Here at Hallett we’ve been huge supporters of this event and every year sponsor the Acquisition Award for Museums and Galleries.

Director Clare Pardy has this year been given the prestigious task of picking her top ten pieces from the Fair, which showcases artwork including old and modern masters, from Rembrandt and Canaletto to Whistler, Matisse and Picasso.

Clare says: “Although I was enormously disappointed like the rest of the Fair’s loyal supporters, I must admit that I have loved trawling the virtual show especially having been given the task of choosing ten favourites. As well old favourites, I did find myself attracted to images that chime with this extraordinary period we are living through.”

Click here to find out which ten pieces Clare chose from the collection

Like many people, I seized the opportunity to visit both permanent collections and selected exhibitions in the brief Summer window between lockdowns. With more talk of museums struggling to survive the disastrous effects of the pandemic, in spite of what was seen as generous Government funding, these sorties now seem even more precious. While the lockdown brought out the extraordinary inventiveness of these beloved institutions to adapt, providing as they did, opportunities to view exhibitions, enjoy curatorial tours and lectures and participate in webinars, the limited re-opening underlined the very special experience of seeing an exhibition in situ.

When we were officially released at the beginning of July, I must admit to feeling a certain amount of anxiety about exposing myself to fellow exhibition goers, however well managed, and even the logistics of getting to the shows was intimidating. But I had been booked to see the Young Rembrandt at the Ashmolean earlier in the year so when it re-opened I was determined to go.

Through the years, I have seen Rembrandt themed in a number of exhibitions. Pitted against and compared with Caravaggio, in the Van Gogh museum back in 2006, the glorious late works at the National Gallery in 2016, the etchings in 2017 at Norwich Castle Museum, last year’s show at the Rijksmuseum and now, the Young Rembrandt at the Ashmolean. The very fact that he can be endlessly re-examined and subjected to continual curatorial scrutiny highlights for me, the depth and richness of his oeuvre and his unique place in art history.

The Ashmolean show was rather poignant not only because the young Dutch curator had worked so hard to bring it to fruition only to see it close within days of opening, but also what it revealed of Rembrandt’s early struggles. It showed rarely exhibited early works, starting in 1624, in which the draughtsmanship is quite clumsy and hesitant and where the faces are almost caricatured. It sees him working in tandem with Jan Lievens whom the curator describes as being the more naturally gifted artist, and how he becomes more assured, developing a repertoire of facial expressions through multiple studies of his own face. By the conclusion of the exhibition in 1634, the year he marries Saskia and is admitted to Amsterdam’s Painters Guild, he is in full possession of many of the skills and painterly techniques we associate with him. As well as, most endearingly for me, his full dressing up box of turbans, armour and rich velvets which will feature in so many of his most famous pictures.

On a brief visit to Cumbria at the end of September, we stopped off at the Hepworth, Wakefield which is another favourite museum, to see an exhibition devoted to Bill Brandt and Henry Moore. The two men met for the first time when Brandt was commissioned by Lilliput Magazine to photograph Moore in his studio. The exhibition charts the many parallels in the artists’ lives and work over five decades. Starting with Brandt’s recording of industrial and coal mining areas of Northern England as part of the Mass Observation project which mirrors Moore’s enormously touching studies of men in the Castleford mine where his father had worked. It moves on to their individual treatment of the underground shelters during the second world war. Tellingly, Moore was reluctant to record individuals in his studies feeling that it was too intrusive and so his extraordinarily beautiful renderings in chalk, wash and gouache have a haunting universality. Brandt on the other hand, records civilians as they slept with the objective, anthropological eye of the photographer. Interestingly, a portfolio of his works was sent to the U.S President Franklin D. Roosevelt to show the spirit of Londoners during the Blitz.

From these works, the show proceeds to explore both artists’ interest in the ancient sites of Avebury and Stonehenge, in found objects such as the weathered flotsam from beaches in Sussex and concluding with their individual takes on the human form. The curator is particularly interested in the way in which photography and sculpture overlap and inform each other and this is demonstrated in the juxtaposition of Brandt’s abstract female forms and Moore’s monumental sculptures in wood and bronze. One of the highlights for me was a marvellous tapestry which Moore commissioned forty years after the original work. Entitled ‘Row of Sleepers’ it is on an epic scale and is a fitting climax to a great show. For those who missed it, the exhibition is scheduled to be shown in the Sainsbury Centre in Norwich in the new year.

The last of my outings was a visit to the National Gallery and its much talked about Artemisia Gentileschi blockbuster. Inevitably, when exhibitions are so lauded, they can end up being a disappointment but this really exceeded all my expectations. These are pictures that command your attention with all their colour, drama and violence. Her skill as a painter is evident from the early age of 17 and there is an audacious operatic quality which some critics have compared to the films of Martin Scorsese. As there were only 30 works in total, the hang was generously spaced allowing each picture to be enjoyed on its own terms.

The circumstances of Gentileschi’s life are extraordinary even by the standards of her time and details of her rape and subsequent trial are illustrated with original documents which go some way to explain the particular stories and themes she repeatedly explores. In both Susannah and the Elders and Judith and Holofernes, we see her examining the dynamics of the relationship and bringing a freshness and immediacy to each interpretation, often tracing over one picture to create another – a practice much used by Caravaggio.

The other striking element was the way in which she used her own face again and again, posing as Susannah, Judith or Cleopatra as well as in the self portraits as St Catherine or simply in her real-life role as artist. Although the cost of models was a very real and practical reason for resorting to her own face and was, for this reason common practice, it brought to mind 20th Century women artists like Cindy Sherman and indeed Frida Kahlo whose life was similarly traumatic.

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Image caption: Portrait of an Old Man, Rembrandt © Ashmolean Museum

Guest blog post by ‘TM Lighting‘ for Hallett Independent

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We have been privileged to illuminate some of the world’s greatest artistic treasures, from Vermeer’s ‘The Guitar Player’ at Kenwood House, to Velázquez’s ‘Waterseller of Seville’ at Apsley House, to Canaletto’s ‘View in London from Richmond House’ at Goodwood, using the latest LED technology to create an unrivalled lighting solution.

We are pleased to be supporting and lighting Curated at Dorfold: British Art Then and Now, with Hallett Independent. The exhibition is a celebration of British Art set in a quintessential British stately home, a Jacobean mansion set in the heart of the English countryside. It opens at Dorfold Hall, Nantwich, Cheshire on 29 January and runs through until 11 February. Having lit the masterpieces at Dorfold, I am pleased to share my advice for how any artwork in the home can be ‘brought to light’ with the right lighting.

1) Prioritise a light source with high colour rendition

Specifying lighting with 95+ colour rendition index (CRI) is important when illuminating the full colour spectrum of a piece of art. Most LEDs do not render the colour red well, so choosing a product with a high CRI will enable the faithful colour rendition of artworks, particularly with colourful pigments and soft skin tones. The higher the CRI, the more colour in a piece of art is revealed.

2) Understand Colour Temperature

Colour temperature is crucial in creating a feeling of warmth in a space, but also must be considered when lighting objects of lighter or darker colours. Metal in particular can be lit with varying colours to achieve different effects. A work containing gold pigments is accentuated with a warmer light (2700K) while a piece dominated by blues or whites would benefit from a cooler light (3000k). These numbers are labelled on light packaging but do take advice from experts for the best results.

3) Consider Consistency

Instructing a reputable manufacturer is one of the best ways to ensure colour consistency from all lights. Works within a diverse collection can easily be brought into a single, consistent scheme by using the same hue of lighting across the collection, and this is most achievable by acquiring lighting from one maker. Ensuring use of consistent LED lighting will unite the display of paintings and objects, making all pieces in a room feel aligned.

4) Use LEDs: Protect the artwork and your budget

LED is an ideal light source for art conservation because it is generally only made up of the visible light spectrum. This minimises harmful ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR)light, the cause of significant fading. LED also generally does not produce forward heat, which again is a damaging factor in conservation.

Also, using LED is a far more sustainable and cost-effective lighting option than traditional incandescent art lighting. Measurable energy savings in Watts (W) are clear: an incandescent picture light may use between 30W in a small picture light and 120W in a larger picture light, whereas LED uses 3W and 10W, respectively.

5) Light an artwork evenly

A crucial consideration for lighting any single artwork, whether an Old Master work or contemporary piece, is to create an ‘even wash’ of light over the canvas. An even illumination, achievable with our LED picture lights, ensures an artwork’s details are visible to the viewer as the artist intended. This method does not simply highlight a single part of the work as an unfocussed traditional incandescent light would do.

6) Avoid Reflections

Even with the best anti-reflective glazing, there can still be reflection and glare on artworks.Reflections can be minimised by considering the position of the lighting and the location of the artwork within the room. Consider the main positions where you will view your artwork and always try to ensure that any reflections would not be directly viewed. By placing lighting correctly, visible reflections in artworks can be hugely reduced. Additionally, avoid placing glazed artworks directly opposite large windows.

7) Consider the room’s context when designing a lighting scheme

Lighting is dependent on the artwork and its environment. Balancing which objects are lit and which are not contributes to the atmosphere of a room. It allows the eye to relax and settle on the most cherished works, which should be the ones that are lit.In a classical setting, we recommend using picture lights instead of spotlights. Although both are highly effective at lighting art, using picture lights provides a more precise lighting tool in comparison with spotlights, which can create ‘scallops’ of light above the artwork. In a contemporary environment, there may be more flexibility to use a discreet track and spotlight solution, which is particularly effective if the client has a rolling/curated art collection. Every lighting project is unique, however, and we offer a bespoke service to all clients to suit their personal tastes and selections.

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TM Lighting – tmlighting.com

For more information on the exhibition and the works for sale, visit their website: platformearth.org

Or visit their Instagram @platformearthuk