In the past I would have had to travel all the way to St Petersberg in Russia to see the current exhibition showing at the NSW art gallery. This exhibition is from the palace you see above. You are looking at the outside of the Winter Palace. Together with four more buildings arranged side by side along the river embankment, it houses the extensive collections of the Hermitage, masterpieces of such great painters as Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Titian, Giorgione, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Van Gogh.
We live in a time, where, as artists have so many advantages over our predecessors. This is the case for many reasons, however one of the most important ones is that we get to stand upon the shoulders of those who have gone before us. They have paved the way with , colour mixing, perspective, and so many other aspects of our art practice. This alone is a great reason for going to see this exhibition, Masters of modern art from the Hermitage
There are of course still ground breakers among us, using new technologies, and yet they too have the advantage of this prior knowledge as well.
There are many works by the moderns, including Malevich's famous Black square. Other works include those by Kandinsky, Picasso, Turner, Monet, Matisse and Cezanne to name a few. These artists have so much to teach us.
For example take this detail of a Kandinsky work, below, look at the rich layering of textural paint and the beautiful, subtle complementaries he has used here.
Or the vibrant colours in another of his works......
The exhibition is on until March 3, so there is plenty of time to go and see it. Put a date in your diary!
NEXT WEEK: What Hidden Thing Is Impacting Your Art?