please empty your brain below

Bathers is one of Seurat's earlier works and contains only small areas of pointillist chromoluminarism or, to use a better term,'little dots'.
Later he developed this technique so that his later works are better examples of pointillism, but can't be seen in London galleries.
Glad you mentioned the Art Institute Seurat. It has a grip on me stronger than this one, though I like this too.
It was Manet's Bar at the Folies Bergere on my bedroom wall. The original is at the Courtauld Institute in the Strand, a museum that's recently had a superb refurbishment. Informative labelling of its collection has brought lots of "anonymous" works to life.
Enjoyment, followed by appreciation, of art came to me relatively late in life and I've since taken full advantage of the wonderful access that London (and wider UK) galleries provide. My bedroom has a Rothko print, but pride of place is taken by a copy of Seurat's wonderful 'Bathers'.
Art appreciation came later than childhood for me. It was a Spitfire on the wall.
Fighting Temerarire. In the small boat, on the right, in the picture Turner painted himself in.
We are indeed privileged to have such wonderful works of art in our capital city.
. . from my recollection of Flatford Mill (the Haywain) the artist is looking roughly SE which would make Essex on the right and Suffolk on the left. The purist might claim that both banks are in Suffolk.

dg writes: switched, thanks.
As Rob said

I believe Suffolk on left bank, Essex right bank. The painting was done looking downstream from Dedham, with Willy Lotts cottage on left, which is the Suffolk side.
And if you want to understand how Constable did it, his full size oil “sketch” is on the wall at the V&A.
We are very lucky that so much top-drawer art is on public display in London for free. Many other cities also have fantastic collections - Paris, Rome, Madrid, Munich, New York, Tokyo - but rarely gratis.

Hogarth was the way in for me. And Hepworth and Moore.

That black Sunflowers top is interesting, although the red highlights look a little odd. Hints of the Munich version, perhaps. Zara, if anyone would like one.
Is something good because its good - or because the culture we live in has been telling us it's good over several generations?
There’s a Vermeer and a Rembrandt at Kenwood House near me - also free to see.
Quite right: you can tour pretty much the canon of European art without leaving London, though some countries/eras are better represented than others.

There are, of course, six extant paintings of "Sunflowers" (in vases).
The curator at the Wallace Collection told me that 'The Laughing Cavalier' was actually a smirking Dutchman, and he commissioned the portrait to impress the ladies, a bit like a tinder profile for his day. It's great to see up close, the Wallace Collection galleries are amazingly pretty, as well.

It's fabulous all the art we can see in London, my favourite is the Pre-Raphaelite gallery in Tate Britain.
I'm a bit disappointed that you have written off the many other excellent works that are part of the Tate Modern collection. Don't get me wrong - I love Duchamp - but to reduce the museum to what *might* be its best known work on permanent display really downplays the role of the Tate in introducing new artists to a wide London audience. Being able to find something new and interesting in the lower level of the Tate is just as important to me as being able to see Van Gogh on demand.
I think Temeraire (ship more than painting) inspired the historical fantasy series by Naomi Novik with first book in series also called Temeraire

(My summary: think Sharpe with air support provided by dragons or Master & Commander with added dragons; story arc in 9 books covering material that justify 6 books; optioned for film/television but not yet taken up for production)
One of the previous comments mentions how we may be influenced to believe something is good - eg. is the Mona Lisa the "best ever portrait" or a small dull painting? Undue exposure is given to a small number of highly talented international artists. Meanwhile there are many British artists whose work is consistently underrated such as Eileen Mayo, Christopher Nevinson, Edward Bawden, Eric Ravillious, and Stanley Spencer.
Some years ago, the National Gallery showed several Constables alongside the original full-size sketches; in some cases I actually preferred the sketches for their spontaneity and less finished state. Seeing Seurat’s Sunday on the Grande Jatte in Chicago was gob-smacking for me, as I’d no idea it was so huge. You get a completely different sensation standing in front of a painting from looking at even a good repro in a book or onscreen.

I’m also a huge fan of the Courtauld (Bar at the Folies Bergere is a favourite) but some years ago discovered the joy of viewing days at Sotheby’s if they’re holding a fine art/Old Master auction — go along, it’s free, and you can practically put your nose against a Matisse, Monet or Warhol you’d probably never otherwise see, if they’re flogging them to the super-rich. We are very lucky in London to have so many masterpieces in easy, and free, reach. Of course there’s loads of good stuff in other cities such as Brum, Glasgow or Manchester, but the range and variety here are probably unmatched.
Yes, let’s hear it for Bawden, Nevinson, Ravilious and Spencer especially; need to go on a tour to catch them all, though, as they’re so spread around.
'nothing else in Hals' oeuvre comes close.'
I disagree. 'The Merry Lute Player' is just as good, possibly even better I think. It's in the Lord Mayor's art collection in Mansion House. Only open to the public on Tuesdays, unfortunately, and you have to pre book & pay.
At least the people in your Sunflowers pic are looking at the art! When we visited the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam a few years ago to see The Night Watch, most of the people in the room had their backs to the painting in order to take selfies with Rembrandt's masterpiece as a backdrop!
I hope you didn't miss seeing the two Turner paintings at the National Gallery brought over from the Frick collection. First time in the UK for over a 100 years.
I also took your photo of Duchamp's Fountain last thursday. Reminded me of A-level art history that I failed. We ar unable to appreciate the contemporary shock of it in our hackneyed vision.
Yes, you are lucky to have so many good museums in London open to the public for free. Enjoy it.
The Seurat closest to me is « The Circus » in the musée d’Orsay (lovely dreamlike picture…free access every first Sunday of each month but you have to book: no spontaneity). Modern art museum and Petit Palais have free access to their (good) permanent collections.
I don’t agree with your opinion on Tate Modern…
Quite a few I like there …
My elderly father was talking about doing art history in his final year of schooling in 1938. The only work he remembered and loved was Fighting Temeraire!
'A wheatfield With Cypresses' brought back childhood memories for me. I don't know where our print came from, but it was in the living room.
Reminids me of an amusing cartoon - Private Eye? Punch? - of long ago...a pastiche of a hay wain mid-stream with someone on the bank shouting across "Mr Constable wants the hay loaded up again".










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