A visit to the British Museum Enlightenment Room

Recently I had the pleasure of sketching with friends at the British Museum. It was a wonderful morning with our sketches in what is known as the Enlightenment room. The following day we returned as the exhibit had me intrigued and I wanted a quiet look at it – I am pleased I did, as the room kept me busy for 3 hours! The Enlightenment room at first glance looks very old fashioned. That is because it recreates, how collections were presented to the public during the Enlightenment. It houses a permanent exhibition of thousands of objects that demonstrate how …

The V&A and the South Kensington System for Art Studies

Our last day in London found us re-visiting the V&A and investigating the 4th floor where it is simply described as Britain 1760-1900. In these galleries you will find an exhibit that features objects and drawings illustrating aspects of early British design education. Many students of Art and design do not realise that the process they partake in during the course of their degree stems from ideas about art education developed in the 19th century. One of those precedents is the South Kensington System which was a state run syllabus that was delivered in institutions across the UK. From the …

Cut and paste prints at the Rijks Museum

One of the surprising discoveries I made during my visit to the Rijks Museum is that early 17th century prints were not necessarily produced for only walls or to be housed in albums. There was a whole industry of prints produced for people to use in craft work as clip art. Apparently cutting out prints and pasting them to form new pictures or using them as decorations in craft work became a rage. Publishers responded by producing books of prints to cut out. This blue collage sheet is from an album decorated with cut-out prints by Hendrick Goltzius, Arent van …