Movement was very important to artist Henri Matisse (1869-1954). His art has a particularly playful energy, and none more so than in his later works. Health problems in the early 1940s meant that his physical mobility was limited, but he would not let his creativity be held back in the same way. He created a new method of working by using cut out shapes from painted paper to produce a new form of art. The exhibition at the Tate Modern explores Matisse’s development of this technique: The Cut-Outs.
You will have heard of Letters of Note. It has been an online sensation that has divulged the secret thoughts of significant figures in history by publishing their clandestine letters. A collection of otherwise undisclosed feelings and ideas between fascinating characters and interesting people. Now there’s a book, a beautiful, illustrated, hardback book.
I went to the penultimate day of the Charleston Festival in Lewes, East Sussex, which was marking its 25th year. I heard Charlotte Higgins and Adam Nicolson read from their new non-fiction books on Classics. Charlotte Higgins’ ‘Under Another Sky’ was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize.
Clandon Park (near Guildford) is famous for its imposing Venetian Palladian architecture, impressive Marble Hall and intricate stucco ceilings. So it may come as a surprise to learn that it was once used as a military hospital. Indeed, visitors to the property, which the National Trust has owned since 1956, can now see a First World War operating theatre, which has just been recreated within the building to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War and the role that the estate played.
I am reliably informed that she was very wriggly!
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