Yes, Gentle Readers, you can file this one under “there’ll always be an England.” Or under Top Fives; the fun of the last set made me notice the story.
The National Gallery and BBC Radio Four Today are starting a poll and discussion about Britons’ favorite painting in Britain. When I first heard about it, I assumed it was actually the Favorite British Painting, but in fact any painting currently in Britain counts, regardless of who painted it where. This makes things a bit easier. Conversing with my Best Reader, we were unable to come up with very many Fave Raves under the misunderstood rules; the conversation focused quite quickly on how there really weren’t very many great British Paintings. Really, it would be easier to come up with a Top Five French Paintings, wouldn’t it?
On the other hand, as Tristram Hunt pointed out in the Guardian, the greatest French Painting is an Italian’s portrait of an Italian lady, so there it is. Clearly, it’ll be tough for a Briton to make my Top Five. Without too much research, I think I’ll give a shout-out to ... mmmm, let’s see. Caravaggio’s Supper at Emmaus, the Wilton Diptych, Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait at 34, Braque’s Mandora, Lichtenstein’s Whaam!, and for lagniappe, Rosetti’s Day Dream
I might pick Hogarth’s Election series, if I can have the whole bunch; they’re in the John Soane house. There’s probably also a nice Mondrian or two somewhere. Actually, it’s quite likely that none of the paintings I’ve mentioned would actually be in my Top Five, once I found out about and got a chance to see some of the things I’ve forgotten. But that’s the point, that’s what makes it a great gimmick; once I start thinking about it, I want to check out what’s around, and see what I like. That’s got to be good for the museums.
The interesting thing, though (does there need to be anything interesting about it, other than the art, and some money for the museums?) is the way the whole idea of it highlights conservation as an essential part of civilization. The important thing in this discussion is not the production of art, but the amassing of a collection, and protecting that collection against the ravages of time. What Englishmen can be proud of is English taste. Well, and English looting, if it comes to that. The point, though, is that I can’t imagine such a discussion in America; the fact that such-and-such a work happens to be in the US at the moment is viewed as an accident of history. When the New York Public Library sells “Kindred Spirit”, does anybody really care if the work stays in the country (in the collection of a Wal-Mart heiress) or goes to London, or Tokyo? No, and in our American way, if we care for the moment, we are confident it will eventually come back to New York, as in truth it probably will, for a while.
Actually, that last reference was just to include another piece of art news, while I try to think of a way to work in a Bansky joke.
chazak, chazak, v’nitchazek,
-Vardibidian.
That Bansky story is hilarious. And it’s quite impressive that the British Museum is so, um, forbearing?
I’d expect something like that here to be called an unacceptable risk to security, possibly foreign terrorism, and the perpetrator to be locked up.