One of my favorite things about living in a cultural capital is that great art comes to me as opposed to the other way around. Having been on travel hiatus for two straight weekends, I’ve had time to catch up on art exhibitions in London.
Art Exhibitions in London
That’s to say nothing of my December addiction to the Natural History Museum, which I visited no less than four times in two weeks, and January’s V&A obsession, which has seen me there three weekends in four.
Exhibition at the V&A
Speaking of the V&A, this morning I went to South Kensington with a friend to see the Magnificence of the Tsars exhibition.
Having studied 18th and 19th-century Russian history in college, I had a bit of context into which I could fit the waistcoats and stockings of Peter II, the coronation robes of Alexander II, and the many military uniforms of Alexander I, my favorite Russian emperor (but don’t tell the others).
I was sad to see that Peter the Great’s robes, which I saw years ago at the Kremlin in Moscow, weren’t on show today, but I still enjoyed gazing at his descendants’ decadent boots and Rococo spyglasses.
It was one of the best art exhibitions in London I’ve seen in a while.
Photography Exhibitions in London
Earlier this month I went with the same friend to the Natural History Museum to see the annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.
Having just come back from Namibia, I was particularly excited to see that a good 10-15% of the photos were taken in the Namib-Naukluft National Park or on the Skeleton Coast.
This London exhibition surpassed my expectations with photos of everything from elusive snow leopards to deep-sea fishes. It left me inspired to keep working on my photography skills, too.
Tate Modern Exhibitions in London
On the other side of the river, I took a solo trip to Tate Modern to catch the Rothko exhibition on one of its last days. Having heard mixed reviews from a friend, I wasn’t expecting much.
But as soon as I walked into this art exhibition in London, I was completely absorbed by the paintings. I spent far more time there than I had originally planned.
The main exhibition room, which displayed Rothko’s larger-than-life Seagram Murals, enchanted me with its deep purple hues and burnt orange tones.
Royal Academy of Art Exhibitions in London
Back on the north side of the river, I went over to Piccadilly last week to see the Byzantium 330-1453 exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in Mayfair.
My knowledge of Byzantine history is pretty marginal, so I was equally interested in the exhibition from a historical perspective as from an artistic one.
While others stayed close to the objets d’art, I huddled close to my fellow nerds, throwing a few elbows at tweedy professor types and bespectacled Byzantine scholars to get a better look at the oh-so-fascinating timelines.
My budding obsessive-compulsive disorder compelled me to make sure I knew just exactly when it was that Justinian was heading up the empire; you never know when that kind of information will save your life or win you a game-show prize.
As for the art, it was impressive. I was told by a friend who studied Byzantine history in college that it was the best collection of art from that empire he’d ever seen. It showed how good art exhibitions in London are.
Even with my ridiculously untrained eye, I could tell it was a pretty amazing collection.
From pre-Iconoclasm icons that survived the destruction of many of their fellow images, to beautiful silver objects and pieces of tapestry that have withstood more than a thousand years of wear-and-tear, it was all stunning.
More Art Exhibitions in London
Back home from the museums, the snow keeps falling and the temperature outside is going from cold to freezing. As such, I have a feeling I’ll be visiting more London museums in the near future.
Next on my list of art exhibitions in London are exhibitions at the Saatchi Gallery and a few other museums. They should keep me busy until the weather warms up. If it ever does.
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