Special Exhibitions – Page 4 – Symbols & Secrets

Kaleidoscope!

On 20th June 2024

I visited the Guildhall Gallery last week for this extrordinary exhibition …

With over 150 pieces, this is a major retrospective which features series of works from as far back as 1990 right up to the present day, including 41 London-themed kaleidoscopic prints created exclusively for this new exhibition.

So this blog can only give you a brief taste of what’s in store if you visit – and I have kept it a manageble size by just including my favourites! You can read a very comprehensive review of the exhibition (including a video of the artist at work) on the Books & Boots website. I strongly recommend you read it before visiting the gallery.

I started by looking at the tools Anne uses in her wood engraving work – fascinating …

In addition to the woodcarving and linocuts she also creates mixed media collages.

I’m delighted to say that St Paul’s Cathedral features strongly.

Wartime searchlights pierce the sky …

This is followed by five sequential wood engravings reflecting on the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 2015 …

I really like this series of four entitled Sky Window …

Deserted Pool …

Living History …

Between Order and Chaos …

Out of this World …

British Museum Diagonals …

Under construction – Bishopsgate London in the 1990s …

Royal Academy – RA Metamorphosis …

Royal Academy – RA Revolution …

On my way out I paused for a good look at Grayson Perry’s 2016 woodcut Animal Spirit …

Inspired by London’s financial sector, you can read more about it here.

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Shakespeare at the Guildhall Library.

By The City Gent

On 23rd May 2024

In Special Exhibitions

Drawing on Guildhall Library’s remarkable Shakespeare collections, this exhibition examines the history of the printing of William Shakespeare’s plays, from the small ‘Quartos’ of the late 16th century and the Folios of the 17th century, to the reworking of the text in the 18th century and the rediscovery of the original texts in the 19th century …

Just inside the door you are greeted with an image of the funerary monument of William Shakespeare in Holy Trinity Church, Stratford-upon-Avon circa 1616-1622 …

There are a series of excellent, informative panels …

They range over subjucts such as the difference between a Folio and a Quarto …

… printing technology …

…and how the works were viewed and appreciated over the centuries …

The books, of course, are the stars of the show (and they do not all relate solely to Shakespeare).

It was not until some years after his death that the majority of his plays were gathered together, edited to create a definitive version of the text, and published 400 years ago in the now iconic First Folio, 1632.

And here it is in facsimile …

The engraved portriat by Martin Droeshout is one of the few likenesses with any claim to authenticity.

A facsimile of the Second Folio, also published in 1632 …

An original Third Folio, 1664 …

And the Fourth, 1685 …

The Library Shakespeare – An example of the late 19th century emergence of ‘gift books’, nicely bound with coloured illustrations …

There are other delights on display.

The Knight of the Burning Pestle by Francis Beaumont, printed in 1613 …

An 1853 spoof comic version of Macbeth Macbeth Travestie. Macbeth somewhat removed from the text of Shakespear: in two acts …

There are almost thirty items in the exhibition …

… and there is a splendid free guide …

There is also an interesting photowall showing some of the Guildhall Library’s other treasures …

After you leave the building, walk across the road to the little green space on the corner of Aldermanbury and Love Lane …

Constructed in 1896, this pink granite monument stands within the former churchyard of St Mary Aldermanbury. Its primary purpose is to honour the First Folio of Shakespeare’s plays, but it also serves as a tribute to Henry Condell and John Heminge, two associates of the Bard who worked with him at the Globe …

They played a cucial role in compiling and printing the First Folio after his death in 1616 …

Both lived nearby and were buried in this churchyard …

The church was gutted in the Blitz with only the walls remaining standing. The stones were subsequently transported to Fulton, Missouri in 1966 and rebuilt in the grounds of Westminster College as a memorial to Winston Churchill who had made his Sinews of Peace, “Iron Curtain” speech in the College gymnasium in 1946.

Remember you can follow me on Instagram …

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Exploring the Crypt Museum at All Hallows by the Tower.

By The City Gent

On 9th May 2024

In Memorials, Roman London, Social History, Special Exhibitions

In my blog three weeks ago I wrote about the treasure trove that you’ll find at All Hallows by the Tower and promised to return again and explore the Crypt Museum. This week’s edition is the result.

I headed down the steps to the atmospheric interior …

One of the first exhibits you encounter is this floor of a 2nd century Roman dwelling …

Sometimes it’s just easier to take a picture of an information label!

Walk where the Romans walked …

The church historian told me that, if I stood on the tiles long enough, I would be transported back to Roman times. Sadly, I was in a bit of a hurry.

On display are several casts of Roman gravestones.

A ‘most devoted son’…

And an ‘incomparable husband’ …

This stone once depicted a couple but the woman’s head is now missing …

The inscription reads : Demetrius, to Heraclia, his wife (set up this stone) at the expense of her own estate, as a memorial to her.

Lots of treasures in display cases …

Including this beautiful carving in alabaster …

This is the ‘great hoist’ …

Costing £3 in 1682, it was made to suspend the beautiful Grinling Gibbons font cover which can now be found in the south west corner of the church …

This is the original north door from the 1884 construction of the North porch …

It was badly damaged in the fire bombing that happenened three weeks after the direct hit on the church on 19 December 1940.

There are several connections with famous Americans.

William Penn was baptised in All Hallows and this memorial to commemorate the event was erected in 1911. It was damaged in the wartime bombing …

William’s father, Admiral Sir William Penn, was Commissioner of the nearby Navy Office and his son was baptised here on 23 October 1644. The Baptismal Register recording the occasion …

Penn’s entry is number 23 on the right hand page.

And what about this lady. For almost two hundred years the only non-American First Lady until the inauguration of President Trump on 20 January 2017 …

The relevant entry in the 1797 Marriage Register …

Memorabilia relating to The Reverend ‘Tubby’ Clayton …

Under the High Altar is sited the Undercroft Chapel …

The altar comprises stones brought back to All Hallows from Richard I’s Castle Athilt in Israel.

As I said in my earlier blog, All Hallows really is a treasure trove and my blogs really just give a brief glimpse of how interesting the church is. So well worth a visit.

Remember you can follow me on Instagram …

https://www.instagram.com/london_city_gent

Walking the City of London

Category: Special Exhibitions Page 4 of 8

Kaleidoscope!

Shakespeare at the Guildhall Library.