Museums and Cygnets

This morning, Peter and I went to the weekly gathering of Ocean Cruising Club members currently at St. Katherine Docks for hot beverages and conversation. Afterwards, Peter spent the day following up on supplies he ordered for the bimini and other tasks and I, after tidying up the aft cabin and researching how to stay in the Schengen Area for more than 90 days while cruising (a dilemma still not resolved), set off to see more artwork. My first stop was the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. 

National Gallery

Last Friday, having spent hours there, I had still not had time to visit all the rooms and listen to the audio tour of the most important paintings in the collection. After two hours of admiring not only artwork but the superb interior space of the museum, I had visited every room, viewing and learning about European painting from the mid-13th century through the 19th century. The Gallery has such an impressive collection of works by Botticelli, van Eyck, Uccello, Raphael, Leonardo di Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Velázquez, Turner, Degas, Monet, and Van Gogh among others. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to spend so much time there.

Interior in the National Gallery

Another room and ceiling in the National Gallery

Afterwards, I walked past two Horse Guards by the Parade Grounds and some of the amazing architecture of Westminster Borough to reach the Tate British, where I went mainly to see the large collection of paintings and sketches by Joseph Mallord William Turner. 

Horse Guard

Horse Guard

Whitehall architecture

Victoria Tower, Palace of Westminster

Considered by some to the be greatest British painter, Turner's Romantic work was controversial during his time, enormously admired by some but dismissed by others. A child prodigy, he entered the Royal Academy of Art at the age of 14 and became a member a year later. His work features dramatic palettes, stunning use of light and and ephemeral atmospheric effects. He is best known for his marine paintings, some featuring naval triumphs and others depicting shipwrecks and violent seas; his landscapes; and his depictions of classical mythology. In his late career, his paintings tended to be centered on atmospheric moods and luminosity, with very little precise detail, almost abstract. Looking at his paintings again today, I experienced awe at his techniques and his presentation of light but also, like some of his critics, was not impressed with the lack of detail in some of the work.

I returned to the boat around 6 p.m. After I rested by feet for a few minutes, Peter and I went for a walk to Wapping Canal to see six recently born fluffy cygnets and their graceful and sleek parents, who were busy pulling up weed from the bottom for the little ones to eat. We joined others who lingered to find joy in watching their activity.

Parents diving for food for the cygnets

Cygnets and their mother and father

Peter was in the mood for British food, I guess, so we stopped at Waitrose where he bought a pork pie and some olives for his dinner (even though I had planned to make chana masala and rice). I made myself a quesadilla topped with salsa and fresh avocado. We played a game of gin as rain pattered briefly on the deck above, the first precipitation since I arrived here 11 days ago. The weather gradually is getting warmer, which I appreciate.