Amgueddfa Cymru Blog

Spring maps & polar bears

Danielle Cowell, 22 March 2012

This is the first official week of spring. It's called spring equinox, which means that the day and night are almost the same length.

At the North Pole, the polar bears are celebrating the first appearance of the sun in six months but at the South Pole the penguins are preparing for six months of darkness. I picked this up on Derek the Weatherman's blog - what a fascinating thought.

In the UK, school scientists are mapping spring by posting results to show when there spring flowers open - as part of a long term study into climate change. Despite the initial early start to the spring I think our results will show that our flowers have come late this year, because of the late frost. The results are flying in this week - 203 sent in so far! Many schools are still waiting for their flowers - hopefully they will come soon.

Please take a look at the beautiful pictures sent in by Fulwood & Cadley School and Brynhyfryd Junior.

What is the mystery bulb?

Ysgol Porth Y Felin: On Monday it was very rainy and we think the mystery bulb is
a tulip. Glyncollen Primary School: We found out that one of our mystery bulbs is a tulip. Our daffodils and crocus look lovely in the Spring sunshine. Ans: Both schools are correct - Welldone!

Your comments:

Fulwod and Cadley reported: All our crocuses have flowered now but 15 of our daffodil plants have no buds at all. We think, that they are unlikely to produce any buds now, we would be grateful if you would let us know what you think?

Ans: I agree, if there are no buds by now, sadly it is unlikey that they will flower. This has happenend to a few of mine too. The reason this has happened is unclear. When a daffodil doesn't make a flower gardeners say that the plant has gone 'blind' - as it has no flower head. This normally happens if the bulb has been flowering for a few years or if there is too much nitrogen in the soil - but this doesn't normally happen with a new bulb. This seems to have happened to my bulbs that started to grow really early - end of Decemeber early Jan. They grew tall then we had the frost and they seemed to stop growing taller - until much later. The hours of sunshine is a big factor with dafs - so we will have to look at all the records to see if there are any trends before we can make any conclusions.

Channelkirk Primary School asked: We measured the height of our plants in cm, but the site has it as mm. Should we measure the flower only? Ans: No, please measure the height in mm if possible or simply convert to mm. Thanks Prof.P

Ysgol Bro Cinmeirch: Tyfodd ccenin pedr mae o yn 215mm a dyfodd y grocws 35mm. Tyfodd cenin pedr arall 85mm a tyfodd y crocws 120 mm. Ateb: Sylwadau gwych!

Ysgol Nant Y Coed: I think that it's great to learn about rainfall and how it works their magic with flowers It's fun experementing on this and it's a experience for children to learn to measure. Ans: Glad you enjoyed - thanks for helping me. Prof. P

Ysgol Nant Y Coed: It was a very good experiment! Ysgol Nant Y Coed. I like the experiment!!!!!!!!!!! Ans: Glad you enjoyed the experiment! Thanks so much for helping me with this. Prof. P

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

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Publish date: 22 March 2012

Tagged with: Spring Bulbs  Sustainability 

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Revolutionary Dreams: Investigating French art

A Third Class Carriage, Honore Daumier
A Third Class Carriage

Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)

Workmen on the Street, 1838-40. Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)
Workmen on the Street

, 1838-40
Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)

The Gust of Wind, Jean-François Millet
The Gust of Wind

Jean-François Millet (1814 - 1875)

The Retreat, Louis Eugène Benassit

The Retreat
Louis Eugène Benassit (1833 - 1904)

Amgueddfa Cymru has one of the most exceptional collections of nineteenth-century French Art in the United Kingdom. Engaging with the turbulence of nineteenth century France and the relationship between the revolutions of the people and revolutionary developments in art, we take a fresh look at the Museum's collection of pre-Impressionist French paintings, researched and interpreted by postgraduate students from the University of Bristol.

The Century of Revolution

The turbulent social and political history of France during the nineteenth century led many artists to document the shifting realities and expectations of life. The 1789 French Revolution, which established the First French Republic, sparked a century of uprisings and uncertainty for the population. While some artists sought to represent current events, others looked to recapture lost traditions.

Revolution and the rise of Realism

From the seventeenth century, the state-run Academy of Fine Arts and its official exhibition, the Salon, led the direction of French art. During the nineteenth century, many artists began to challenge its approach, and to examine how the lives of the people were altered by the dramatic changes of the nineteenth century. Increasingly artists abandoned the biblical figures and Roman heroes that had previously dominated the walls of the Salon.

In A Third Class Carriage Honoré Daumier refers to a key invention of the century, the steam train. In contrast, Jean-François Millet's The Peasant Family depicts rural farmers and idealises the French countryside. While these are very different paintings their common theme is that they are representations of real, contemporary, humble life.

It was during this period that French artists first began to paint like this; an approach sometimes known as 'Realist' painting. These changes in subject matter laid the groundwork for much of Modern Art as we understand it today.

Political Unrest

The overthrow of King Charles X in the July Revolution of 1830 led to the July Monarchy of Louis-Phillippe, ousted in the Revolution of February 1848. The Second Republic gave all men a right to vote and promised democracy. However, a brutal suppression of the workers' rebellion demonstrated that frustration was still present. Daumier's Workmen on the Street indicates such tensions and his imagery criticised continuing class distinctions.

Millet's later The Sower highlights rural labour and peasant life. Agriculture was an ingrained part of the French national identity, however, Millet mourned the mass migration from rural areas into the cities.

During the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 many artists went into exile in safer rural locations. Millet fled from Barbizon to the Normandy coast. He painted The Gust of Wind on his return; the frightening strength and power of the storm representing both change and the violence of war.

The Second Empire collapsed with France's defeat in 1871, causing a group of French radicals to briefly seize control of Paris in the 'Commune' of the same year. Soon quashed, it was replaced by the Third Republic.

The distress and loneliness within these desolate landscapes may be read as a response to the turbulent events in France at this time. Most importantly they show how political events shaped national identity and, in turn, its art.

The Peasant Family (1871-2), Jean-François Millet (1814 - 1875)

The Peasant Family (1871-2)
Jean-François Millet (1814 - 1875)
Oil on canvas
The Davies Sisters Collection

The Sower, 1847-8, Jean-François Millet
The Sower

, 1847-8
Jean-François Millet (1814 - 1875)

Lunch in the Country, 1868, Honore Daumier
Lunch in the Country

, 1868
Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)

Beach at Trouville, 1890 Louis Eugéne Boudin
Beach at Trouville

, 1890
Louis Eugéne Boudin (1824 - 1898)

The Heavy Burden, Honore Daumier
The Heavy Burden

Honore Daumier (1808 - 1879)

Leisure

During the second half of the nineteenth century, changes in class structure in France led to a growth in the wealth of the middle classes, known as the bourgeoisie.

In particular, they enjoyed paintings that showed themselves in the pursuit of leisure and inferred their new status in society. Artists responded by creating paintings to suit the tastes of this growing audience.

1804 saw the invention of the steam powered locomotive and within 50 years, railway lines were being constructed across France. Daumier's Lunch in the Country and Boudin's Beach at Trouville are depictions of bourgeois tourist activities.

In addition to reflecting revolutionary developments in tourism and transport, artists employed bright colour and loose linear structure to create an air of entertainment and recreation. Such revolutionary light effects and loose brushstrokes had a strong influence on the emerging style of Impressionism.

Women and Domesticity

Paintings of women feature significantly in the Museum's collection of nineteenth-century French paintings. It is, however, interesting to note that all these women were painted by male artists, so viewers are observing women from the perspective of the nineteenth-century man.

With this in mind we can begin to understand the role of women in society. Daumier's The Heavy Burden presents us with the activities of working class women, while the other paintings depict fashionable and delicate beauties of a higher social ranking. This shows us that class and gender divisions were still intact following the Revolution.

Society's expectations for women to be demure and feminine run through several of the paintings. Whether they are active and working or seated and passive can be seen as an indication of their situation within society.

Research and Reveal

Here we present four essays, giving a fresh look at the Museum's collection of pre-Impressionist French paintings, researched and interpreted by postgraduate students from the University of Bristol:

Personalities in Paintings, by Matthew Howles

 


 

Landscape Fakes, by Jessica Hoare

 


 

The Landscapes of Millet, by Jessica Hoare

 


 

The Paintings of Charles Bargue, by Rhian Addison

 

External links

Art History at the University of Bristol

Association of Art Historians

Publish date: 22 March 2012

Tagged with: Art  Artists & Makers  Conflict & Invasion  Portraiture & Landscape  Work & Labour  Worship, Religion & Beliefs 

1st Flower in Scotland!

Danielle Cowell, 12 March 2012

Congratulations to Gordon Primary School for sending in the 1st flower record for Scotland! Despite having problems with vandalism this week they have manged to re-pot thier flowers and send in their records. Truely fantastic scientists - keeping at the work despite the dissapointment - well done Gordon Primary!

By looking at the map and the flowering dates it seems that the flowering has slowly moved across the the country from the South West to the North East. But that many of the areas far from the sea are still waiting for flowers.

Question for the week: Why do spring flowers near the coast open earlier than those inland? I will reveal the answer next week.

All my flowers have opened now and at the weekend it really felt like spring. The sun was shining and my daffodils were blooming. It really made me happy to think that the most of the winter is now behind us and we can look forward to the summer! The flowers have also opened in Eyton Primary - thanks for the pic.

Slug attack! Some of my daffodils have been eaten by slugs -see pic.This hasn't happened to me before - very annoying. I took the slugs down the bottom of my garden far away from my daffodils. Fingers crossed they will keep off.

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bylbiau

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Publish date: 12 March 2012

Tagged with: Spring Bulbs 

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1st Flower in England!

Danielle Cowell, 5 March 2012

The first English Crocus recorded has popped up in Fulwood and Cadley School - on the 2nd of March. 

Congratulations also to Ysgol Bodfari & Lakeside Primary who have reported daffodils and crocus flowers opening this morning.

I wonder when the flowers will open in Scotland? It's so exciting having schools in three countries taking part in the Spring bulb investigation this year! Many thanks to the Edina Trust - for making this possible!

Keep watching this map to see where the flowers open and please send any pictures you have to me and the local press.

All the data that is sent in is used to create an average flowering date for each school. Watch the crocus chart and daffodil chart to see the tables change as the data comes in. It is really important that each pupil sends in their record - so the web can calculate the average flowering date for your school.

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

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Publish date: 5 March 2012

Tagged with: Spring Bulbs 

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More flowers on the map

Danielle Cowell, 2 March 2012

Flowers have popped up all over Wales this week. Crocus opened in Milford, Oakfield, Windsor Clive, Christchurch and Lakeside Primary. Daffodils opened in Ysgol Glan conwy and Christchurch! I wonder if the next flower will open in Scotland or England. Keep watching this map to see.

www.museumwales.ac.uk/scan/bulbs

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Publish date: 2 March 2012

Tagged with: Spring Bulbs 

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