Putting colour into the capital

8:01am Thursday 15th December 2005

Andre Derain
The London Paintings.

First things first. This is a must-see exhibition. It's absolutely lovely and in danger of being overlooked.

The artist Andre Derain (1880-1954) magnificent paintings of London are the focus of a brief but glorious exhibition and considering how grim and grey the capital looks at the moment, it makes for a sparkling, kaleidoscopic treat.

Derain's approach was controversial; after all, a naturalistic approach was not on the cards here. However, the radical emphasis on dreamy, vivid and spectacular imagery was so good that any criticisms had to be re-evaluated in the end.

Instead of the everyday look of London at the time, Derain showers (and I really mean showers; it's almost like the colours are as free and alive as running water) the scenes of the River Thames and surrounding areas with stunning colour, with peach-pink skies, striking clouds, swirling waters and atmospheric, surreal composition. It's almost child-like and that is a compliment; this is London the way it might appear in a dream.

Some paintings look better the further you step away from them. Up close, some of the more mosaic-like images don't gel as well as they might. From a distance, the effect is spellbinding. Others of the paintings here look fantastic no matter where you see them from.

Effects of Sunlight on Water is probably the greatest example here of Derain's ability to transform a real location into a wild, wonderful and truly beautiful thing of strangeness.

Colours weep and blend into each other until they become something totally abstract.

This may be a painting of sunlight on water, but it looks just as similar to a road running through a stretch of field.

How he's managed to do this is remarkable. Some paintings seem to curve around at the edges, as if they're forming part of a sphere, which makes for a delightfully disorienting effect.

Derain's works here are so gorgeous that I'm willing to rate this as a very late contender for one of 2005's best exhibitions.

For those who love their paintings purely beautiful yet excitingly original, I cannot recommend this enough.

• The London Paintings runs at the Cortauld Institute of Art Gallery until January 22.

Nearest Tube stations are Covent Garden, Holborn and Temple. Admission is £5 (£4 concessions) with free admission for under 18s, students and unwaged.

Free admission applies for everyone on Mondays from 10am to 2pm. Opening hours: 10am to 6pm, with last admission 45 minutes before closing time. For further information call 020 7848 2526.