London visit review

I arrived in London earlier than scheduled as traffic and trains were all running well. I visited the British Museum first and as I was early, I had time to look at the postcards on offer whilst waiting for the actual museum rooms to open, thus saving time allocated for looking afterwards.

I had already obtained a map and along with my research into which rooms to visit and what was on display, I very quickly found what I was looking for.

I managed to sketch 4 free-standing figure sculptures for project 3 in various poses, states of dress etc. I also quickly found an alternative portrait bust to annotate as the one suggested, Antonia, had been taken off display and the website not updated (explains also why I couldn’t find it on my last trip!).

Ahead of schedule, I moved on to the National Gallery where I had at least 2 paintings to annotate. If I had time I was hoping to also see some pictures for future units.

Arriving at the National Gallery, they had run out of English maps so I took my chances with a French one, the room numbers at least would be the same. I did find however that the map didn’t show all of the intermediary rooms; twice I found myself in what I thought was the correct room when it should have been the next room along.

The first piece for me to see was Duccio’s ‘Mary & Child with Saints’ altarpiece. I am very glad that I had looked this up on the internet and made a sketch before visiting as there were several in the room that looked similar, and I was able to quickly find the one that I needed without having to read the labels. I spent over an hour at this piece which did surprise me as it isn’t very big at all. I have found when annotating that it suits me better to draw/sketch on one page and to make notes and detailed sketches on another page. I have tried to draw a frame on the page to limit my drawing size but always spill over and leave no room for anything other than short annotation notes.

The second painting I needed to see was Jan Van Eyck’s ‘ Arnolfini Marriage’. I was really looking forward to this as I had first studied it several years ago at college and had been very impressed with the detailing and symbolic references. It turns out that lots of people want to see this, as there was a constant stream of viewers congregated around it. This meant that I struggled to get a clear view and I felt rushed in my viewing and sketching. Even when I did manage to position myself directly in front of it, people were crowding around and even standing straight in front of me.

I managed to get a fairly detailed sketch done and I tried to make as many annotations as possible using my own observations rather than relying on what I had been taught previously in college. Obvious as it may seem, but I did really find that actually looking at the picture rather than textbook/internet images, was much better.

I managed to spend about 45 minutes here and I am very pleased with what I did achieve.

A quick stop for a late lunch and I decided to look at one of the pieces required for the next unit, Titan’s ‘Bacchus and Ariadne’.

By this point my legs were aching from standing for so long and also my arm from supporting my sketchbook while I worked. I was very pleased to get to Titan’s painting and find that there was a bench in front of it for me to rest my weary feet and look at the painting comfortably. Especially as the painting is much larger and there is a lot to look at.

I had quickly looked at the following units in case I did have time to view paintings. Even so, I wasn’t sure what I was meant to be looking at or for, especially as it is a mythological painting. I have made a sketch and some initial observations but feel it would be best to leave this for another visit once I have studied the chapter and can understand the relevance. Based on this I decided not to look at the other pieces until I have done the linked study work so that I don’t confuse myself.

Overall, I am very pleased with my visit this time. My planning ahead has certainly paid off as I had finished ahead of schedule. This is definitely what I will be doing for my future trips.