Another day living in Melbourne, another exhibition to see! This is on at ACMI, curated by Tate in the UK and drawn from their prestigious collection it celebrates groundbreaking moments from over 200 years of art history. It contains more than 70 works connected by their fascination with light as both material and substance. It’s on until the 13th of November, so plenty of time to get to it – but well worth a visit. A mix of old and new paintings and some installations.
This was the first picture, The Creation of Light, 1826, George Richmond. From the Judeo-Christian creation story ‘And God made two great lights’. The sun on the right, moon on the left.
I liked this better, beautiful depiction of light, not adequately captured in this photo. The Deluge, 1787, Jacob More. Ghostly.
A few Turners, the painter of light. He was given his full name instead of the usual J.M.W. which stands for Joseph Mallord William – who knew? Not I. My companions all liked this one best. The Angel Standing in the Sun exh.1846.
But I liked this one best. Sun Setting over a Lake, c.1840.
Here is Turner’s version of The Deluge, exh. circa 1805. A great contrast to the More painting. It depicts a black man rescuing drowning white woman and a print of this work made in 1828 was dedicated to Lord Carysfort, a prominent advocate for the abolition of slavery.
We’re told Turner was putting Goethe’s Theory of Colours 1810 into practice – ‘plus’ or warm colours (reds and yellows) = happiness, ‘minus’ or cold colours (shades of blue) + restlessness and anxiety. Here in Shade and Darkness – the Evening of the Deluge, exh.1843 cool colours depict God wiping out humanity in a flood.
Light and Colour (Goethe’s Theory) – the Morning after the Deluge – Moses Writing the Book of Genesis, exh.1843 is warmer, indicating a celebration of the hope that follows the destruction. All of these Turners were part of the Turner Bequest to the nation in 1856.
Two dramatic paintings attempt to depict the red hot light of the erupting Mount Vesuvius. The Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, 1822 by John Martin is amazing. You almost feel the heat. This was in 79 CE and is in the early stages of the eruption and that’s Pompeii in the foreground; the glow of lava colouring the whole landscape a vivid red, while the sky appears to convulse with billowing ash clouds and lightning.
I think I liked better, Vesuvius in Eruption, with a View over the Islands in the Bay of Naples, c.1776-1780 by Joseph Wright of Derby. But they were both pretty fantastic.
There’s another painting with similar reds. Though this time it’s The Fallen Angels Entering Pandemonium, from ‘Paradise Lost’, Book1, exh.1824. Formerly attributed to John Martin. I wonder why they think painted it now? Amazing painting – we could be entering Vesuvius.
Two works by John Constable caught my eye. A less dramatic light, but beautiful. Branch Hill Pond, Hampstead Heath, with a Boy Sitting on a Bank, c.1825.
And this very calming depiction of Harwich Lighthouse, exh. c.1829 Given to the Tate by the Constable children by the looks of it. A flimsy looking lighthouse! I loved this painting.
As I did this much earlier painting of a much sturdier lighthouse shown by the light of the moon. A Moonlight with a Lighthouse, Coast of Tuscany, 1789 by John Wright of Derby. Beautiful light.
This artist was seen as a rival to Constable, but I don’t think he’s anywhere near as good – at least on the evidence of these paintings. Landscape (The Windmill), 1844-45.
A lovely little room explored undramatic manifestations of light in interior settings. We all liked these paintings a lot. Very different from the landscapes. Interior, 1899 by Vilhelm Hammershøi is a study in stillness. The whites of the doors, neck and apron contrasting with the heavy furniture.
Very different to Mother and Child, 1903 by Sir William Rothenstein which is full of colour and activity and a very warm light. Also beautiful.
The third painting in this room is another by Vilhelm Hammershø, Interior, Sunlight on the Floor, 1906. Very different, but striking. So interesting seeing all these different interpretations of light.
An exhibition of paintings about light has to include some Impressionists and here they are. The Seine at Port-Villez, 1894 by Claud Monet. So familiar, so lovely!
And another Monet, Poplars on the Epte, 1891. He did 23 pictures of lines of trees along the Epte, but this was his favourite apparently.
And here is Camille Pissarro, The Pilot’s Jetty, Le Havre, Morning, Cloudy and Misty Weather, 1903. What a title – covers the lot one would think. The picture speaks for itself.
And two Alfred Sisely’s. The Path to the Old Ferry at By, 1880. I was appalled by the shadow at the top of this painting but Joe reckons it’s painted on – I don’t think so.
And The Small Meadows in Spring, 1880.
I really liked The British Channel Seen from the Dorsetshire Cliffs, 1871. By John Brett who I’ve not heard of. The painting’s subject is the effect of light on the open channel. I love the rays emanating from the unseen sun and the faithfully reproduced interplay of light on water.
I’m not sure that this Wassily Kandinsky painting, Swinging, 1925 fits the subject of light so much but I liked it, as I like most Kandinsky paintings. Lovely to get the opportunity to see it.
Finally some modern interpretations of the brief – more closely connected to depicting light. This is Josef Albers, Sudy for Homage to the Square: Departing in Yellow, 1964. There were two others exactly the same as this, one orange and one green (from memory). Studies for a bigger work.
And no modern show about light could be without James Turrell. This is one of his ‘Shallow Space Constructions’, Raemar, Blue 1969. We’ve seen his work at MONA and also at the NGA. I love it.
A video installation gave us different coloured images of a circle. This was Colour Cycle III, 1970 by Peter Sedgley. I liked it a lot.
Would work better as a video – but I’ve forgotten how to upload them!
I liked this but looking at it for too long may have given me a headache. Fantastic colours.
And finally this was Pauline’s favourite (I think). I liked it a lot – but looking at it for too long was a problem for me. Stardust particle, 2014. By Olafur Eliasson. The crystalline structure evokes the form of a greatly enlarged stardust particle – a remnant of an exploded star. It was very large.
It was hung in a black space in front of a mirror. Impressive. This is not the best picture of it and its reflection. But best I could do.
Lots more to see. An interesting idea to collect together these works and stimulating to consider how artists have depicted different forms of light over the years. Well worth a visit.
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