Plastic Bag Awards 2020

As we spring into a new year it's time to look back at 2020 with the Plastic Bag Awards, the Baggies 2020. It's been a funny old year really with too much time spent at home and not enough time spent out and about but that's how it goes sometimes. To reflect the times there are some new categories for the awards. My lockdown started on 16 March so the year had hardly begun. The jury was socially distanced at all times and didn't have too many problems judging the entries this year so here we go, the Baggies 2020!

Best Theatre

In a slow start to the year I only managed to see two productions:

'Rags' at the Park Theatre
'The Visit, or the Old Lady Comes to Call' at the National Theatre

'Rags' is a musical about immigration to New York in the early 1900s so big themes but a small production in a small theatre. 'The Visit' is a strange play in which the richest woman in the world wants her first boyfriend to be punished for getting her pregnant many years ago and she has the money to make it happen. A total opposite to 'Rags' since this was on the big stage of the Olivier Theatre at the National with a big cast and lots of changes of scenery. In a more normal year I'm not sure either would be nominated but the winner is 'The Visit' because of the excellent performances of Lesley Manville and Hugo Weaving.

Best Exhibition 

I saw ten exhibitions this year so that's a surprisingly good haul. The five nominees were all excellent exhibitions and would have been nominated in a 'normal' year.

'Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution' at the MSK Ghent in Belgium
'Troy' at the British Museum

'Titian: Love, Desire, Death' at the National Gallery
'Artemisia' at the National Gallery
'Turner's Modern World' at Tate Britain

The Van Eyck exhibition was the biggest ever of his works, 'Troy' explored artefacts that tell the story of the Trojan war, the Titan brought together his poesie paintings for the first time, 'Artemisia' was the first exhibition of her works in the UK and the Turner exhibition reflected how he painted and recorded the industrialisation of the country in the first half of the 19th Century. They were quite different in many ways and all were excellent. 

There can only be one winner and that's got to be the Van Eyck exhibition in Ghent. I have fond memories of it, of my little adventure to Belgium, of seeing some of the panels from the Ghent Altarpiece up close to see the detail which is impossible at the Cathedral where it is on display, the incredible detail in even the smallest of the paintings and seeing so many of his works in the same place. Well done MSK Ghent.

Best Building Visited After Two Decades

After seeing a small exhibition near the Barbican I walked down to go to Blackfriars and when I passed St Paul's saw it was open so thought, why not visit? I went online when I got home and booked a ticket. I later got a ticket to visit Westminster Abbey. I've been in both before but not in a couple of decades. The nominees are:

St Paul's Cathedral
Westminster Abbey

It was strange going inside both buildings, everyone masked, following the one-way route and seeing what there was to see. St Paul's was quite empty with few visitors, which was nice, but Westminster Abbey was far more busy, including some tourists. Both have their own history and interesting objects but the award goes to Westminster Abbey for the beauty of the place, the tombs of kings and queens but the Unknown Warrior's is the tomb that's highlighted and, of course, for Poet's Corner. I had planned to visit it again in the run up to Christmas  but that wasn't to be.

Best Face Mask

2020 is the year of the face mask. I started off using a scarf back in March and migrated to using the make-your-own tee shirt sleeve mask since proper masks weren't available anywhere. And then places started making masks and you could buy them so I did. I started to collect them. I got some made up using my own designs from details of paintings and prints. It was a bit of fun, If we need to wear a mask (and we do) then wear a nice one, a colourful one, a mask that says 'this is me'. One of my early favourites was the 'Sunflowers' mask from a detail in Van Gogh's painting from the National Gallery. It was light an airy, fully fitting and my glasses could go on the outside so they didn't steam up. Later on in the summer I got a Rosetta Stone mask from the British Museum, made to a similar design but it feels bigger and more airy and is my mask of choice for gallery visits. This is the mask that wins the award. It's interesting and it works, especially for someone in glasses.

Best Lockdown TV

In lockdown and after, and then as we entered another lockdown, TV companies have had a captive audience but have they risen to the challenge to be creative and cater to our needs? From my point of view, the answer can only be 'no' but there have been some good programmes that have fed me over the past year. These include 'Bake Off' of course, the joyous discovery of 'The Repair Shop', 'Staged' with Michael Sheen and David Tennant performing online in their own kitchens, Charlie Dimmock's 'Garden Challenge' and the glory that was 'Grayson's Art Club' way back in the spring, one of the first programmes to respond directly to lockdown. It's obvious really but the award goes to Grayson and Philippa Perry for 'Grayson's Art Club'

That's a rather abbreviated version of the Baggies for 2020. Let's hope that a normal service can be resumed safely at some point next year. I'm optimistic.

Bruges: A Hospital, a Church and a Museum

I was in Belgium to see the new Van Eyck exhibition in Ghent so I thought I'd take a trip to Bruges to see some early Renaissance Flemish art. Bruges is easy to get to from Brussels, with frequent trains and it takes just under an hour to get there. When I came out of the station I saw steeples in the distance and decided to head for them. Crossing the road outside the station the buildings quickly became older and I was suddenly in a medieval town with narrow cobbled streets and picturesque buildings. So on I walked.

My first visit was to the Sint-Janshospitaal and its great collection of works by Hans Memling. The Sisters of St John had been working on that site since the 1100s in a hospital that they turned into a museum for Memling in the mid-1800s. The museum is in the former chapel of the hospital and it's a lovely space for displaying works of art and other objects, not the biggest gallery but there's plenty of space and great lighting. Hans Memling is one of the later Northern Renaissance artists and he actually lived and died in St John's so it's a special place.

The first works are two triptych altarpieces in glass cases so you can see the wing paintings, one is a Virgin and Child and the other is a Deposition, so we see the start and end of Christ's life.

Turn right and you enter the chapel with the grand St Ursula Altarpiece, much larger than the previous altarpieces and sited in the space it was painted for. You can walk round the altarpiece to see the wing paintings and back of the work.

The central panel is gorgeous. We see the Virgin enthroned with the Child in her lap, the Virgin turning a page in a book while the Child holds the finger of (i assume) St Ursula. St John is standing nearby in his rough clothes beside the Virgin's sumptuous throne. It's noticeable that the Virgin is wrapped in red whereas she would be cloaked in blue in an Italian painting of the same time.

Also in the chapel is the lovely diptych with the portrait of the Virgin with Maarten van Nieuwenhove and a portrait of an unknown young lady. This young man must have been rich or important to have to his portrait painted like this.

Out in the main space is the gorgeous Shrine to St Ursula, a gorgeous casket shaped like a church with large paintings at either end and three smaller paintings along each side of the body of the church. The eight paintings tell the story of the life of St Ursula in glorious colour with incredibly tiny details. Her story isn'y terribly delightful given the subject matter and her martyrdom with the 11,000 virgins who followed her. What is wonderful is the detail in the paintings, small as they may be.

Just over the road from Sint-Janshospitaal is the Church of Our Lady, a lovely church which is free to visit but you need a ticket to go behind the altar and see the true secret of the church, a lovely Michelangelo statue, the only statue of his that left Italy during his lifetime. Just before heading to Belgium I'd watched the film 'Monuments Men' and this Virgin and Child statue plays a big part in the film, with a soldier sacrificing his life trying to save it during the Second World War. Tickets to see that part of the church are bought  from the booth to the left of the entrance.

It's a beautiful, serene statue set under a black conch shell in the middle of a rather ornate altarpiece. If you've got a Michelangelo statue you don't surround it by lesser works from other sculptors. You can't get very close to the statue and it's covered in a glass plate for protection.

After the Church of Our Lady I headed to the Groeningemuseum, the main museum in Bruges. It's having some building work done in advance of a major exhibition about Van Eyck in the spring so some of the building was closed but the important rooms, for me, were still open, and these included the early Flemish works. The first room holds only one painting, the treasure by Van Eyck of the 'Madonna with Canon Joris van der Paele'.

The room is slightly darkened with the lights focused on this painting. The Canon kneels at the feet of the Madonna's throne, flanked by saints Domitian (whose church this was painted for) and George (the Canon's namesake). The Child presents his mother with a posy of flowers and cuddles a green parrot (I assume that represents something but I don't know what). The Canon has just stopped reading and taken off his glasses at the moment this scene is painted. Joris commissioned this painting from Van Eyck on his return to Bruges after a spell in Rome and here he is, immortalised forever by the master. I wonder if he had any idea his image would attract attention nearly 600 years later? 

The painting rewards close inspection and is full of astonishing details, from the Canon's spectacles and the open book in his hand to the sheen on St George's armour and his marvellous helmet. You just know that the fabric at the back of the throne and the carpet would have been in the latest fashionable designs at the time and the clothes of St Domitian would have been of the finest embroidery. It's a gorgeous painting

As you walk on through the museum you come across some marvellous works by early Flemish painters, such as the 'Triptych of the Lamentation' by the Master of the Legend of St Lucy and an altarpiece by the Master of the Legend of St Ursula. It's always a bit sad that we don't know the names of these great painters that were clearly thought highly of at the time since they got the commissions for paintings but their names weren't documented for one reason or another. There's always hope that a box of old parchment might be discovered in an attic somewhere that will include the invoice for a painting or a lost diary will turn up. 

There are paintings by a host of great painters including Hans Memling and Gerard David and by a certain Heironomous Bosch. There are two altarpieces by Bosch, a 'Last Judgement' and a 'Triptych of Job'. The 'Last Judgement' is, as you'd expect, full of the strange images Bosch is known for as well as the panoramic view with tiny figures doing odd things. 

One of the highlights of the museum that wasn't on show when I visited is the portrait of Margaret Van Eyck by her husband, Jan, since it's currently on loan to the great Van Eyck exhibition in Ghent. She will return in March to star in the Groeningemuseum's own celebration of Van Eyck. I know that because she told me so when I went into the museum. 

So there you are, three great places to visit when you go to Bruge and there'll be so much more when the Groeningemuseum fully re-opens. There's a lot of art to see in Bruges and a lot of streets to wander round and marvel at the wonderful architecture around you. I hope to return one day.  

'Van Eyck: An Optical Revolution' at the MSK Ghent and the Ghent Altarpiece

If you're interested in 15th Century painting, particularly Flemish painting, then the big exhibition to visit at the moment is in Ghent, Belgium, with panels from the newly restored Ghent Altarpiece at the heart of the exhibition. The Ghent Altarpiece is documented as being by Hubert and Jan Van Eyck - it's the only known work by Hubert and there are about 20 known works by Jan, half of which are in this exhibition, the biggest ever exhibition of his works. So it's mandatory to attend.

It's easy enough to get to Ghent from Brussels, only a half an hour train ride with frequent trains. The exhibition is in the Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) which is a 15 minutes stroll from the railway station. I went there on a Wednesday and it was incredibly busy so it's probably best to book your ticket in advance online. An audioguide in various languages is included in the price of the ticket. Photos are not allowed so I've added images found on the web to illustrate this blog along with a few of my own photos.

The exhibition opens with some context setting with a timeline of the life of Jan Van Eyck (or what is known about him) and the world he lived in. There are video walls, exhibits of the kinds of objects shown in his paintings (like candlesticks), lots of illuminated manuscripts in books of various sizes in glass cases throughout the exhibition, statues of angels and text on the walls. There are also works by other contemporary artists from the North but also some from the Italian Renaissance, particularly from Florence.

In the early rooms there are copies of the Ghent Altarpiece by other artists, a series of lovely small paintings by Christian Schultz from 1865 (that are on loan from the V&A in London) and much bigger copies of some of the panels by Michael Coxcie from 1557-58 on loan from the Alte Pinakotek in Munich (where I saw the panels of the Virgin and John the Baptist last year, photo above) and elsewhere.

The centrepiece of the exhibition are the exterior panels from the Ghent Altarpiece (that is, what you see when the Altarpiece is closed) and the panels of Adam and Eve from the interior of the Altarpiece. These are placed around the exhibition in different themed rooms.

I'd never seen the Ghent Altarpiece before. It's kept in a huge glass case in St Bavo's Cathedral in the centre of Ghent and this is a rare occasion when the panels have been removed for an exhibition. With that in mind it was very exciting to be able to get up close to the panels and look at them so closely since they're normally at quite a distance from the viewer in the cathedral. The restoration has cleaned away centuries of dirt and varnish to reveal the Altarpiece in all it's glory and the real Adam and Eve in all their pale nakedness.

Adam looks almost as if he's walking forward, with his right foot raised slightly above the edge of the painting, like he's going to step out of it. It's also odd to notice that he has slightly hairy legs with a covering of fine hair (which you'd never guess from looking at reproductions). Eve is more static and has the rounded stomach that was fashionable at the time. Something that really stood out for me was the realism of Adam's face, the sheer detail that suggests a portrait of a real model rather that a generic face on top of a generic body. I wonder who he was?

One thing I got ridiculously excited about was being at the right height to be able to look through the windows of the Virgin's room in the 'Annunciation' panels, something that would be impossible to do when you see the Altarpiece in the cathedral since it's raised up high.

Peering through the windows I could see tiny buildings with the stepped fronts you can see around Belgium and especially in the buildings in Bruges. There were also tiny marks that could've been people on the street in front of the buildings but I couldn't make them out very well. I need to find close-up images of this window - there must be some somewhere. It's astonishing that so much detail was added to the Altarpiece, particularly when no-one would ever really be close enough to see it when it was in situ in the cathedral. That's what I call dedication.

There was a delicate small Crucifixion attributed to Jan Van Eyck and Workshop showing a simple scene set in a landscape. The painting is light and airy with Van Eyck imagining what the Holy Land might've looked like with its sparse vegetation and almost sun-bleached sky. The depiction of Jerusalem in the distance is rather imaginative as are the strange trees, with Van Eyck showing a place he'd never seen.

It was about here in the exhibition that I realised you have to look carefully at the signs beside each exhibit to check which was a Van Eyck and which was related to him in some way. The signs have his name in large letters but, in much small letters, adds 'and workshop' or 'after' to attribute the work to the workshop or a follower. It's all clear but you do have to look at the signage rather than just glance.

It was great to see both versions of Jan Van Eyck's 'St Francis Receiving the Stigmata' hanging side by side, the larger one (about 12" x 14") from Turin and the smaller one (about 4' x 5") from Philadelphia. They're almost identical paintings but the difference in size is really noticeable. The face of the saint is very realistic as he kneels in a rocky wilderness for the Seraph to beam down he stigmata of Christ. It's incredibly detailed and is a lovely little painting. I don't know why but I preferred the tiny Philadelphia version, probably because it is so small but lacks none of the detail of the larger version.

Hanging next to the two versions of St Francis was another version, this time by Fra Angelico. a small panel in a rather plain modern wooden frame. It's a simple painting with a simple story. The details of the rocks and landscape aren't important to the Fra, the Seraph delivering the stigmata is what matters and that is front and centre in the painting - it's the story that matters rather than the detail of the painting. It looks like it was probably one of the predella paintings along the bottom of a much larger altarpiece (I'll need to do my homework to find out which one). I don't recall ever seeing this particular panel before so it was a delight to see it.

I smiled when I saw the next painting by Van Eyck, his rather strange 'St Barbara'. I've seen this painting many times since, until recently, it was on loan from Antwerp to the National Gallery in London and hung on the wall beside 'The Arnolfini Portrait' and 'Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?)' by Van Eyck. Very little is known about the work - is it meant to look like this? is it unfinished? is it a preparatory drawing for a larger work?

It's a delicate little piece showing a rather large St Barbara sitting in front of a cathedral in the distance, with people going about their daily lives behind her. It's displayed in a glass case so you can also see the back of the small panel. I like to think that the painting is meant to look like this and that Mr Van Eyck was experimenting. It lacks none of the detail you'd expect from a Van Eyck work, it just doesn't have the jewel-like colour we've come to expect from him.

Further along is another painting with a difference from Van Eyck, his beautiful little 'Annunciation Diptych' on loan from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection in Madrid (where I took this photo). It's an example of grisaille work, i.e. painted statues with shadows and everything. The painting shows Gabriel in one panel with the Virgin and the dove of the holy spirit in the other. It's quite small and that makes the detail of the folds in the drapery even more impressive.

This technique was also used on a much bigger scale in the outer panels of the Ghent Altarpiece with St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

The two St Johns feature so prominently since the cathedral was originally dedicated to St John and the donors were closely associated with the church. The donors were Joos Vijd and Elizabeth Borluut who are shown kneeling and life-sized in their old age when the altarpiece was commissioned. Their panels are thought to have been painted last in around 1431-2. 

There were two gorgeous small paintings titled 'Madonna at the Fountain' that looked identical to me but one was attributed to Jan Van Eyck and dated 1439 and the other to Jan Van Eyck and Workshop and dated as c.1440. Jan's 'solo' version has the inscription 'As I Can' (his motto) on the battered old frame, suggesting it's the original frame. It shows the Virgin with a playful Child in a garden with two angels holding an ornate cloth behind the Virgin while she stands beside the fountain of life. The detail is incredible and I loved the colours of the angels wings. The ground is covered in tiny flowers and the backdrop is a hedge of pink and red roses. I suspect the term 'jewel-like' was invented specifically for this painting.

The penultimate room in the exhibition is dedicated to portraits and there are several by Van Eyck here since he was a renowned portrait painter. My second favourite was a painting of Jan de Leeuw, a young goldsmith who, it seems, Van Eyck knew. He's holding a ring as a symbol of his craft. Once again, it's the sheer realism of the face that's quite astonishing - change the hat and the coat and he could be the driver on the bus you got on yesterday. My favourite portrait? Why, the portrait of Margaret Van Eyck, Jan's wife, of course.

It's a lovely portrait showing Margaret with her trendy hair style and the astonishing lace head-dress. In my head I'd imagined this exhibition hanging Margaret together with the portrait thought to be a self-portrait of Jan side by side in a position of honour but that remains on the wall of the National Gallery in London. Such a shame and a missed opportunity.

There are, of course, many other paintings on show in the exhibition, both by Jan Van Eyck, his workshop and followers and by other great artists. As well as Fra Angelico's 'St Francis' there's also his lovely panel of the 'Scenes from the Life of St Nicholas of Bari', two small paintings by Masaccio, paintings by Benozzo Gozzoli, Paolo Uccello, Gerard David and Quinten Massijs (opposite) as well as others. It's a great exhibition and certainly a once in a lifetime opportunity to see so many works by Jan Van Eyck in the same place at the same time. 

A few observations: most of the works are small so you need to get up close to see the detail and that often means waiting your turn - be patient. It was very busy when I was there so choose your time carefully to enjoy the exhibition at your own pace. To use the audioguide you need to get close to the download points on the walls near the exhibits so get used to people leaning across you to get close enough and get used to being surrounded by 'beeps' as each download happens (can the 'beeps' be turned off somehow?).

It's a great exhibition and a great opportunity to get up close to some of the Altarpiece panels. If you are only even vaguely interested in 15th Century paintings then this is the exhibition for you.

Of course, I couldn't visit this exhibition and not go to St Bavo's Cathedral to see the interior panels of the Ghent Altarpiece in all their restored glory. It's easy to get to the Cathedral from the Museum, basically just keep walking up the same road in a vague straight line for about 30 minutes and you're there. Inside the Cathedral look to your left for a little ticket booth and pay €4 for a ticket and then step into a small room and there it is in front of you, once of the great wonders of European art. There was a small queue when I was there so I suspect the queue is much longer in holiday season. The Altarpiece is in a giant glass box raised up about four feet to give the impression of what it would look like on an altar - this means that you're looking up at the panels and can't get very close to see details (getting close was one of the joys of the exhibition). Photography isn't allowed but in the other wing of the cathedral is a great little gift shop with loads of images of the altarpiece and a great selection of books.

It was a strange experience to see the Altarpiece, standing shoulder to shoulder with others in a cold, small, crowded room, people jostling for a better view with quiet chatter and the tinny sounds from the audioguides some visitors hired. Not the greatest atmosphere in which to see such a wonder but it was a joy to see it after all these years. I swear the top three panels of Jesus, Mary and John were glowing as the angels sang and played their instruments. I loved the faces of the angels, some looking less than enthusiastic in their adoration, one looking down to follow the words from the song sheet, one peering out at the viewer - what a wonderful collection of attitudes and faces.

I waited patiently to be able to move closer to the centre to get a proper look at the face of the lamb on the altar in the middle of the lower, central panel ('The Adoration of the Lamb') since much has been said about the strangely humanoid face and eyes that came to light as the painting was cleaned and restored. I couldn't get close enough to see the detail of the face but those eyes definitely looked strange.

Here is the altarpiece in all its glory - the figures of Adam and Eve are almost life-sized so that gives you an indication of the size of the work. I'm so pleased that I was able to see the exhibition and then the Altarpiece.

Favourite Paintings: 'Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?)' by Jan van Eyck

One of my favourite paintings is 'Portrait of a Man (Self-Portrait?)' in the National Gallery in London by the great Jan van Eyck from 1433. It's a portrait of a mature gentleman, obviously well-to-do from the rich clothes and his very fashionable red hat and, because of the inscriptions on the frame (which is original), is thought to be a self-portrait of van Eyck himself. The words on the top of the frame state 'Als Ich Kan' ('as well as I can') and along the bottom says 'Jan van Eyck made me on 21 October 1433'.

The painting is only 10"x7" so is very small but look at the detail van Eyck has managed to get into that face. The taut skin, the bold look, the wrinkles and shadows all say that this is a man who knows what he wants and he knows how to get his own way. Not very much is known about van Eyck and he is first referenced in 1422 and a few years later he became court painter to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. It's not known when he was born but he died on 9 June 1441 in Bruges.

It's an astonishing painting, full of the details of a mature man's face. The composition is quite stark with the face emerging out of that dark background, quite dramatic, and it's clearly the face the viewer is meant to focus on, with no rich adornments or jewellery, props of any kind, other than the trendy hat. On the same wall, a few paintings along, is a portrait by Robert Campin of a man wearing a similar hat from about 1435, so van Eyck was obviously on trend.

I believe it is a self-portrait for no other reason than I want it to be true.