Welcome to my first blog post on my travel blog for my study abroad program! I’m so excited the share all of the great, new & exciting things I’m doing out her during the next three weeks.

For our first class, we went to the Tate Britain museum in the Victoria area of London. It is one of the oldest galleries in London opening in 1897. The Tate’s mission is to increase the public’s enjoyment, understanding and knowledge of British art dating back to the 16th century and of international contemporary art.

 

 

One of my favorite pieces of art from our visit of Tate Britain was Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792)  ‘A Child’s Portrait in Different Views: Angel Heads’ (1786/7) The painting stood out to me because it looked very majestic showing kids in an innocent state.

Reynolds painting is oil on canvas that shows the head of five-year-old Lady Frances Gordon. It shows the little girl in five different angles. He originally took the idea from 17th century Italian paintings. It isn’t known which paintings exactly, but he would borrow different styles and meanings from the most admired artists in his time.

Reynolds was admired for his artistic ability. One critic said, “The hand of nature never formed a finer face than this: not like the general run…of cherubims, with ruddy cheeks and round unmeaning faces, but sentiment expression, and clearness and warmth of coloring that all must feel.” This was interesting to me because this showed that his artwork was on a different scale than other artists in his time. His art stood out as realistic.

 

Sources: http://www.tate.org.uk/about-us http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/reynolds-a-childs-portrait-in-different-views-angels-heads-n00182