On Monday the 19th of June the two L6 Art History classes had an amazing time exploring the Inventing Modern Art at the National Gallery during a sunny morning in London; after a stop for much-needed iced coffee at the Pret in Trafalgar Square to wake us up, we made our way into the exhibition and discovered a world of incredible Post-Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist paintings and sculptures. The best thing about the exhibition was undoubtedly its range; we saw everything from Cézanne and Rodin to Gauguin, Munch and Picasso. Our particular highlight was seeing Henri Matisse’s 1908 ‘Greta Moll’, a captivating and vibrant portrait of the characterful woman of the work’s title, and one of our case studies for this section of the course. We also enjoyed the aestheticism and colourful cohesion of the pointillist works by Seurat and Signac, the geometric and bold works of Cézanne, and the energetic brushwork of Van Gogh. We were also very happy to see a handful of women artists amongst the collection, including Kathe Kollwitz’s moving ‘Pair of Lovers’ sculpture, and Camille Claudel’s dynamic ‘The Implorer’, which broke traditional conventions surrounding depictions of the female nude in art. Before heading off for the obligatory browse in the gallery’s shop, we were excited to be able to see a brand new work featuring hand-swirled mud from the River Avon made by Richard Long, a British land artist who featured in our study of the Nature half of the Themes section of the course. Overall, a great trip was had by everyone!

By Eva (L6)