Art and Eye

  Strikingly simple and strongly meditative, Zurbarán's multiple depictions of St Francis, including this example from the National Gallery's collection in London, are uniquely his. Drawing on the lineage of artists who recreated the saint, from Giotto to El Greco and more, Zurbarán's Tenebristic ode to the techniques of Caravaggio gifts us St Francis in an altogether different light.  St Francis' makeshift habit is pieced together from two scraps of cloth, alluding to the extreme life of poverty he chose to lead. Zurbarán may even be drawing more closely from the life of the saint here, a set of stories which are defined by dress and clothing - for example, on the path to sainthood, Francis famously gives his cloak to a poor man, and later, his renunciation of worldly goods is often represented by the stripping of his clothes, both of which are expertly rendered by Giotto in the basilica at Assisi. In true Caravaggisti fashion, Zurbarán includes a rip in the foreshorte...

  A collection of monolithic, monochromatic and freestanding dresses construct Anselm Kiefer's Women of Antiquity series, begun at the turn of the twenty-first century and revitalised by the artist in 2018. Exhibited most notably in his so-called 'studio' La Ribaute, these luxuriously tactile gowns have subsequently travelled across both exhibition venues and the art market. Mytris , who is weighed down by the book which constructs the head of the figure, is one such example. Kiefer, today, is one of the most talked about artists. A slow rise to fame has now blossomed into exhibitions that have drawn on literary references (Finnegan's Wake at the White Cube in 2023), expositions detailing his earlier working life (at the Ashmolean in early 2025), or his connections to canonical artists (Van Gogh/Kiefer at the RA which recently concluded). His colossal canvases suck a viewer in, his colours are captivating, as the artist draws on themes of violence, spiritualism, desolat...

  With an idiosyncratic artistic practice which defies artistic categorisation, Howard Hodgkin's Lovers was eight years in the making. It bleeds out of its dark frame towards a viewer, illustrating a swirling motion of vivid reds and greens which cannot be controlled. Towards the left-hand side of his panel, the artist has captured a more humanised form; a figure in orange curled in a fetal position and protected by the nest of colour illustrated on the opposite side. Perhaps, Hodgkin suggests another example of human love here, through the allusion to comfort, safety and protection. Opposite, he captures untameable human emotion with single sweeps of brushwork, firstly in red, then in green, then red again, exploding outwards with yearning and urgency.  Running away from school to pursue his artistic career, Hodgkin went on to represent Britain at the Venice Biennale, whilst he also won the Turner Prize and earned himself a knighthood. However, he never attached himself to an...

  Tomás Saraceno's interests in spider webs might seem uncannily odd to some viewers, however, to put aside that arachnophobia is to produce intriguing works of art. Boxed in and spectacularly spot lit, the works are confined by an omnipresent curator and the hand of Saraceno is certainly present, yet there is still room for freedom, for uniqueness. Their display in the round enables a visitor to explore for themselves. Simplistically black and white with no fuss, they are mesmeric displays, ritualistic and quietly captivating.  Saraceno has made a name for himself through 'Arachnophilia', a community of researchers striving to know more about the spider web and its uses. However, the artist has also spoken at the Max Planck Institute in Germany, he has created his own 3D models of webs and he works across both media and scale with incredible ease - for instance, in 2022, he transformed 25,000 square feet in The Shed, New York, into a web stretched at both twelve and fort...

  In 1848, Millais created this work based on various literary sources, producing mixed responses at the time. Criticism was aimed mainly at the artist's disregard for academic convention. However more recently, Julie F. Codell so accurately described Millais' Isabella as a work defined by physiognomy, where facial features and gestures can determine a person's inner, true character.  The foil to Isabella's delicacy, politeness and gentleness is her brother. Sitting opposite her and dressed in menacing red, his face is twisted and contorted in anger at the realisation of this love affair before his eyes. The body is strained and clenched, from the hands that grip the nutcracker to the snarling jaw and bared teeth. Isabella's brother in fact becomes more animalistic than even the calm greyhound that obediently sits at her feet. Most impressive by Millais, however, is his capturing of the straining muscles of Isabella's brother, as he reaches out his right leg to ...

  Depicting an enthroned Virgin and Child in the central panel, flanked by St John on the left with an elongated scroll and the prophet Zacharias on the right, this ivory is richly carved and extensively detailed. The top panel furthers the Christological narrative, bearing two flying angels and a typically Byzantine rendering of Christ encircled, beardless and blessing to convey his position as the judge of humanity, or Pantocractor. It was a common image above doorways to churches and chapels, signifying the crossing of the boundary into the divine realm. As this particular ivory appeared on the front of a book, the image would hold a similar purpose in the traversing of boundaries, as the volume was opened and closed, concealing and revealing material within. The bottom layer of the ivory, meanwhile, shows the Nativity and Annunciation to the Shepherds. It allows the artist to extend the narrative and show off their skill, illustrating architecture, angels and animals alongside ...