A weekend in London getting some culcha. As a small & teen I was dragged round stately homes & antique fairs by my parents. I didn't enjoy this & as a result treated my art classes at school with undisguised contempt. Sorry Mr Thomas....
First stop was Monet & Architecture at the National Gallery. I've seen some of the pictures of Rouen cathedral & St Lazare before, as well as a lot of the London paintings, but seeing so many of the different versions hung together is quite something. Well worth a visit.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2018/apr/08/monet-and-architecture-review-exhibition-national-galleryNext was the Queens Gallery for Charles II - Art & Power
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/dec/07/charles-ii-art-and-power-review-queens-gallery-londonThis was OK, but didn't really enthuse me. Not sure why? Some lovely paintings & drawings, but the things that made me smile the most were the early papers from the Royal Society, seeing the names of Hooke & Flamsteed was giving me flashbacks to Stephensons "Baroque Cycle", and for an insane hour or two I contemplated re-reading it !
Sunday I strolled from my luxurious lodgings at Southwark Travelsplodge to Tate Modern, for Picasso 1932.
https://www.ft.com/content/66c4f8b8-2159-11e8-a895-1ba1f72c2c11 I've never counted myself Picasso's biggest fan, but felt thats as it was here, and I get free admission (Tate member, I blame a manic pixie dream girl on the desk in Liverpool) I ought to go. I didn't regret this at all, it's a fantastic exhibition & the audio guide is really good, I even bought the accompanying book.
Back to the RA for the last day of Charles I , I'd seen this before, but had had to rush it, so paid £20 again to see it at leisure. (The RA is expensive! It's "Friends" scheme costs far more than membership of the National Gallery or Tate. Even the cafe is pricey!)