Ahead of the March 2021 opening of ‘Botticelli to van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London’, Nick Mitzevich shares his highlights from the exhibition.

1. Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers

Like many people, Vincent van Gogh was my entry into art, and to have one of his most famous and loved paintings hanging on the wall at the National Gallery in Canberra is a dream come true.

“If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.”
― Vincent van Gogh

Artist Yvette Coppersmith reflects on the art of the portrait through the female gaze.

There are issues of greater concern than painting – the imminent danger of climate change, with a detour of a pandemic. But we rely on images to understand ourselves, and to see where we have come from.

Historically, those who had power to make images have been predominantly white and male. When women made images, they entered an established language and found ways to position themselves within that realm. Increasingly, in the second half of the 20th century, those ways and conventions have been subverted and reimagined by artists. What bodies have signified changes throughout art history, and the contemporary viewer can only interpret from their lived experience and knowledge of historical context. …

Simeran Maxwell examines the National Gallery’s Francis Bacon painting ‘Triptych’ 1970, an early acquisition for the Gallery.

British artist Francis Bacon was famous for his raw, dark and often violent canvases. By appropriating classical art and myths, and later other favourite literary sources, he presents a polarising view of the twentieth century. His works capture the dualities of life and death and beauty and ugliness as well as notions of civilisation and barbarism. During the 1970s, Bacon undertook a group of important large figurative paintings. These tripart canvases, a format he adopted early in the 1940s, demonstrate his interest in working in series. …

Mentoring and Buddhism have played a large part in the friendship between artists Lindy Lee and Nell, writes Georgina Safe.

When Nell met Lindy Lee almost three decades ago, the aspiring artist was heartened, to say the least.

“What really smashed my world was that Lindy was so fit, healthy and clean and clear minded,” says Nell. “She didn’t have that clichéd artist vibe about drinking, smoking and going to the pub. She went for power walks at lunch time and swam a lot. …

Chinese contemporary artist XU ZHEN® brings us into his studio and we discover how space influences his inspiration and creative process.

In 2000, I joined a not-for-profit art centre with other artists in Shanghai called BizArt. We worked as a team to create exhibitions and events. At the time, the whole art scene was quite underground in terms of ideology. But as the economy and the art market grew over that decade, we began to realise the importance of the commercial aspect of artmaking. So, in 2009 we created MadeIn Company.

As the company developed, we realised that having different departments — from creation to production and promotion of works — was very compatible with my way of working in the art scene at that moment. Most things are a business nowadays, so creating a company solves the conflict between art and business; the company brings together these aspects in a magical way. …

During lockdown in early May 2020, Vogue Australia collaborated with the National Gallery to commission an Australian artist to be featured as part of the global Vogue Hope campaign. For the first time in history, all 26 editions of Vogue (with a global reach of over 50 million) united behind the theme of hope, with each producing a cover that reflects longing for a recovered future. For the Australian cover, artist Betty Muffler — an Anangu / Aboriginal Pitjantjatjara woman and spiritual healer — was selected and commissioned to produce a work to bring hope and healing from the heart of our Country. …

Ahead of Botticelli to Van Gogh: Masterpieces from the National Gallery, London, Curator Sally Foster explores Vincent van Gogh’s obsession with sunflowers.

Vincent van Gogh painted seven sunflower pictures in Arles, France, between 1888 and 1889: four were painted in one week of August 1888, one in late November — early December 1888 and two in January 1889. Together, the seven Sunflowers produced by Van Gogh make up one of the most famous series of works in art history.

“I’m painting with the gusto of a Marseillais eating bouillabaisse, which won’t surprise you when it’s a question of painting large SUNFLOWERS.” …

From ironing paper and analysing paint samples to pest checks and sewing mounts, our conservators do some special work in the Gallery caring for all of the works of art that enter our care. They specialise in objects, painting, textiles, paper, digital and preventative conservation — to name just a few! They’ve answered some of the questions you posed on 2020 Ask a Conservator Day here.

We’d love to know how our fellow conservators first heard about the profession or became interested in it? What sparked your inner conservator for the first time!?

JOCELYN — Paintings Conservator: I was a big Agatha Christie fan in my early teens. The lead female character in ‘The Pale Horse’ is a smart, courageous, fun paintings conservator — she seemed like an excellent role model at the time. …