Tate Britain

Int. Chelsea. Today I hoped to see Van Gogh's Portrait with Bandaged Ear at Somerset House, but changed my mind at the last minute and headed for the Tate Britain (which was free, whereas Somerset House is about £5) in the hope of seeing some more Francis Bacons (which were promised). In effect I was swapping one tortured soul for another...

Of course the sandwiches at the gallery cafe were around five quid each, so I ducked despondently across the road and fortuitously noticed a doorway into the Chelsea School of Art and Design, through which I spied a good old uni refectory. This made me feel at home, particularly with a sandwhich and coffee for two quid fifty.

As it turned out, the Bacons weren't on display - this is something you have to learn to deal with when visiting galleries: sometimes the works that are your entire reason for going aren't displayed - but this gives you a chance to see something you otherwise wouldn't.

The surprise highlight for me was the Turner Wing. I'd never really been a fan of Turner's, but this is overwhelming. Massive canvasses, perhaps forty or more, depicting some of the most dramatic scenes of the ancient world (the rise and fall of Carthage, the coupling of Echo and Narcissus, Hannibal crossing the Alps etc), amid heaving oceans, treacherous mountains and shitscary storms. They are usually dazzling with light and the style is, to this amateur, proto-impressionist; or, as Liam put it, it's as if at times he out-Monets Monet.

(Turner, Hannibal Crossing the Alps 1812)

Then there was Ophelia (1851-52) by Sir John Everett Millais. Being a bit of a bardolator, there was a definite thrill in seeing this one up close.


Hey there Emily Tomlins! This post is dedicated to you! (Let me explain for others who might not be aware, that Ms Tomlins is to play Ophelia in the joint QTC/SATC production of Hamlet in '07). I do believe I first saw this on her's and Mars's wall in Herston, circa 2001. (Yes, I was a latecomer!).

The detailed foliage (top left) into which, or rather through which the drowning Ophelia gazes, was considered during its day to be the most precise representation of nature ever achieved. This is, obviously, more evident on close inspection.

All in all, though, the National Gallery is probably more exhilirating if you like the older stuff; if it's now you're interested in, see my post below on my 5 Favourite Headfucks at the TATE MODERN...