Tate Britain, London

Open now until 19 November 2017

Tate Britain showcases the models, bronzes and drawings of Dynamation genius Ray Harryhausen, as well as the art that influenced him by John Martin, Gustave Dore and Joseph Gandy.

Somehow, somewhere, the late Ray Harryhausen is getting the last laugh. The sniffy ‘serious film’ critics who scoffed at his fantasy animation should be aware that his is now being displayed in one of London’s (if not the world’s) art museums, in the next gallery room to John William Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shallot. And why not? His meticulously designed and created ball-and-socket models are miniature works of art.

If you’re a Harryhausen fan visiting London this summer, you can first check out original drawings and models from The Valley of Gwangi and 10,000 Years BC at the Barbican’s Into the Unknown exhibition and then grab a Tube ticket to Pimlico (a passport even) and stop off at Tate Britain’s free, compact love letter to the stop-motion auteur.

It’s said that no man is an island, and in Ray Harryhausen’s case that includes a Mysterious Island. While he famously refused to reveal great detail about his working methods, it’s known that Ray worked alone in the meticulous frame-by-frame realisation of his creatures. But while the output was all his own work, it’s refreshing to see other artists being recognised and referenced as inspirations.

 

English Romantic painter John Martin’s melodramatic pieces include The Great Day of his Wrath and The Last Judgement, and Gustave Dore illustrated works by Byron, but it doesn’t take much of a stretch to see how Joseph Gandy’s 1819 painting Jupiter Pluvius inspired Ray’s design of the Kraken-ravaged Joppa in 1981’s Clash of the Titans.

From Clash of the Titans there’s the fully-articulated model of Medusa, complete with bow and quiver of arrows, and a model of Perseus’ winged horse Pegasus. It’s the level of minute detail that impresses, from the feathering of the wings to the colouring of the forelock. A bronze of Perseus with Medusa and a drawing of the Stygian witch lair complete the collection from this movie.

Clash of the Titans would prove to be Harryhausen’s final film, though I wasn’t aware that designs were made for a follow-up – Force of the Trojans – focusing on Aeneas’ adventures following the fall of Troy. For whatever reasons, MGM did not proceed with the project, but there’s a chance to see Ray’s drawings of mythological beasts Charybdis and Scylla, in addition to a bronze bust of Scylla.

Another unfulfilled project was People of the Mist, a proposed movie based on the novel by H Rider Haggard (She) about a lost race. It’s represented here by a sketch of giant birds perching in the town square. There’s also drawings of the Fountain of Destiny and the Temple of Kali from The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.

Fan favourite Jason and the Argonauts is represented by drawing The Hall of Zeus at Thessaly, and there’s also one of the iconic skeletons that took on our heroes, wielding his lion shield and cutlass. It’s a beautiful model and perfectly proportioned.

The exhibition runs until 19 November 2017. Check out the Tate’s website for more details and visitor information.

Verdict: It’s small, but it’s free, and the perfect Harryhausen bookend to the Barbican’s grander but paid-for Into the Unknown. Go for the Harryhausen, but expand your art history knowledge by checking out some of the other wonderful canvases in this great venue. And if you don’t get a giddy thrill from seeing one of the original sword-wielding skeletons, or aren’t petrified by the Medusa’s gaze, you might just be on the wrong website. 8/10