What I Did On My Hols

[poliphilo]

I walk back through the door and straight into my big, padded body-warmer. It's cold up here.

London enjoys its own artificial micro-climate. The trees in Regents Park are still shimmering with autumn colours. Elsewhere it's winter.

We saw three exhibitions in London.

Eyes, Lies and Illusions at the Hayward Gallery. Optical art, peepshows, magic lanterns etc. Essentially a prehistory of the movies.

Christopher Dresser at the V & A. Dresser was a late-Victorian designer notable for championing form over decoration and for his committment to mass production. His square teapots and minimalist toast racks are about forty years ahead of their time. And some of his ceramics reminded me of Picasso's.

Encounters at the V&A. The meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800. The very beginnings of globalization. Did you know that an 18th century Chinese Emperor employed an Italian Jesuit as one of his court painters? No, Neither did I.

Comments

[egilsdottir.livejournal.com]

Did you know that an 18th century Chinese Emperor employed an Italian Jesuit as one of his court painters?

this is so not surprising to me. those wily jesuits have somehow always managed to be wherever the action is throughout their history. this is, of course, dependent on the fact that 18th century china was indeed where the action was.

the jesuits who taught me in college gave me an appreciation of the catholic church that i had never possessed before. i think i would have a lot more Very Mean Things to Say about the church as a whole if it wasn't for them.

at any rate, sounds like you had a nice holiday. welcome back!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

The Jesuits obviously played a crucial role in softening the impact of early western contacts with Eastern societies- from Goa to Japan. Time and time again they cropped up in the exhibition- and always in a good light. There was one of them whom the Chinese themselves dubbed "The Confucius of the West".