British Museum Print rooms

I have left the confines of Versailles this week for a list of meetings and evenings spent with old friends in London. It is never a chore to comeback to London as it is always changing and evolving, new trends, new shops, new buildings, it seems in a constant state of flux.

An old friend and constant in London that can supply a bit of refuge is The British Museum. The first time I visited London I trawled around the Egyptian galleries, pressing my face to the glass cabinets trying to see embalmed mummies, cats and crocodiles but it was only when I took a life drawing class at at CSM that I actually took my time to explore. One of the most beautiful discoveries that I found was The Print Rooms, I can still remember walking in and being confronted with Albrecht Durer etching of a rhinoceros, formed from a simple description in a journal. I had saw it in books but this was the first time I had 'seen it in the flesh' so to speak.

I went back today and he was there to greet me again along with Durer's original sketch. Another treat wa the exhibition that is on there at the moment called From Picasso to Julie Mehretu, this was an exhibition of prints and sketches collected over the past 35 years, it also showcases many of the great artists of the 20th century, starting with Picasso’s study for his masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, the painting that shook the art world in 1907. A few of the highlights were by Heinrich Campendonk, Charles Seliger, Dorothy Delue and Julie Mehretu, I have managed to find a few examples of their work to give youa feel of the exhibiton but if you have a chance pop along, it's free and it's beautiful.