Sunday, January 07, 2018

A fascinating read in black and white

Grisaille glass panel with unintended colour: 'stained' glass (image from here)

Today I finished reading Monochrome: Painting in Black and White, the catalogue of the exhibition currently on at the National Gallery in London.  I completed the book in two long sittings - it was a real page-turner for me, full of interesting history, and giving me a thought-provoking perspective on monochrome work right up to the present day.
I knew as soon as I saw news of the exhibition that the subject is a great one, but I never felt any urge to see the show.  I was simply keen to read the book.  And indeed the catalogue is full of essential images which are not in the exhibition. I certainly did not feel the absence of examples of great monochrome art - I can now look those up, and keep my eyes open to look with greater scrutiny, if needed, at works I encounter in future.
The reviews - here, and here, and here - are various, but did not persuade me that I need to go to the exhibition for real.  It was the information, the history, the examples, the comparisons, and the ideas which have excited me.

2 comments:

  1. The flowing look of the glass in the above image is fascinating. Like a light breeze catching a fine scarf.
    The different sized pieces must have been very difficult to put together.

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    1. It does undulate beautifully. I don't know if that is because of the old glass which would not have been flat, or an optical illusion. The size of the panel is 60 x 40 cm, so the individual pieces of glass are not too small - a glass quilt!

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