London Exhibitions

Over the holiday break I managed to get to a couple of the big art shows in London. CHINA: The 3 Emperors at The Royal Academy is packed with exquisitely crafted objects & hand painted scrolls.

RUBENS: A Master In The Making at the National Gallery shows all his major early works. 8 years studying the Renaissance Masters in Italy transformed from from a struggling artist's pupil in Antwerp into the most successful painter of his day.
Incredibly dynamic work on display, the highlight is his version of St.George vanquishing the Dragon.

The 'ecorche' figures on show are miniature wax works (by Willem van tetrode 1562) of flayed human bodies in dynamic action which Rubens had copied endlessly from every angle while studying anatomy. The figures are displayed next to Rubens drawings of them.