Visual & Decorative Arts Blog

After the recent drama concerning a fire at the famous Mackintosh designed Glasgow School of Art we thought it would be a good time to look back at what has made the Scottish artist so iconic. Known as an architect, artist and designer, the Scotsman is often associated with the Art Nouveau movement. 

Mr Turner, a new movie about beloved classic British artist J.M.W. Turner has been one of the breakout successes of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, with lead actor Timothy Spall winning the award for Best Actor. The movie explores the real person behind the legendary landscape painter, an eccentric man from humble beginnings. Let us take a look back at the life of the man which inspired this film…

Image via wikipedia

April 23 marks the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare – the most renowned playwright the world has ever known. The Royal Shakespeare Company are marking the celebrations by hosting a question and answer session with artistic director Gregory Doran live on Twitter, as well as a weekend full of pageantry and performances.

2014 marks the centenary anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War. In the early twentieth century before the invention of the telephone and television, the poster, originating in late nineteenth century France, successfully promoted commercial advertisements. From the onset of the ‘Great War’ with Germany in August 1914, for Britain and her Allies the poster became the most effective form of mass communication. Poster propaganda was utilised nationally and locally: to recruit, to boost morale, to raise funds, encourage thrift and support the war. Below we'll take a closer look at recruitment WW1 posters and how they encouraged men to enlist.

In the centenary year of the superbly talented Tove Jansson, we celebrate her glorious artwork and look in detail at what the Moomins were and what they meant. With art taken from our calendar series, The Art of Fine Gifts, keep reading to learn more about Jansson and what the Moomins meant to her. 

Stonehenge is a beautiful and culturally important landmark for British Tourism. Standing at the centre of a field in Wiltshire, it draws thousands of visitors a year from all around the world. It is an icon of intrigue, early architecture and historical ceremony.

Japanese Beginnings?

Although beautiful woodblock prints are often considered the epitome of quintessentially Japanese art, in reality many manifest strong Western influences. For example, as a young man, Hokusai was particularly intrigued by European-style perspective. He uses such perspective in his most famous work, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (pictured below), to stunning effect; the contrast between the huge rising wave in the foreground and the almost imperceptible figure of Mount Fuji in the background is highly effective, and is perfectly complimented by the stark contrast between the movement and energy of the wave against the stillness and stability of the mountain.

February 23 marked the anniversary of the death of beloved British artist and creator of matchstick men Laurence Stephen Lowry (1887–1976). Lowry wanted to paint the realities of the modern city – people on their way to work, fights on the street – a real insight into 20th century working class life.

'Anyone who sees and paints the sky green and fields blue ought to be sterilised'
Adolf Hitler

A hugely influential artist, Paul Klee eludes classification. His art appeals to our primary instincts and makes us look beyond the ordinary. He was influenced by many things in his life, from his musical parents to his travels and his family, and we take a look at some of those inspirations below.