Walking. Gossip. Travel.

Tag: London

  • London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Captain Thomas Lee by Marcus Gheeraerts)

    London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Captain Thomas Lee by Marcus Gheeraerts)

    I like the sign to the left of this painting by Marcus Gheeraerts (1561/2-1636) which reads “what would you wear in a photo if you really wanted to impress someone?” as this certainly looks like some sort of dare. But, it’s not, it’s very serious and it was the uniform of an Irish soldier, who kept their legs bare for reasons that I’m not sure that I can understand (but is probably related to the need to fight in Irish bogs). The embroidered top isn’t quite part of the uniform, that’s just an indication of how wealthy Captain Thomas Lee (1551-1601) was. The painting is also seen as an attempt by Lee to impress Queen Elizabeth I, although his life plan didn’t quite work out as he was executed at Tyburn in 1601 and the Queen didn’t stop it.

    The artwork was painted in 1594, which was the prime of the artist’s career as he fell a little out of favour after this. The museum holds a few paintings by Gheeraerts, but I’d say that this one is the most spectacular looking and the gallery was able to acquire this painting in 1980.

  • London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Lady Kytson by George Gower)

    London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Lady Kytson by George Gower)

    This artwork doesn’t make Lady Kytson (1547-1628) look the most glamorous, but it wasn’t the done thing at this time to smile for portraits. She was a brave lady and remained a Catholic at a time when this wasn’t perhaps entirely wise under the Protestant rule of Queen Elizabeth I, meaning that Kytson was arrested and her activities were monitored.

    The artist was George Gower (1540-1596) who was a popular portrait painter of the period (there were more P’s there than I initially intended). This artwork was acquired by the Tate in 1952 and is the oldest surviving work by Gower, along with the portrait of her husband, Sir Thomas Kytson. By 1581, Gower had become the Serjeant Painter to Queen Elizabeth, meaning that he had become something of a court favourite. As an aside, the gallery only worked out what the hat she was wearing was meant to look like when the painting was thoroughly cleaned in 1995.

  • London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Blitz Attack on Queen Victoria Street)

    London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (Blitz Attack on Queen Victoria Street)

    This is Queen Victoria Street in London following an air raid that took place on 11 May 1941. This is another photo from the Imperial War Museum archive (© IWM HU 1129) and it was taken by the London Fire Brigade to record the moment. The lighting makes it quite an evocative photograph on what transpired to be the last night of heavy bombing during the London Blitz, although no-one in the image would have realised that. The Blitz had wrecked large chunks of the capital and this is evident at the bomb map at http://bombsight.org/.

  • London – Kensington – Natural History Museum (Megatherium)

    London – Kensington – Natural History Museum (Megatherium)

    A plaster cast of Megatherium, one of the largest mammals that has lived, and it’s effectively just a giant ground sloth. This cast was made in 1848 from two different skeletons and it’s been on display in the museum since 1850. I’m sure that, even at this large size, it still looked quite adorable and the animal could be as long as six metres in length from head to tail. They were found in the Americas and one of the reasons thought for their extinction around 12,000 years ago is human movement into the areas where they lived.

  • London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (War Shelters at London Liverpool Street)

    London – Lambeth – Imperial War Museum (War Shelters at London Liverpool Street)

    Rummaging through the on-line collections of the Imperial War Museum (© IWM D 1574), I rather liked this photo taken by Bill Brandt in 1940. Brandt was born in Hamburg in 1904, but he renounced his German origins and moved to live and work in London in 1933. This photo is of Londoners packed into the underground station of London Liverpool Street and for some reason, I hadn’t realised that they were quite so packed in. Some of the photographs that Brandt took at this time were sent to the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, to show him the fortitude of the London population. Very much a snapshot of a different time.

    And another (© IWM D 1573), from the same station.

  • London – Kensington – Albert Memorial

    London – Kensington – Albert Memorial

    This is the subtle little memorial that was constructed in Kensington Gardens to honour Prince Albert, following his death in 1861. I’m not sure that many people have had a monument that took ten years to build and cost the modern equivalent of £10 million, although at least that was partly paid for by public subscription. The monument was unveiled by Queen Victoria in July 1872 and it was influenced by the thirteenth century Eleanor Crosses (here’s the one I visited in Waltham Cross).

    The statue was originally covered in gold, but this had worn off by the early twentieth century. It wasn’t replaced until relatively recently, in the late 1990s when the regilding was completed. I think it’s all a bit much, but it is a hugely impressive monument. The frieze at the base of the monument has 187 carved figures of various painters, poets, musicians and architects, although the public aren’t allowed that near to it to look at it properly.

  • London – Kensington – Natural History Museum

    London – Kensington – Natural History Museum

    This is primarily just a post with photos of the Natural History Museum, the quietest that I’ve ever seen it. I was able to get an advance ticket, which are free but require pre-booking on-line, for the museum and they’ve limiting entries to keep it safe inside. The whole process was well-managed, and they were sending back people to the end of the queue who tried to get in early (I secretly really applauded this, as I don’t like it when people break sensible rules). This was also the first museum I’ve seen where the staff were actively enforcing the rule of people wearing masks inside, which meant they had to warn a handful of visitors who had taken theirs off.

    There were no busy areas of the museum, there was plenty of space and almost endless amounts of hand sanitiser stations everywhere. Some areas of the museum were closed off, but there was still a sufficient amount to see. What the financial impact on the museum is I can’t say, but these must be challenging times.

  • London – Shepherd’s Bush – Brewdog

    London – Shepherd’s Bush – Brewdog

    Still working through the Brewdogs in the UK, the Shepherd’s Bush location has gone through a few incarnations of pubs over the years, but has been part of the Brewdog empire since 2013. This bar is well-reviewed on-line and has managed to pick up nearly no negative reviews, an impressive effort. Some of the negative reviews they have got are ridiculous, one accusing them of charging more than another pub for a beer, which was one Brewdog don’t even serve anyway.

    Brewdog customer service is usually excellent and there was no exception here, with a couple of engaging and helpful staff. There was an extensive and well-measured beer selection as usual, with some interesting and exciting options. There were some tempting more expensive beers, but I managed to resist the allure of the pricey….

    There’s the usual modern decor in the pub with a variety of seating, including tall tables and more comfortable lower level seating. All on-trend, clean and crisp.

    This is the Plum Pudding Porter from Wiper and True, I thought it was served marginally too cold (and I hope a certain someone doesn’t read this and tut) as the flavour was just a bit weak. There were elements of coffee and plum, which were pleasant flavours, but there wasn’t much of an aftertaste. Not a bad beer at all though, I’d have just like some stronger flavours.

    The environment of this Brewdog is relaxed and comfortable, although that was aided by there only being a few people in it, as that does help with the peaceful element. I’m sure it gets busy in the evenings, but I like the vibe to the bar, all seeming well managed and welcoming.

  • London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Portrait of Elizabeth Roydon by Hans Eworth)

    London – Westminster – Tate Britain (Portrait of Elizabeth Roydon by Hans Eworth)

    This painting of Elizabeth Roydon was completed in 1563 when she was aged 40. The artwork was painted by the Dutch-born Jan Eeuwowts, better known in English as Hans Eworth, and there are over 40 paintings by him that have survived. It’s not known for sure, but it may have been that Eworth was the court painter during the period of Queen Mary I’s reign between 1554 and 1558. Roydon was wearing all black as her second husband, Cuthbert Vaughan (1519-1563), had just died in a military engagement in Le Havre in France. She was though later to remarry a final time, to Sir Thomas Golding in 1564.

    This is beyond my art knowledge (as most things are), but the gallery notes that “the present painting is in extremely good condition for its age and, with its very fine brushstrokes, is carried out in a technique similar to that of a miniaturist. The translucency of the paint in the flesh areas means that the freely drawn underdrawing is now visible”.

    The heraldic arms in the corner of the painting were also added later on, for reasons likely related to wanting to prove some heritage line. The Tate acquired the artwork in 1972, when it was bequeathed to them by Miss Rachel Alexander and Miss Jean Alexander.

  • London – Westminster – Tate Britain (A Young Lady by Artist Unknown).

    London – Westminster – Tate Britain (A Young Lady by Artist Unknown).

    It’s not known who painted this artwork (given by the Friends of the Tate Gallery in 1961), which must be annoying as the Tate says that the same artist was thought to have had quite a body of work from the 1560s. It’s thought that the sitter was likely the Swedish-born Helena Snakenborg, later the Marchioness of Northampton, who was to be the chief mourner at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth I.

    The painting is also a reminder of the corset and bodice arrangement that was likely seen as a fashion necessity by women of wealth and prestige at this time. The artwork is from 1569 and, two years later, she married the Marquis of Northampton who was a fair bit older than her. The gallery notes that the carnation behind her ear was likely a symbol of that betrothal.