Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Tate Britain Gallery


Spent several hours here last weekend, very delightful, and the best organized gallery I have yet seen, entirely laid out in chronological order from the Middle Ages to 1900. My only complaint is that a few pieces are mounted behind such shiny reflective glass that there was simply no way to get a good view; unless what follows is salt water and tropical fish, there seems to be no need for the aquarium glass! I was especially struck by the Pre-Raphaelite William Holman Hunt's 1952 piece, "Scattered Sheep: Our English Coasts." Taken by many as a comment on Britain's tendency toward isolationism, it was also seen as a rebuke to the clergy of the Church of England for being consumed by internal quarrels during this same time. The sheep certainly do seem bewildered!

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