First trip out on my ‘stay in UK’ Easter and it was to Upton House in Banbury.
I plan to write about the house for Mainly Museums, so here is the art I found here which made me smile today!
One of the first pieces I saw was beautifully placed in the room. Nave and choir of St Catharijnekerk, Utrecht by Pieter Jansz Saenredam from 1660. I love these perspective paintings of churches from this period and this was a fine example.
There is a series of Jan Steens here based on the five senses. This one is the Sense of Taste, and that man’s face just made me laugh out loud. What was in that bowl?
Then we had a Pieter Bruegel the Elder: The Death of the Virgin. The apostles surround the bed of the dying mother of Christ; a most serious subject. However, can anyone explain why one of them is snoozing by the fire on such an auspicious occasion?
I did get excited at this one – surely not THE Massacre of the Innocents, but no it is by a follower of Bruegel – but aren’t we all?
Next up is the one and only Hieronymus Bosch and his Adoration of the Magi. Big, big fan of this mad painter and even the reverse has a roundel of excellent quality!
This small painting caught my eye and thought it was rather beautifully composed. By a follower of Fra Filippo Lippi, it is the Three Acts of Charity. Read from left to right, the Righteous man gives Christ a drink, not knowing who he is. The centre image is of him handing over food, and the third image he offers him rest.
This portrait by Thomas Hardy deserves a post all of his own as, quite honestly, this is the most handsome man I’ve come across in oils.
This is William Augustus Bowles, (c. 1763 – c. 1805) an American-born military officer and adventurer. More on him later! As this was the reason I came to Upton House – they have an El Greco!
The Disrobing of Christ
This is a preparatory for the main event in Toledo Cathedral and although small, it is quite perfect! The interesting fact about this painting is that it caused controversy due to the fact that Christ is not the highest-placed figure in the crowd! And, apparently, the man in the multicoloured hat at the top is a self portrait.
Those were the highlights and a nice day out with a woodland Spring walk included in the price!
travels with my art 