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Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The National Gallery rehang review: 'London is blessed to have it'
The National Gallery's present to the nation for its bicentenary is a re-opening of its Sainsbury wing and a new display of its collection. Goodness, what a birthday treat that is. There are about a thousand pictures on display and this re-presentation of them is startling. It makes you look at familiar pictures in a different way and see pictures you've breezed by in the past as if for the first time. My own reaction as I was being taken round was roughly that of Mole in the Wind in the Willows when he was unpacking Rattie's picnic hamper: O my, O my! And besides the rehanging of the pictures, there's been an architectural reordering. The first thing that strikes you as you enter the Sainsbury Wing is the sheer space. The floor above the atrium, previously taken up by the restaurant, has been opened up with clear glazing and the effect is of light and space. When it's empty, it's cavernous, but most of the time it'll be filled with school tours and tourists; they won't feel cramped now. And, don't worry, the important things have been attended to: shops and places to eat. In the entrance there's a chi-chi coffee bar and a shop where children can buy felt arty toys and adults can get a tote bag with Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne on it. On the floor above, there's Locatelli's restaurant for classy pasta and another shop with art books and arty presents. As you go up the stairs, the first thing you see is an enormous grey orb on the wall; Richard Long's Mud Sun. Hmm. But once inside the collection, the breathtaking starts, for your first encounter is with Leonardo's the Madonna of the Rocks and just by it the grisaille folds of a beautiful triptych. At a distance from them is the Wilton Dyptich - Richard II being presented to the Virgin - which here seems very much in context. And this brings us to the most brilliant element of the idea of devotional space. Most of the art of the Renaissance and earlier was religious and there's nothing sadder than seeing paintings intended for people to pray with turned into rarified art objects, divorced from their function. Well here you get the genius idea of placing the paintings intended for private devotional use in smaller, darker rooms, reminiscent of side chapels, while the great long space that unites them is like the nave of a church between one altarpiece and another. That big basilical space displays works that were intended for churches, for public space. There's a great hanging cross by Segna di Bonaventura suspended from the ceiling as it would have done in the fourteenth century, recalling a rood screen, before the San Piero Maggiore Altarpiece at the end. This great work is presented as complete as possible, in a recreation of the original frame. A little distance before it is a panel from the base of another altarpiece. The effect, seen from a distance, is of being in church. This transforms the context for the pictures, putting them into a setting that's reminiscent of what they were intended for. A century divides the altarpieces at either end … and in between you can see the Renaissance unfold. The framing of the San Piero Maggiore altarpiece brings together its various parts, which enables you to see how they fit together. The National Gallery staff got the chance to help the frame-makers with the gilding; lucky things. It's a reminder of the formidable skills that the Gallery has at its disposal. Putting pictures in their real settings (even if they're modern recreations) makes them live – but it's funny how rarely it's done. Another effective touch is to put altarpieces on pediments, thus showing them as they would have been seen originally. Off the main nave, if you can call it that, are rooms for specific artists or regions or themes; the Cranachs are together … just beautiful – and so are the Piero della Francesca pictures. There's a room that's pretty well given over to pictures embellished in gold and it's heavenly. But the designers had an eye to the long view: right across the gallery you can see from a Rensaissance crucifix in the Sainsbury wing through all the intervening rooms to the magnificent Stubbs horse at the other end. That gives a horizontal perspective. The same device is used to highlight the Bronzino Venus and Cupid: seen from a distance, Venus's glowing white skin pulls you towards her. Other parts of the collection have been re-hung. The Titians - the Gallery. has a wonderful collection - come into their own in a dark green space, and what a good backdrop colour it is. The three paintings made for the King of Spain's bedroom are next to each other - now that's a marvellous wall. On opposite sides of the room you can see his earliest Madonna and his last...a whole artistic life, in one space. The only mild disappointment in this succession of wonders is the final room, where there are remarkable Monets (you didn't think of the National Gallery as a Monet place, did you?) including a painting of beautiful irises but they're let down by drab white walls. After the clever settings elsewhere, it's anticlimactic. But no matter. The National Gallery for its 200th birthday has done itself and the nation proud. There are splendid new acquisitions and what the gallery has, it has presented afresh, to remind us what a remarkable collection this is. London is blessed to have it. Go and remind yourself how lucky we are.
Yahoo
20-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
TARRAGON ANNOUNCES STRONGER THAN ANTICIPATED SALES AND INNOVATIVE APPROACH FOR THE UPLANDS MASTER-PLANNED COMMUNITY IN SOUTH HILL
Three builders launched home sales, selling 13 homes in one month, and construction has started on more than half the homes in Phase 1. SEATTLE, Feb. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tarragon, a Seattle-based real estate development company, announces a faster than anticipated sales start in Uplands, its first-ever master-planned community of more than 1,000 homes on 320 acres. Three of the four homebuilders—Century Communities, Lennar, and Richmond American Homes, building in the first phase have sold 13 homes in the first month. A fourth builder, Conner Homes will open for sales in early March. Homes at Uplands are currently priced from the mid $600,000s to $900,000s. While national news and stubbornly high interest rates may be producing some headwinds for the new home market, Tarragon's vision for Uplands as a socially connected community with a diversity of home types designed to meet the needs of today's buyers is paying off in its early-stage fast sales pace. "Our master marketing program kicked off late last year and created early momentum that our builder partners have clearly benefitted from, and they show no signs of slowing down," said Dennis Rattie, President of Tarragon. "As of this week, the builders have over 80 homes under construction, more than half the homes offered in our initial phase release," he continued. While Tarragon is under construction on the community clubhouse that will soon function as a central hub and meeting space, they have taken the innovative approach of opening a storefront location called Explore Uplands, in Sunrise Village. "We know people are tired of the typical sales environment, and do much of their home search online, so we designed a retail hospitality space where our team and our builders can meet buyers where they are, share home and community updates over a cup of Anthem coffee. Knowing parents need a place for kids to unwind, our team created a kids' coloring wall with a word search and other games that all relate to life in Uplands," explained Rattie. "It's the first of its kind in the area and people love it," he continued. Situated directly off 184th Street located in Puyallup, in the South Hill area, Uplands is centrally located in Pierce County. With its lifestyle amenities and unique housing product offering, the community is attracting a range of new home buyers, from first-time buyers to families to move-down Baby Boomers. The initial phase of single-family homes at Uplands is situated on 110 acres of sloped terrain in South Hill, with an additional 173 acres under development. When completed, Uplands will be a robust community of more than 1,000 homes that seamlessly integrate into the natural environment. The initial phase will also include 86 rental townhomes, currently under construction, that will feature a dedicated clubhouse with catering kitchen, a BBQ area, a fire pit, a dog park, and playground. Residents of the townhomes will also have access to the extensive Uplands trail network. Additional rental townhomes and cottages will also be included in future phases. For more information, visit About Tarragon Tarragon was founded in 1995 and is recognized as one of the Northwest's most active real estate developers. Tarragon develops Class A industrial, retail, office, and multi-family projects throughout the Northwest. Tarragon's projects are known for their quality construction and community focus. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Tarragon Sign in to access your portfolio
