listen
The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp - with Adam Rutherford
Dr Adam Rutherford, the approachable face of British science, provides a scientist’s analysis of Rembrandt’s iconic 1632 oil painting, The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp. On the topic of draughtsmanship, Rutherford stops by Galen, and the birth of anatomical drawings in the Renaissance with Leonardo and Vesalius.
to watch
My National Gallery – Terry Gilliam & Bronzino; Michael Palin & Turner
Two shorter watches this month in the form of clips from interviews with Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin for Exhibition on Screen's forthcoming film "My National Gallery". One is now accustomed to seeing Bill Nighy pace the corridors of the Courtauld Gallery, but these short clips offer amusing insight into the Pythons’ relationship with the National Gallery, in celebration of its 200th year. Unsurprisingly, Palin finds a way to talk about trains through J. M. W. Turner's 'Rain, Steam, Speed'. Gilliam on the other hands talks about talk about Bronzino's painting "Venus, Cupid, Folly and Time", the source of the emblematic Monty Python foot.
to read
Learning to Draw Landscape in Nineteenth-Century France by Patricia Mainardi
In 1855 the Goncourt brothers declared that “Landscape is the victory of modern art. It is the honor of the nineteenth century”. In this article Patricia Mainardi provides a good overview of the development of landscape as a genre in 19th century France, the initial apprehension of the French Academy, the prejudice of the hierarchy of subjects which placed landscape below history painting, and even genre, and the importance of drawing manuals.
