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Tourist trail continued

May 26th, 2007 · Posted by Skuds in Life · 3 Comments · Life

After the National Gallery I hopped on a tube to South Kensington and then went along the foot tunnel to the museums. Despite the temptations of the Science and Natural History museums I went into the V&A.

Previously my perception of the V&A was very similar to my sister’s (see an earlier comment). I thought it was just full of clothes, vases, jewellery and so on, and since the buildings on the other side of the road had dinosaurs and spitfires I could never generate any enthusiasm for the V&A.

But it turns out there was quite a lot in there to interest me. I saw some signs to an exhibition devoted to James “Athenian” Stuart and decided I really wanted to see that. I had heard about how he had travelled to Greece and come back with drawings of the buildings and ruins there and kick-started the fashion for classical architecture in Britain.

The signs led me upstairs where I got lost immediately, and found myself on a walkway overloking two huge rooms full of immense carvings which took my breath away. However, it turned out that the carvings are not carvings at all but plaster replicas cast from the originals. There was even a replica of Michelangelo’s David. I had seen pictures of it, obviously, but never realised the scale of it. It struck me as a brilliant idea and a change from our usual imperial habit of bringing everyone else’s treasures back.

Apparently there was a bit of a vogue for doing these plaster casts in the 19th Century, and there was an attempt to get a sort of art exchange going with all countries making copies of their best works and then swapping them. How much less hassle would there have been if we had just made plaster casts of the Elgin Marbles instead of bringing the originals to Britain?

The casts of Trajan’s Column in Rome and the portico from the Cathedral of Santiago of Compstela are awesome and look so substantial it is hard to believe they are just hollow plaster and not solid stone.

After that I made one more attempt to find James “Athenian” Stuart and eventually located him after wandering through long galleries of stained glass and silverware. It was only a single room, but absolutely crammed with paintings he made in Greece and then drawings and plans he made for buildings here. I must have spent at least half an hour in there and in all that time not a single other visitor came into the room, which is a shame as it was fascinating.

Flushed with the success of finding that room, I set out to find my way to the Cast Courts at ground level – easier than it sounds as the museum has 145 galleries covering 11 acres. I did get there in the end and the stuff was just as impressive close up. It was also a treat to see so many knights’ tombs in one place. Most of them were portrayed lying with their dog at, or under, their feet. I was wondering if this meant the dogs were killed and buried with their masters. One tomb had the knight’s broadsword going through the top of his dog’s head and coming out of its mouth, making me think that maybe they did.

I decided that I would come back to explore the V&A a bit more one day. Preferably a slightly cooler day, or a day when I hadn’t foolishly brought a jacket with me. The place made me feel ignorant – but in a good way.

I was going to head off elsewhere, but just had to go into the Natural History Museum for a quick look around. I felt too hot to really look properly and just limited the visit to the fish and the dinosaurs.

To round the day off I stopped off in Westminster for a sandwich and coke then went back to the Waterloo area. I figured that if I was doing a tour of cultural highlights I should fit in a visit to Crockatt & Powells, where I bought a Howard Jacobson book I didn’t already have.

After having a pleasant chat in the shop it was about time to head to the pub, and the whole reason I was up in London anyway, but what a great day it was.

It is far too easy for those of us who used to live in London to remember all the reasons why we moved out, but its a good idea to go back every now and then to be reminded of why we ever moved there in the first place.

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3 Comments so far ↓

  • skud's sister

    Okay, I’m convinced – the V & A is on my list next time we are in London. Funnily enough I have seen Michelangelo’s David in Florence (Joan & I went there specifically to see his bottom but that’s another story…) but again it was a copy. The real thing is in the Accadamia or somewhere and the one in the main square is a copy. Nice bum though.
    It is worth remembering though that, although Crawley may be a bit short of major art galleries, there are plenty in the provinces. Birmingham, Manchester & Newcastle are particularly full of musuems and galleries as I recall. Even little Bradford is rich in Hockneys.

  • jams o donnell

    It’s so easy not to bother taking in what London has to offer when you work there. Normally I just want to get the hell out after I’ve done my day’s work but there are so many things I never bother to go to. It’s usually a case of “I’ll do it tomorrow” but I never get around to it. A blog screaming for entries and a desire to improve my photography skills has gotten me out and about a bit more

  • Skuds

    I would expect Bradford to be well-supplied with Hockneys! I have also heard very good things about the museum in Oxford.

    Jams – I know exactly what you mean. Recording your day either by writing or pictures does make you take a new perspective on what you are doing and realise if you are actually doing the same thing all the time.