European Art Exhibition at the Stirling Smith
The Stirling Smith Art Gallery & Museum has recently opened its European Art Exhibition, showcasing fine pieces of European art from various different nations.
The exhibition opened on 21st March and will run until 30th June and displays examples of some of the best works in the Smith collection. And for the first time, the Smith collections can now be viewed online on the Public Catalogue Foundation website. This move online means that more people than ever before will be able to enjoy the gems of the Stirling Smith, anywhere in the world!
The European Art Exhibition displays many artists - from the seascapes of Maris to the intricate detail of individuals in paintings by Swertz and Philip, there is plenty to feast your eyes on.
The centrepiece of the event is the massive 'Les Moulieres a Villerville' (The Mussell Beds of Villerville) by Maurice Poirson. Poirson was a genre and watercolour painter born in Paris on 1 August 1846. He became a pupil at the age of 23 of Alexandre Cabanel in 1869, the Head of the Ecole des Beaux Arts and promoter of the 'Academic' style of painting - grand in manner and formal in composition. Most of his work seems to have been inspired by a fairly specific area along the Normandy coast - Trouville, Villerville, Le Havre and Dieppe.
Also, incredibly vivid paintings by Edward Pritchett showing various aspects of Venice are on display. Pritchett was a nineteenth-century English painter and man of mystery. Nothing is known of Pritchett's life; he has appropriately been described as "elusive." Pritchett’s paintings found great favour with the collectors of this genre so much so that he accumulated sufficient wealth to enable him to set up his own art school.
Colin O'Brien, Chair of the Stirling Smith comments; "The paintings on display are absolutely fantastic, and the more you get to know about the artists and their inspirations, the more appreciation you garner for the works of art on display. The exhibition shows pieces from The Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain and the UK, all covering different genres, so there will be something for all tastes. With the creation of new gallery space, our ambition is to be able to display treasures like these all the time, creating an invaluable space for locals and tourists alike to come and appreciate the fine art that the Stirling Smith has in abundance"
The Stirling Smith is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10.30am - 5pm and Sunday 2pm - 5pm. Admission is free.
Picture shows: Edward Pritchett's 'The Piazetta & Doge's palace'
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