Something for Everyone

The nights may still be chilly, but the days so far this week have been brilliantly sunny and warm--perfect for a stroll through Kensington Gardens.

I happened to walk past the Serpentine Gallery, so I went in for a peek even though I had already heard about the current show and figured I wouldn't like it. Well, let's just say that the show was even less to my liking in person than I thought it would be (and for once I wasn't sorry about the Serpentine's no-photography policy in the galleries). Ah, but that doesn't mean that I don't have some art to show you today, because when I emerged on the other side of the park, I continued walking toward the V&A, where some random wandering through the numerous galleries once again resulted in some new discoveries--every time I'm at the V&A, I find something new (to me). Even in the lower level of the museum, spring is at work in C. J. Lim's installation Seasons Through the Looking Glass, which uses the gardeners painting white roses red to meet the queen's demands in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland as a starting point for a "subterranean garden" that changes structure and colour with the seasons.

The range of items in the V&A makes it a great place for wandering; some highlights from today's stroll include Orazio Mochi and Francesco Bianchi's Relief of Cosimo II De' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1617-24);

J. M. Molenear's A Family Merry Making (1640-50) hanging above a 1670 French cabinet;

one of the oddest items I've seen in the V&A, a 17th-century marble and wood ox head from Italy with the skull cut away to reveal a growth;

18th-century French oak panelling surrounding a clock, daybed, and armchair from the same era;

Franz Xaver Messerschmidt's The Strong Smell, one of a series of 69 lead figures (1775-83) he "made to illustrate different human emotions and characters, as revealed by facial expressions";

and a 1778 French cabinet, taken from the Marais mansion of the de Sérilly family, featuring a 1925 plaster cast of a bust of Madame de Sérilly (the original is in London's Wallace Collection, another great place for wandering).

Two favourite views of mine in the museum are the cast-collection workroom from above

and the dimly lit hall covered with frescoes near the drawing galleries.

The current exhibit of drawings showcases pieces made by contemporary artists who also work in other fields (such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, photography and installation). I especially liked Sharon Beavan's Rotherfield Street, Autumn (2005)

and Rebecca Salter's HH 23 (2005).

Three more pieces that caught my attention in the permanent galleries were John Constable's Study of the Trunk of an Elm Tree (1821),

Edgar Degas's The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer's Opera 'Robert le Diable' (1876),

and this set of 17th-century knives and forks from northern Europe that seemed a bit anxious to get out of their case!

Of course, any list of V&A highlights has to include the building itself, with its decorative staircases

and idyllic courtyard garden--the latter of which was perfect for enjoying today's spring sunshine.