Pre-Raphaelites

 

As I entered the exhibition it was a very busy environment, clusters of people gathering round the paintings trying to get as close as they possibly could, drawn into the information being thrown at them through their head sets, gossiping about the art that stood in front of them. I was there not only to observe the beautiful artwork, but to also recognize the layout of the exhibition, the composition of the paintings and consider why they are placed like this. The exhibition was made up of seven different rooms each with a different theme; Origins & Manifesto, History, Nature, Salvation, Beauty, Paradise and Mythologies.

One of the first things I noticed about the exhibition was the gold frames that some of the paintings were framed in. Did this mean these paintings were more valuable than the paintings framed in wood or glass? Original copies of books were in glass cabinets such as Montz Retzsch, Augustus Pugin and William Blake. This suggests that they are very rare, precious and expensive, therefore kept preserved inside the glass. There were more glass cabinets to the left of the entrance, however this time the objects inside were in spotlights. Was this to draw people’s attention to the smaller objects in these cabinets which could easily be missed? I also noticed how some paintings had the security wire just below it such as ‘Lorenzo Monaco. Adoring Saints, right main tier panel from the San Benedetto Altar Piece 1407-9’ and ‘John Everett Milllais oil on canvas 1829- 1896’. This suggests to one how perhaps they are more important than other paintings, and perhaps more valuable? That extra half a metre where people can’t get up close to the painting, would clearly affect the artwork?   

In room 2- History; there was a collection of glass cabinets in the middle of the room spread out, with sculptures inside. The main thing which grabbed my attention in the room was the stain glass window at the back of the room. The four glass panels were light up, and therefore the colours were very bright and striking.  

As I was walking through the rooms, I noticed the slight colour change of the walls where the artwork is exhibited. Was this significant to the mood and the theme of each room?

The ‘Paradise’ room felt very different to the other rooms. It consisted of more textiles, with wall-hangings and framed fabrics. With people still trying to look as closely as they could at the fabrics, I stood back and observed the composition of material. The fabrics covered up large areas of the wall, which in my opinion made the room feel more comfortable to be in.

Overall I found it particularly interesting to not only look at the art work in this exhibition, but to think about why specific objects were placed in certain places and why? There is more to an exhibition than the art work in it, but also how it is displayed and composed.