Category Archives: Art

The Scots Welshman

Posted on 07/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

… or possible the Welsh Scot? John Pryse Campbell, first Baron Cawdor of Castlemartin (1755–1821) was a member of the famous Scots clan, but two marriages in different generations to the daughters of Welsh landowners had brought their huge estates … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Biography, Classics, Gardens, History, Italy, London, Museums and Galleries | Leave a comment

The Paston Treasure

Posted on 04/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

Devoted readers (ho ho) will recall that one of the things I was NOT going to do after retirement was to miss exhibitions, or to arrive panting on the last day. Since the retirement has turned out not to be … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged cabinet of curiosities, Dr Spike Bucklow, Norfolk, Oxnead, Paston family, Paston Treasure | 3 Comments

I Blame Walter Pater

Posted on 03/11/2018 by carolinemmurray

‘She is older than the rocks among which she sits’ is one of those much repeated quotes which really needs a bit of context. Pater’s full paragraph on the subject of the Mona Lisa is positively rococo in its ramblings, … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries | Tagged Andrea Mantegna, Louvre, Napoleon, paintings, Virgin and Child | 12 Comments

The Old, Old, Very Old Soldier

Posted on 23/10/2018 by carolinemmurray

I keep coming across super-centenarians at the moment, and in the oddest of contexts. For example, 23 October 2018 is the 376th anniversary of Edgehill, the first significant battle between the opposing sides in the English Civil War.

Posted in Art, Biography, History, London | Tagged battle of Malplaquet, Edgehill, English Civil War, Royal Hospital Chelsea, supercentenarians, William Hiseland | 4 Comments

Aqila and Prisila

Posted on 11/10/2018 by carolinemmurray

I have mentioned before the excitement of spotting something new in the display cases at the Fitzwilliam Museum (either because of a change-around, or simply because I’d never observed it before). The other day I noticed this ceramic dish showing … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Biography, Cambridge, History, Literature, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged broadsides, ceramics, conjoined twins, Montacute House, Quakerss | 5 Comments

Am I, Personally, Responsible for the Death of Venice?

Posted on 14/09/2018 by carolinemmurray

There we were, on a surprisingly (well, we were surprised) misty morning, sitting on our balcony, from which you can usually see the campanile of San Marco (now in the mist), eating our breakfast pastries, when the Guardian intruded with … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries, Venice | Tagged MOSE project, property prices, sustainability, Tintoretto, tourism, Venice | 2 Comments

Enter by the Founder’s

Posted on 26/08/2018 by carolinemmurray

… and exit by the gift shop. You can of course, alternatively, enter via the Courtyard, which takes you through/past the gift shop first, on your way to the café. Cambridge friends will realise that I am taking about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Cambridge, Classics, History, Italy, Museums and Galleries | Tagged architecture, C.R. Cockerell, Cambridge, Dr Victoria Avery, Fitzwilliam Museum, George Basevi, museums, portrait busts | 4 Comments

Object of the Month: August 2018

Posted on 10/08/2018 by carolinemmurray

I was recently trying to find out who in Cambridge (apart from the Polar Museum) has any scrimshaw, and was most intrigued to discover – as well as, naturally, bone and ivory carvings – Jane Scrimshaw, immortalised by John Faber … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Bibliography, Biography, Cambridge, History, London, Museums and Galleries, Printing and Publishing | Tagged almshouses, centenarians, Jane Scrimshaw, John Faber, Old Parr | 3 Comments

Object of the Month: July 2018

Posted on 18/07/2018 by carolinemmurray

The Tampa Museum of Art is a high-ceilinged box near the Hillsborough River, its air-conditioning creating blessed coolness. When I visited the other day, it had exhibitions (largely drawn from its permanent collections) including ‘Inspired by Nature: Vases, Birds, & … Continue reading →

Posted in Archaeology, Art, Classics, History, Museums and Galleries | Tagged ancient tragi-comedy, Gnathian ware, Magna Graecia, Tampa Museum of Art | Leave a comment

(Yet) Another Artist Of Whom I’d Never Heard

Posted on 05/07/2018 by carolinemmurray

Well, had you (assuming, of course, that you are not an expert in eighteenth-century French flower paintings) heard of Gerard van Spaendonck? You will gather from his name that he was not French – he was born in 1746, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Botany, Cambridge, France, History, Museums and Galleries, Natural history, Printing and Publishing | Tagged botanical paintings, Cornelis van Spaendonck, Fitzwilliam Museum, flower paintings, Gerard van Spaendonck, Lucy Cust, Redouté | 9 Comments