tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454459186129750328.post4105898285658071671..comments2024-03-28T03:48:25.254-07:00Comments on Grumpy Art Historian: Velazquez and the Family of Philip IVMichael Savagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11557727287816852329noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454459186129750328.post-53183346630919583042013-11-14T14:41:33.194-08:002013-11-14T14:41:33.194-08:00Thank you! I was really struck by the difference b...Thank you! I was really struck by the difference between this exhibition and the current show at the National Gallery. It's not that the wall text was at all difficult or technical in Madrid, but it drew people in to look closely at the pictures. The NG text was bland and trivial, with a bit of pop social history thrown in. A few museums still do a brilliant job, and to be fair the NG has done much better displays. But as you say, it needs to be more than an illustrated lecture.Michael Savagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11557727287816852329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6454459186129750328.post-5329938888146261592013-11-13T01:43:01.911-08:002013-11-13T01:43:01.911-08:00Lovely review. Really agree with your points abou...Lovely review. Really agree with your points about meaningful comparisons and quality of interpretation. Recently visited Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museum. Former is fantastic - small amount of texts with intelligent questions that allow the painting to 'speak for themselves'. Poor old Vincent gets a loud playpen of a space with slogans and huge chunks of secondary contextual information, best look up afterwards by those interested; and the art itself becomes more like an illustration of the text.Alka Sehgal Cuthberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10388344275565284161noreply@blogger.com