Morning
The morning began with a trip out to see Bernard in Croxley and onward to our coffee destination at the Two Brewers in Chipperfield. As usual Bernard spent the time talking about himself in one way or another. His most overriding interest at the moment concerns the planning application of his neighbours’ who wish to re-build the adjacent property. He has made his objections known to the council and he says that he has considerable support locally.
I dropped it home and then drove onto our house. I received an attack from Maggi for not returning home by 12 o’clock. When I did arrive at ten past she wasn’t ready. We made a slow way to the tube and arrived over half-hour early for our lunch at the Spanish restaurant José Pizarro in the Royal Academy. It made we wonder why Maggi had made such a fuss earlier.
Lunch
Although early, we sat down immediately at a table. The restaurant sits in a room with an extremely high ceiling, huge windows which look at the rear of statues that sit on the first floor of Burlington House. We had four tapas plates, spicy prawns, beetroot salad, pan con tomate (crushed tomatoes on a very thin toast), and Spanish omelette with spinach. The tomato dish lacked flavour, the potatoes in the omelette were undercooked. The beetroot salad was fine and the spicy prawns tasted quite good. Maggi finished the meal with a cheesecake.
Kiefer/Van Gogh
Just next door to the restaurant we entered the small Kiefer/Van Gogh exhibition, where works by both artists sit side by side. The blurb from Royal Academy states:
In 1890 Vincent van Gogh painted his final works. Seventy-two years later an eighteen-year-old Anselm Kiefer received a travel grant to follow in the footsteps of Van Gogh, starting in the Netherlands, through to Belgium, Paris and Arles in the south of France.
Kiefer has been inspired by Van Gogh’s work throughout his nearly 60-year career. The pioneer of Post-Impressionism has informed the subjects and techniques of Kiefer’s monumental paintings and sculptures which draw on history, mythology, literature, philosophy and science.
This focused exhibition, set across the three rooms of the RA’s smaller galleries, is the first to consider the lasting influence that Van Gogh has on Kiefer. It will feature works by both artists, including new pieces by Kiefer which haven’t been shown before.
The imagery that Van Gogh used of the swirling sky in for example is replicated in Keifer’s work, as well as the golden corn and the crows. This is unsurprising as these images have enchanted artists for ever. Some of the comments by Keifer that decorate the walls pay homage to Van Gogh’s genius. Similarly I believe that Keifer is undoubtedly one of the best artists of the 20th and 21st Century.
One aspect that divides the two artists is wealth; and almost naturally the size of their creations. Keifer’s works cover the gallery walls and are enormous while Van Gogh’s works are only small canvases.