London's Victoria & Albert Museum
Observations of a Casual Tourist
By Michael Wilson
When my friend Stan Parchin, About Art History's Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, found out at the last minute that I would be traveling to London two months ago, he instantly suggested that I go to the Victoria and Albert Museum to see two major special exhibitions on Italian Renaissance art.
The Grand Entrance to the V&A on Cromwell Road
Photograph provided by the Victoria and Albert Museum
Though my traveling companion and I are neither art historians nor avid museumgoers, we certainly enjoyed our visit to the V&A. There's an awful lot on view throughout its sprawling complex. One could easily spend a couple of days there without seeing everything. We didn't have time to peruse all of its galleries. What we did see was rather impressive -- as was the building itself.
The museum's collection of stained-glass windows is particularly stunning. Its numerous sculptures of the human form are magnificent and eye-catching on many levels. I was surprised and delighted by some of the more Modernist works on display, including Volume, a temporary, interactive, multicolored light/fountain/sculpture installation outdoors, and a collection of avant-garde household furniture.
Leonardo da Vinci (Italian, 1452-1519)
Determining the volume of regular and irregular solids, ca. 1505.
Codex Forster, I, folios 6v-7r
Pen and ink on paper
14 x 20 cm (open)
© The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
We were somewhat disappointed by Leonardo da Vinci: Experience, Experiment and Design, the V&A's highly-touted special exhibition. All of the works were displayed in a narrow, rectangular gallery. The show consisted almost entirely of tiny sketches and studies, many difficult to see. Though entrance to the exhibition was timed, crowd control remained a constant problem. At any given moment, too many people were gathered in front of the precious works on paper, spaced closely together. In order to view the drawings properly, you had to be willing to stand and wait for long periods of time.
Having said that, the images we did manage to see were very interesting, thought-provoking and clearly the work of a genius. Leonardo's designs for inventions, architectural plans and anatomical studies were truly amazing. And we were mesmerized by the large animated interpretations of some of his ideas, projected on the walls above Leonardo's actual sketches. The narrow scope of this exhibition precluded the importance of his finished masterpieces, which most Leonardo fans might have expected to see here. This show was clearly intended for serious art scholars and ardent Leonardo devotées only -- not tourists or casual art-lovers. In my opinion, it was best suited to book form. (A comprehensive catalogue and related publications are available in the V&A's bookstore and through its online service.)
Sofonisba Anguissola (Italian, 1378-1455)
Portrait of the Artist's Sisters Playing Chess, 1555
Oil on canvas
72 x 97 cm (28 3/8 x 38 3/16 in.)
© Muzeum Narodowe, Poznan, The Raczynski Foundation
On the other hand, At Home in Renaissance Italy was informative, beautiful and flawlessly presented. There was a wide variety of works on display, from large-scale paintings and sculptures to ordinary household objects. Each piece was described vividly in its art- historical context, with lively and interesting labels that made for good reading. Artworks were displayed in ways that detailed their original usage, from a stern-looking bust gazing down from the top of a suggested doorway to an elaborately carved mantelpiece placed above a faux fireplace. This special exhibition was perfectly designed for the general public as well as serious students of Art and History. Even children would have enjoyed it; they would have learned a lot about Renaissance life and art.
Despite the closings of these two special exhibitions, a leisurely visit to London's famous Victoria and Albert Museum is a day well-spent.
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From your Guide: Michael Wilson studied Art History and Photography at the State University of New York-Buffalo and the Rochester Institute of Technology. A graduate of New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts, his interests include drawing, music, painting and photography. Mr. Wilson is an award-winning videotape editor at a Manhattan production firm. Michael is also a professional disk jockey, playing his energetic style of dance music at venues across the United States.
