Jules Jones

On Thursday, I went to three exhibitions in London as they were all very close to each other, and I had nothing better to do.

My first trip was to the National Gallery, where they have an exhibition of the Spanish painter Zubarán's amazing work.  Francisco de Zurbarán was born in 1598 and was sent to Seville by his father to study art in 1614.  His father was a haberdasher, and this must have influenced the young Zurbarán, as his attention to detail when painting fabric is really wonderful.  His focus was mostly on religious paintings, but the exhibitions also included some still-life paintings created by himself and his son.

Under this cut for my favourites (with a few close-ups just because).
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From there, I went to a very small exhibition at the National Gallery about the painter George Stubbs and his work studying the anatomy of horses.  He produced engravings of his drawings, which formed a treatise (with a very long title!), The Anatomy of the Horse. Including a particular description of the bones, muscles, fascias, ligaments, nerves, arteries, veins and glands. In eighteen tables, all done from nature (1766). It was recognised as the most accurate study of a horse's anatomy.  His work allowed him to paint incredibly anatomically accurate horses.

Just a couple of horse-related photos under this cut.
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Finally, I walked to the Courtauld Gallery to see their exhibition: A View of One's Own: Landscapes by British Women Artists (1760-1860) as it was about to close.  Women artists of this time were very limited in where they could train, but despite this, many still worked and exhibited their paintings and drawings.  Many were supported by their families, but others struggled against the obstacles imposed by fathers and husbands.

A few of the landscapes under this cut.
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After all that, I headed home. Apologies for the very long post and many photos - feel free to scroll on past :D