This weeks Art (part 1) and idea #127 is Syndicalism

The Courtauld Institute

On Monday I visited (for the first time) the Courtauld Institute, it's part of Somerset House (where if what I overheard is true the British Empire was run by 4,000 people).
On Monday the deal is that you get entrance for just £3.00 so it was busy but a definite bargain.

Great Painting by Reynolds

Some great paintings on show and there's a Picasso exhibition showcasing work (a lot of it) that he was showing in 1901 at the age of around twenty! He really was a precocious and gifted artist regardless of what you think of  the work showing his dalliance with Cubism. Paintings that grabbed my eye by Pablo included At the Moulin Rouge (1901) which clearly shows the influence of
Toulouse Lautrec.
Other great works to see included the famous Nude reclining that is  Nevermore by Gaugin, (with it's Edgar Alan Poe influence) Van Gogh with his bandaged ear and Edouard Manet's The Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil (1874).

not really a natural pose.

Also paintings that were mini- revelations included Renoir's Woman tying her shoe (1918) Pissarro's painting of Lordship Lane and Paul Cézanne "Man with Pipe"

Older work that I liked was by Reynolds Cupid and Psyche (1789) and Reuben's Moses and the Brazen Serpents (1610) - perhaps rather strangely a popular theme.
Also liked The Betrothal of the Matador  (1933) by Wyndham Lewis (bit odd though ) and Woman in an interior by Bonnard (1906)  which reminded me of Hopper's paintings.
Having said that the highlight for me was the small pointillist images done by George Seurat who died at only 31 these must have  (or perhaps not) been an influence on Lichtenstein.

The big idea - Syndicalism

Something I'd not known/understood is Syndicalism (thanks Mr Crofton), in fact is seems a good idea if a little retro.
Syndicalists who are anti- capitalist reckon that power should be wielded by Trade unionists rather
than a centralised sate as the state will always be the centre of privilege and power and not democratic the way Trade Unions are/could be.