Hi! This is my review for my silver arts award of the Sherlock Holmes exhibition in London.
Museum of London: Sherlock Holmes exhibition
The first of my reviews is on the art form literature.
On Friday 10th April, I went down to the Museum of London to view specifically the Sherlock Holmes exhibition. I loved this exhibit very much as I'm obsessed with the books and the Benedict Cumberbatch TV series. It created the atmosphere of the original stories by the rooms it was in being old fashioned, with alcoves and with the stylish bookcases of that time. We were greeted into the Museum itself by 'The Adventure of the Dancing Men' story as well as several Holmes quotes and images. We had to find a way into the exhibition and my father and myself found it by entering the bookcase which was not only an interesting thing to do but it set the scene of the time and genre perfectly. There were two halves to this exhibit; the first showing the original literature and the original London setting. There were paintings and sketches of various landmarks, a majority smothered in smog. My favourite painting was Evening in the Pool by Frederick Winkfield in 1890 of the River Thames and the surrounding buildings. There were posters of TV and film adaptations of Holmes; French, German, comic book and modern versions. As well as all this there were busts of Conan Doyle, original manuscripts, pages from the Strand magazine in which Holmes was published and postcards which showed the impact that these books made to all classes and all people. It showed that the literate population was growing fast.
The books are associated with trains and the suburbs. The fast growing stories are like Holmes's brain and the railways are the conduits that enable him to travel at speed to and from London eg Paddington and Charing Cross and to places further out. Holmes is famous for being addicted to cocaine and occasionally morphine, but in one of the stories, The Man with the twisted lip, he was in an opium den. He also enjoyed smoking tobacco and cigars.
'You don't mind the smell of strong tobacco I hope?'
In the second half of the exhibition was very much focused on the film and TV versions of Sherlock Holmes. There were video clips of these: Benedict Cumberbatch (The Empty Hearse (reuniting with Watson), The Scandal In Belgravia (Heathrow airport scene) ), Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett, Robert Downey Jr. and Rupert Everett.
'He took his violin, from the corner, and as I stretched my myself out, dreaming a melodious air.'
The best thing was in this half that they said that he relies on information deduced from the minutest of details to solve the mysteries and crimes. That what's so unique and different about these stories, in fact there are 56 Sherlock Holmes stories and 4 short novels. Holmes is most recognised for having a deerstalker on his head, an iconic hat for an iconic figure. Towards the end of the exhibition, there was an audio clip from a Sherlock film of Sherlock and john, when Sherlock surprised John after he had faked his death. This exhibition was clever, quirky and throughly enjoyable and I would love to go again. I also loved seeing Mr. Cumberbatch's coat.
Afterwards I went to a Victorian walk through a street scene and the old London Town which culminated the exhibition very well and it enhanced my understanding of London's social history at the time of Sherlock Holmes; the man who never lived, and who will never die.
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