Picasso on the subject of truth

If there were only one truth, you couldn’t paint a hundred canvases on the same theme
I saw this quote at an exhibition of the work of Picasso and Cezanne in Aix en Provence. You only need to think about Cezanne’s paintings of Mont St Victoire to understand this. Or think of Picasso’s re-working of the [...]

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Picasso’s Chateau de Vauvenargues

The Chateau de Vauvenargues has never been open to the public before, but for four months this summer it’s possible to visit. I went yesterday and it was wonderful. It really is in a beautiful location as I’m sure the photos above will show. It sits at the foot of Mont Saint Victoire, which Picasso [...]

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Penn Reading Project

The University of Pennsylvania usually sets a book for their new students to read over the summer before term begins. It’s a way of introducing their freshmen to academic life. This year, however, they’ve set a painting to be studied instead of a book.
They’ve chosen the local artist, Thomas Eakins and his 1875 painting “The [...]

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Jupiter Artland

I took a walk around the Jupiter Artland garden at Bonnington House last Saturday. Take a look……
In the gallery next to the ticket office amongst other exhibits there’s this

This is a collection of bottles of Bach flower remedies where each label has a vertical inscription of the name of the flower used to make the [...]

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More unicorn hunting…more mysteries to unravel

Towards the end of last year I went unicorn hunting. It opened up whole unknown areas for me, not least that of medieval art. I’m still exploring this and learning all the time and, frankly, its awe-inspiring. Well, here’s another part of that adventure. When I read about the unicorn hunt tapestries which are in [...]

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The day I went unicorn hunting….

Stirling, Scotland, where I was born is dominated by a beautiful Castle.

I saw a news item on the BBC recently which announced the hanging, in the Chapel Royal within the Castle, of the latest tapestry in the series “The Hunting of the Unicorn”, so I decided to go and see the unicorn for myself. As [...]

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Stories and genes…..how we are made

Although I get a genuine thrill out of scientific discoveries about how the body works, it’s never quite enough for me. I’m always aware of something else. It’s partly that knowledge that a complex whole human being is so much more than the sum of his or her parts. But it’s also the knowledge that [...]

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East meets West

This young woman was standing next to the statue of David Hume on the Royal Mile last weekend. She was one of a number of people who perform as “living statues”, standing very still for long periods as people gather, watch, photograph and maybe leave some money. It’s such a strange phenomenon, this kind of [...]

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Installation Art

I saw this today in the Jardins d’Albertas in Aix en Provence. From the distance I could see these amazing billowing sheets. I don’t know what they are made of but they floated, danced and drifted constantly. Then as I got closer I noticed all the deck chairs scattered across the grass. I thought they [...]

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Mont St Victoire

From the driveway up to the place where I’m renting an apartment in Provence I can see Mont St Victoire -

And just down the road a little I can see it more clearly -

Mont St Victoire was a huge inspiration to Paul Cezanne. Take a look at this lovely (silent) video of some of his [...]

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