Sunday I dragged my poor friend Livi through Bath's Fashion Museum(not free): their permanent exhibit is rather small, in the form of a timeline to show the public how fashions changed through the decades, but there are some specialty changing exhibits. My personal favorite? Their case of about twenty gloves from the 17th century. They were mainly "ceremonial" gloves worn only for portraits and court functions, but the craftsmanship that went into them meant they were carefully preserved and are in relatively good condition. The fashion of the time-period had a wide gauntlet cuff, a perfect canvas for embroidery, beading, metallic threads and lace and metallic trims on the edge. In the post-Industrial world it is a bit mind boggling to realize how much time and money was put into Gloves!
Monday I made a quick trip to the National Portrait Gallery(free), the Elizabethan wing to be specific, where one can gaze upon the faces of a few people you might have heard of: Henry the IIIVth, Queen Elizabeth the Ist, Shakespeare, Mary Queen of Scots, Sir Walter Raleigh,etc. I intend to go back.
Tuesday we met with Lisa, or Art History prof. in the National Gallery(free), and we did a quick survey of western art from the Renaissance to the Impressionists. It was mentally, and a bit physically exhausting, a lot of things happened in that time! But it was also a good introduction to the National Gallery overall.
Wednesday we returned to the Nat. Gall. with Adam but with a different purpose: to examine the museum as a space. Now this is not a new concept to me, my dad is an art historian after all, but it is still one of my favorite things to do! There are so many spaces that we pass through on a daily basis whose form and function are so understood that it has been shoved to the back of our minds. So taking the time to step outside of the space, and observe it with a critical eye analyzing how people move in the space, what the architecture and flow pattern say about the space etc. After class I went back to the Sainsbury wing to do some sketching. Costume history books are full of these portraits, sometimes cropped in or with line drawings, but nothing can compare to being able to get your face a few inches away from the canvas. Its incredible not only the technical skill of these early (the Sainsbury wing is Medieval-Renaissance) painters but how much fine detail they took the time to include. It's invaluable research for a costumer since most of the actual garments are long gone. I now have an entire page of jerkin ties, pattens, bodice lacing techniques, girdle buckles and draped headdresses in my sketchpad.
Thursday I tagged along with the music class to the Handel House museum in Mayfair. The museum is only a few years old, and you could tell, they're still working on their collection, but the tour guide was full of information and the restoration done on the rooms was quite good. Apparently Handel owned two Rembrandts, and Jimi Hendrix stayed in the flat.
Friday was my first sojourn to the Victoria & Albert Museum. I spent four hours there, and was only on the first floor. It's kind a big. Their fashion collection contains some wonderful pieces: a pearl beaded dress worn my Princess Diana, as well as most of the big names: Channel, Lanvin, Madame Gres, Dior, Givenchy, YSL, Fortuny, Ballenciaga, Westwood, Poiret, Worth, on and on it was glorious. A bit overwhelming but glorious. The building the V&A is in was built as an exhibit itself. The central courtyard with a fountain is quite pretty.
No museums on Saturday but I did see Speed the Plough at the Old Vic and a baroque strings concert at the church of St. Martins-in-the-Field.
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