Tag: sculpture

KMSKA

Our final morning in Antwerp was spent at the KMSKA (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen), which underwent a massive refurbishment for many years. It’s a stunning museum and as you can see I continue to be interested in capturing the spaces, the geometry, the whiteness (and blackness), the symmetry and awe of this cathedral to the beauty of the capitalist art world. Please do click into the images below to see them all full-sized (you may need to click on the post title above first if you’re seeing this in email).

Sint-Jacob Antwerpen

Saint James Church Antwerp

Evidently James is an English version of Jacob, via Latin and Old French. A monumental, lavishly decorated Gothic church, home to the tomb of artist Peter Paul Rubens which, alas, was closed with a lot of the church for renovation when we were there. The rear wall you see in the first picture with window light falling on it from the right is actually a painting on a barrier. Click any of the pictures to see them enlarged (unless you’re seeing this in email, in which case you may need to click the post title above first).

Grote Markt and the River

After the cathedral we walked to the Grote Markt (the central market square or “big market”) and on to the riverside, walking up to the Lange Wapper a statue of a character from local folklore who appears to be urinating on some of his supplicants. Click pictures to see them larger (click the post title, above, if you’re seeing this in email and clicking pictures doesn’t seem to work).

Cathedral of Our Lady

Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal

Some touristy postcard snaps of this magnificent cathedral, famous for its Pieter Paul Rubens paintings. You can see his Descent from the Cross in the 5th picture above and next to it an homage by Sam Dillemans. The accompanying brochure explains that the very realism of the Rubens fails to perturb the contemporary viewer as it ought, where the brutal impasto of the homage succeeds (it’s difficult to write sensibly about art). Click any of the pictures to see them all big (you may have to click the post title, above, first if you’re seeing this in an email).

Streets of Antwerp

Just some street shots from our first wander around Antwerp. I spotted the older fellow in the shot on the right and bottom left while we were stopping for a sandwich and he looked so forlorn and hungry I planned to go talk to him when I was done and see if he needed some help (or food) but when I next noticed him he was walking past with a tray piled with food, so I guess my initial prejudices were wrong. Click any of the pictures to see them all bigger (if you’re seeing this in email you may need to click the post title, above, first).

In Bruges

We took the train to Bruges for a day. It’s a beautiful city with scarcely a modern structure to interrupt the ancient lines. However it was absolutely rotten with tourists dawdling and gawking about, making many of the streets impassable and forcing one into pathetic tourist impostures oneself. As a friend of mine from Antwerp commented, “nobody from Belgium goes to Bruges – it’s for tourists.” Or, as Yogi Berra is reported to have said, “nobody goes there anymore – it’s too crowded.”

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Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul

Sint-Petrus-en-Paulus Kerk van Oostende

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Having a Blast with Buddha at the Beach

More of what we saw along the boardwalk (only it was really just paved) in Ostend. Click any image above to see them all full sized (if you’re seeing this in email you may need to click the post title, above, first for this to work).

Wearing a Mask Mask

National Portrait Gallery, London

The mask is by Gillian Wearing (you see what I did there?). You can see the mask on the mask face, the shadow of the mask behind, and the image of the sculpture on the phone of the viewer in front. It’s all very meta.

St Ives, continued

St Ives is a charming, if tourist-crowded, town of beautiful alleys and surprise views. We also visited a number of galleries and open artists studios and had a few good conversations with working artists about their work, always inspiring. If viewing in email, click the post title to click into the images and see them larger.

Dorset to Devon

We started the day at a Donkey sanctuary in Sidmouth with a renowned breakfast restaurant benefiting the donkeys.

Next, we drove on to Exeter, a cathedral town. Click any of the images below to enlarge them and see the captions.