Stained Glass. One of the great media in the history of English painting, albeit much of the glass was actually foreign. The fourteenth and fifteenth centuries produced some of the most important glass in our national collection but much of it was destroyed in the various wars and iconoclasts since.  The Great Cathedrals provide the…

Medieval tomb carvings. This time twelve months ago we were enjoying the autumn term studying the tombs of the Doges and other notables in the wonderful churches of Venice. It seems appropriate for me to celebrate the anniversary with a look at an interesting English carving. Pershore Abbey has a rich history and is home…

Renoir’s Dance at the Moulin de la Galette is one of those chocolate box paintings that is sometimes easy to ignore. This masterpiece of French Impressionism, however, is my choice for October and a little reminder of the fun of large gatherings enjoying flirting and dancing. George’s Rivière, Renoir’s friend and biographer, claimed the painting…

Ripon Cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in Britain, with it’s Saxon crypt, dedicated in 672 AD. The above ground structure is a delight and as with most British Cathedrals is an exercise in architectural style. We visited last weekend and were lucky to see the sun shining through the array of stained glass….