London Exhibitions

Going to London for me is always an opportunity to enjoy what is on in the capital and while this might be very far from every day life in India if you are heading that way in the next few months you may want to pop in to the Royal Academy of Arts which is currently showing "Treasures from Budapest". The Museum in Budapest houses one of the finest collections of art in Central Europe. Principal to this collecion are the old masters collected by the Esterhazy princes from the 17th to the 19th Century one of the foremost aristocratic families in Hungary. From Leonardo Da Vinci's charcoal studies to El Grecos "St James the Less" there is something for everyone in this exhibition spanning four centuries.

My favourite this time however was Venice "Canaletto and his Rivals " which is on from now until the 16th of January 2011 in the Sainsbury wing of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. When travellers went on their Grand Tour, Venice was a major destination and views of Venice became very popular. Canelleto was the one who epitomised this in spectacular scenes of the city and some of his rivals strove to copy his grandeur and style. This makes for a stunning and truly magnificent exhibition of Venetian landscapes with such detail and perspective that they leave you open mouthed.

But perhaps the piece de resistance of exhibitions is the one being staged by Anish Kapoor in Kensigton Gardens from now until March 2011.It is the largest ever exhibition dedicated to a living artist with huge installations in the gardens of stainless steel which create visually stunning reflections. There is a Kapoor of this nature in the Kiran Nader Museum in Noida for anyone who might not make London in the next few months.