The Luxembourg Palace dates to 1615, and is adjoined by 25 hectares of gardens. It’s now the home of the French Senate and, in an out-building, the Musée du Luxembourg. The Musée is currently hosting an exhibition of English painters from around 1760 to 1820. Which means Reynolds to early Turner, and lots of frock coats in between.
The works are lent by the Tate Gallery, and it’s a fair selection, but not occupying more than a tennis court in size for the princely sum of €13. which is a bit rude, as you can wander around the Louvre for a day for not much more.
I was really there for the Turners, and the other stuff tended to confirm my prejudices as I jogged by. There were a couple of minor Stubbs (the guy with the horses and lions) and Gainsboroughs by the dozen. Reynolds always sends shivers down my spine - his portraits of children tend towards the creepily saccharine.
The Turners consisted mostly of landscapes (prints and watercolours), and a few early oils. Not quite what I was after.
Finally came the wake-up punch. Next to the Turners, like a cake with molten lava for icing was John Martin’s Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 250cm wide and burning my retinas. Not exactly polite society stuff. I loved it.
The works are lent by the Tate Gallery, and it’s a fair selection, but not occupying more than a tennis court in size for the princely sum of €13. which is a bit rude, as you can wander around the Louvre for a day for not much more.
I was really there for the Turners, and the other stuff tended to confirm my prejudices as I jogged by. There were a couple of minor Stubbs (the guy with the horses and lions) and Gainsboroughs by the dozen. Reynolds always sends shivers down my spine - his portraits of children tend towards the creepily saccharine.
The Turners consisted mostly of landscapes (prints and watercolours), and a few early oils. Not quite what I was after.
Finally came the wake-up punch. Next to the Turners, like a cake with molten lava for icing was John Martin’s Destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 250cm wide and burning my retinas. Not exactly polite society stuff. I loved it.
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