Sean Keating at The National Gallery in Dublin

Art has a significant role to play in pricking the conscience of society. In a recent visit to The National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin we saw this provocative painting by Sean Keating. It is my painting of the month for July. An Allegory was painted in 1924 when Keating was at the height of his career…

Beaumaris Castle in Wales

Medieval abbeys, cathedrals and parish churches have been a great favourite of mine but I was reminded yesterday of another great building programme of that time. The castles across Europe are a heritage of the continent’s first great series of buildings in stone. The great feature of these castles is that what remains has not…

The Spirit of Water at Salisbury Cathedral

Salisbury Cathedral has been the subject of a few posts on this site over the years including the works of John Constable and John Mallord William Turner. On the occasion of my most recent visit the subject was not paintings but flowers though. An unusual subject for me. In a very ambitious project the cathedral…

Steetley Chapel, Nottinghamshire.

Steetley Chapel in North Nottinghamshire came as a complete surprise recently. We were visiting friends in the area and they mentioned in passing that there was an old church nearby. On investigation we found one of the most complete Romanesque buildings in Britain. the celebrated J. C. Cox described it as “the most perfect and…

The Museum Ludwig in Cologne

The Hohenzollern Bridge carries the main railway and foot passengers across the Rhine in the centre of Cologne in Germany. Looking across the river the panorama includes the bridge, the railway station and the magnificent gothic cathedral. Nestled in the middle of this group of great buildings is the Museum Ludwig.  It is home to…