David Jones, artist and poet (1895-1974) begins his PREFACE TO THE ANATHEMATA :

'I have made a heap of all that I could find.' (1) So wrote Nennius, or whoever composed the introductory matter to Historia Brittonum. He speaks of an 'inward wound' which was caused by the fear that certain things dear to him 'should be like smoke dissipated'. Further, he says, 'not trusting my own learning, which is none at all, but partly from writings and monuments of the ancient inhabitants of Britain, partly from the annals of the Romans and the chronicles of the sacred fathers, Isidore, Hieronymous, Prosper, Eusebius and from the histories of the Scots and Saxons although our enemies . . . I have lispingly put together this . . . about past transactions, that [this material] might not be trodden under foot'. (2)

(1) The actual words are coacervavi omne quod inveni, and occur in Prologue 2 to the Historia.
(2) Quoted from the translation of Prologue 1. See The Works of Gildas and Nennius, J.A.Giles, London 1841.


28 March 2018

Bulls On Parade


Live like a Rockefeller - Corot’s 

Venise, vue du Quai des Esclavons
 
The French artist’s quasi-modernist view of the City of Canals — a memento painted for a friend — also brought back happy memories for David Rockefeller, explains Bianca Arrivabene, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s in Italy

Moved by the painting’s beauty, David immediately recognised its proportions were perfect for the space above his fireplace. ‘Its size and shape, which was rather long and low, were precisely what we had been looking for to replace Cézanne’s Jas de Bouffan, which we had over our mantel in the library at Hudson Pines,’ he would later recall...

         above and below are extracts from article re.
           ROCKEFELLER COLLECTION | AUCTION PREVIEW

 In 1971, while visiting Australia with Peggy, David spotted Corot’s original sketch for this work in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne. ‘Perhaps we made the curator a little envious by telling him that we have the oil painting,’ he wrote years later. ‘In any event, we sent him a photograph of our painting.’

‘David knew how lucky he was to be able to own art like this,’ says Arrivabene. ‘The fact that he spent his spare time visiting galleries and speaking to curators shows how passionate he was.’


 Bianca Arrivabene, Deputy Chairman of Christie’s Italy, with 
 Corot’s Venise, vue du Quai des Esclavons, painted in 1845
Theatre of the Actors of Regard  
 detail
 A Person Looks At A Work Of Art/
 someone looks at something... 
         
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