Oh such a perfect day
Today was the Illuminations Summer outing. Seven of us went to see the Moore Rodin exhibition (on until 27 October) at the Henry Moore Foundation in Perry Green. The sun shone and the sky was blue, lunch at The Hoops Inn was rather special, the exhibition is terrific, and the grounds and studios are among the two or three best places to see modern art in Britain. Below are some further pictures, in addition to Three Piece Sculpture: Vertebrae, 1968 (above) and Large Reclining Figure, 1984 (below). But let’s just say here that it was pretty close to a perfect day.
Henry Moore and his wife Irina moved from London to the village of Perry Green in Hertfordshire early in the Second World War. Hoglands, below, was the sculptor’s home until his death in 1986, and he gradually extended the various outhouses to accommodate the studios that eventually spread across some 70 acres. The Henry Moore Foundation is now based here, and each summer there is an exhibition of Moore’s work seen in a particular context. This year, for the first time, works by another master sculptor – Auguste Rodin (1840-1919) – are being presented here, to complement and contrast with Moore’s work. There is a very good website with lots of information and images and an exemplary catalogue, Moore Rodin, edited by Anita Feldman. And if you can’t get to see the show here before it closes, from 15 February to 31 August 2014 it will be at Compton Verney in Warwickshire.
Below, Moore’s Locking Piece, 1963-64.
Below, a detail of Rodin’s Jean d’Aire, Monumental Nude, 1887.
Below, Rodin’s Monument to the Burghers of Calais, 1889
Below, Moore’s The Arch, 1969
Below, Moore’s Large Upright Internal/External Form, 1981-82.
Below, Moore’s Large Reclining Figure, 1984.
Below, the Illuminations team: honorary member Seb, Louise, Linda, John, Kay, Tom, Todd.
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