Ancient and Modern
Oct. 4th, 2021 09:03 pmBook Review: Ravilious, by James Russell
Time for another exhibition catalogue, this one from Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2015. Sometimes these books go to a lot of effort in providing detailed biography or information about a school or movement; in this case, though, the text is quite short, which allows more space for the paintings. Like other Erics of a similar period - Coates, Gill, Blair - there's a curious combination of modernism and nostalgia. Ravilious had friends who went in other directions, and whilst he sometimes has touches that nod to those fields (such as the surreal No 29 Bus), his feet are firmly on the ground. Some favourites below.
Time for another exhibition catalogue, this one from Dulwich Picture Gallery in 2015. Sometimes these books go to a lot of effort in providing detailed biography or information about a school or movement; in this case, though, the text is quite short, which allows more space for the paintings. Like other Erics of a similar period - Coates, Gill, Blair - there's a curious combination of modernism and nostalgia. Ravilious had friends who went in other directions, and whilst he sometimes has touches that nod to those fields (such as the surreal No 29 Bus), his feet are firmly on the ground. Some favourites below.