inspiration, ideas and work in progress

The Holburne Museum is an oasis of calm less than a 10 minute walk from the hustle and bustle of central Bath, but a world away from the pavements teeming tourists that you find in the rest of the city. Once you’ve navigated your way around the wheely suitcases you’ll find this former hotel set in gloriously serene surroundings at the end of Great Pulteney Street. Its new modern glass extension is one of those things that shouldn’t work, but really does. It provides both exhibition space and a lovely café filled with mid century furniture which looks out over the garden.

The museum is based around the collection of Thomas William Holburne who inherited some of the items, but added many more of his own including old masters, silverware, minatures and porcelain. He was particularly keen on small, finely made objects and the eclectic mix makes it all the more interesting. For me the highlights of the collection were Cornelis De Bryer’s ‘Still Life with Fruit and Shellfish’, Guardi’s ‘Coast Scene’ and a fabulous array of Maiolica decorated with scenes from Greek mythology, particularly the large dish depicting the story of Diana and Actaeon. I’m also a sucker for a tasty bit of silverware and I loved this fluted sugar bowl & saucer with matching slop basin (below)

The small temporary exhibition Presence: the Art of Portrait Sculpture takes Henry Moore’s plea for the ‘… removal of the Greek spectacles from the eyes of the modern sculptor’ as its starting point.   A waxwork of Moore greets you at the entrance to the exhibition (I embarrassingly thought it was a frosty, but real, person) and the rest of the show addresses the tension between realistic and abstract portrait sculpture.  Ron Mueck’s hyper realistic ‘Self Portrait Mask II’ stopped me dead in my tracks.  At once strange, serene and really quite disturbing, it is so incredibly lifelike that you can see every pore, wrinkle and hair follicle.  See more of his sculptures here