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qatsiYesterday we visited the Watts Gallery and Artists' Village at Compton, near Guildford, primarily for the Edo Pop exhibition. The exhibition was a contrast to the prints I'd seen a few weeks ago at Dulwich; although there were one or two cityscapes, the focus was more personal, with firefighters, actors and courtesans being the more frequent subjects. Never quite becoming like a scene from the Mikado, nevertheless it was an insight into what was popular in nineteenth century Japan, and also the way political censorship and culture influenced the works produced.
As I hadn't visited before, we also took in the Watts Chapel, an odd compendium of Romanesque, Celtic, and Arts and Crafts influences, the main galleries, and Watts' house, Limnerslease. I liked the William de Morgan ceramics; the paintings of Evelyn de Morgan were more so-so. Some of Watts' own paintings were almost impressionist, others more pre-Raphaelite; among the more conventional portraits was an interesting one of Charles Hallé, founder of the eponymous orchestra based in Manchester. The statue Physical Energy is familiar to me only from Kensington Gardens; I hadn't realised there were other casts, in South Africa and Zimbabwe. This seemed like an excuse for contemporary navel-gazing and hand-wringing over the influence of Cecil Rhodes by the gallery. Like the chapel, Limnerslease was decorated largely by Mary Watts. The exhibit of a book presented to Mary by forelock-tugging villagers who had worked on the chapel was a bit toe-curling, but the house itself was pleasant enough and we were fortunate to see the artists' studios on a day with plenty of natural light.
As I hadn't visited before, we also took in the Watts Chapel, an odd compendium of Romanesque, Celtic, and Arts and Crafts influences, the main galleries, and Watts' house, Limnerslease. I liked the William de Morgan ceramics; the paintings of Evelyn de Morgan were more so-so. Some of Watts' own paintings were almost impressionist, others more pre-Raphaelite; among the more conventional portraits was an interesting one of Charles Hallé, founder of the eponymous orchestra based in Manchester. The statue Physical Energy is familiar to me only from Kensington Gardens; I hadn't realised there were other casts, in South Africa and Zimbabwe. This seemed like an excuse for contemporary navel-gazing and hand-wringing over the influence of Cecil Rhodes by the gallery. Like the chapel, Limnerslease was decorated largely by Mary Watts. The exhibit of a book presented to Mary by forelock-tugging villagers who had worked on the chapel was a bit toe-curling, but the house itself was pleasant enough and we were fortunate to see the artists' studios on a day with plenty of natural light.
(no subject)
Date: 2024-08-27 10:11 am (UTC)I have no reservations about the Mortuary Chapel, though. I think it's fabulous. And that Mary Watts may be the greater artist of the two.