#ukartmuseum

Photo: Ralph Steadman, ‘Don’t draw, Ralph! It’s a filthy habit...’ HST. Self-Portrait, 2006, Pen, brush, and ink on paper with celluloid and collage and strip of ink-splattered paper from desk, Private collection copyright Ralph Steadman.

This lesson is probably the easiest one to follow out of them all. It is also somewhat traditional because you have to use a compass and ruler to create your tile which means it will come out geometric and symmetrical. 

Enjoyed drawing, drinking coffee, looking at art and eating pancakes at the Art gallery's free pancake event last saturday (19 October 2014)

The first thing that may catch ones eye would be the woman's elegant sleeves or the mans large neckpiece. Which both symbolize wealth. The artist make these things so contrasting from the background so people immediately associate them with wealth. You then notice the large symbol called St James’ cross on his tunic which represents the cross and sword of order of Santiago. This shows he is not follows the church but also is a soldier for his country. The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century and its initial objective was to protect the pilgrim of St. James’ way and to make the Muslims of the Iberian peninsula step back. The Knight is showing a painting of what is thought to be, Mary and Joseph, to his wife. She is also making the hand gesture the Virgin Mary is known to make suggesting she is considering having a child or is already pregnant. You know they are in a faithful relationship because there is a small dog near by which is known to represent fidelity. There is also a suspicious key near the bottom of the painting which may represent unlocking the door to the future or that she is no longer a virgin and is with child. The key is located in an extremely odd place, so odd that it makes you think part of the painting was cut off or maybe the artist did it then changed his mind with the direction he was going in. Given the fact that he covered multiple things on the painting he clearly changed his mind a lot with this piece. You only can see these hidden things up close because up close to the painting because of the fact that the artist covered them up. One symbol is another St James’ cross that is hidden on the mans chest, the artist covered it with black paint. The artist also covered up part of the Knights neckpiece to make him look less formal/fancy. Up close, you can see that they artist actually made it smaller to make him look less fancy and wealthy.  

As an intern, I was given the opportunity to research artists, monitor tours, present to a class, sit in on lectures, and so much more. I gained great experience here at the UK Art Museum and am devastated my internship is soon coming to an end. The faculty are all great people who have been nothing but helpful, nice, and encouraging. The gallery is filled with an extensive amount of amazing pieces. I was lucky enough to be able to see more than just the collection displayed in the storage room and was blown away. I am so fortunate to have my first hands on experience at such a high end gallery and will be forever thankful. uk