In the Month of July

Paul Joseph Constantin Gabriël

Gabriël’s paintings were acts of patriotism, intended not only to celebrate the beauty of his homeland but to make other’s see it in the glory that he did. An influential member of the Hague School, a group of artists working in The Hague and painting realist scenes rich in atmosphere and mood, he was an outlier within the group. So fond of muted tones and a limited, sombre palette, the Hague School is still today sometimes referred to as the ‘Gray School’. Yet Gabriël saw colour everywhere, and the Dutch country side swelled before him, ‘colorful, juice, [and] fat’. ‘Our country is saturated with color’, he wrote in a letter, ‘I repeat, our country is not gray, not even in grayweather’. In direct opposition to his contemporaries, he saw in front of him a bounty of shades, vivid and moving in their density and variety and hoped that all those who looked closely would see this beauty too.

Friday 13th November

The Moon moves deeper into Sagittarius, the constellation pictured as the Archer, whose arrow points towards distant possibilities. Associated with warmth, purpose and the search for meaning, Sagittarius invites us to lift our gaze beyond immediate concerns and consider the direction we wish to take. The Moon also reaches apogee, its furthest point from Earth, offering an image of stepping back to gain perspective. Meanwhile, Mercury turns from retrograde to direct motion. In astrological tradition, this turning point suggests an opportunity to untie knots in our thinking and communication, gently returning to conversations or plans that have felt tangled. Today, we might choose one loose thread and give it our attention. A patient conversation, a clear intention or a small practical step may help us find a way forward.