Upper Sixth student Tarzie W. reflects on the Sixth Form Art trip to London

“On Tuesday 20 September Lower Sixth and Upper Sixth A Level Art students went on a trip to the Tate Britain and The Royal Academy of Arts. The day was a brilliant opportunity to enhance our understanding of the importance of art in this country.

The exhibition at the Tate Britain, ‘Painting with Light’ consisted of art and photography from the Pre-Raphaelites to the modern age. In particular I was captivated by a collection of photographs collected in the late 1800s that had only recently been discovered, and printed earlier this year. Their composition beautifully depicted life in the Victorian period, reflecting fashion and hobbies of the time, including fishing in ponds using equipment one would only admire now in a museum display! There was also a series of portraits by Rossetti, painted in a similar time to when the photographs were taken. The intricate detail in the attire of the women he painted stressed the importance of appearance in these times. As I am keen on portraiture it is intriguing to witness how mainstream techniques have been transformed by a selection of artists throughout history, such as Rossetti himself.

In the afternoon we headed to The Royal Academy to see the exhibition of David Hockney’s ‘82 Portraits and 1 Still-life’. The exhibition was very crowded and was obviously hugely popular, which made me admire the influence Hockney has over the nation as a British artist. Working on such a large scale his series of large scale portraits was seriously impressive.

We all had a fantastic day, visiting the different galleries including an exhibition at Fortnum and Mason’s – ‘Fortnum’s X Frank’ – of over 70 pieces of artwork from the collection of Frank Cohen. The calibre of artists, whose works were included in the collection, was quite staggering. It is vital to take full advantage of seeing first hand such fabulous collections when we are fortunate enough to have them right on our doorstep. I know my fellow students and I have certainly sourced inspiration from the artists exhibiting, and hope to enhance our ongoing studies with in the same way.”