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Forthcoming Day Courses:
Tudor Artists in Miniature.
The Tudor miniature was an object of desire. Much of the work of the miniaturists (or limners as they should more properly be called) is anonymous, but there are various works attributed to artists such as Lucas Horenbout and his sister Susannah, Hans Holbein, Hans Eworth and Levina Teerlinc. We will look at the use of the miniature portrait in treaties, legal documents, the illumination of the Crampe Ring Prayer book and other manuscripts. This will demonstrate how this Court art developed from a the reference of the patron within an illumination into individual images used as diplomatic tools and lover's gifts.
Artists of the Tudor Court.
Henry VII recognised that his portrait was more capable of demonstrating that he was a monarch of power and wealth. Even today, you mention Henry VIII to anyone and they will recall the powerful image painted by Hans Holbein. Henry recognised the power of the image over the written word.
We will examine the role of the Court artist, the individual artists and their works and how these artists created the Tudor 'brand' up until the death of Mary I.
Nicholas Hilliard, miniaturist to Elizabeth I:
Nicholas Hilliard was England's first home bred artist. This course will examine his life and work and consider his artistic relationship to Elizabeth I. The Elizabethan age was a time of exploration and Hilliard painted many famous people of his day. Unfortunately, there are very few of his miniatures where the identiy of his sitters are known, but where they are we are able to put faces to well known names such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh, in addition to Sir Christopher Hatton, Robert Dudley and Elizabeth herself.
The Northern Renaissance & the exchange of ideas between Southern & Northern Europe: 1350 - 1500.
We will delve into the work of Van Eyck, Van der Weyden and others and examine their influence on the artists of Renaissance Northern Italy. Was their work so different just because the medium of oil paint allowed artists to create a more realistic image? The difference between the Northern and Italian artists was so profound that Michelangelo was moved to say,
".... Italian painting was devout, but would not cause the worshipper to shed a tear, whereas the work of the Flemish painters could move them to shed many."
Comparing the work of artists from both areas and looking at the history of the time we will endeavour to come to some explanation for the differences between Northern & Southern European Renaissance art.
Art & Patronage in Renaissance Italy: 1350 - 1500.
Sculpture and architecture changed in the aftermath of The Black Death, but why did this event have such an effect on civilisation? By exploring the events of the period and looking at the who commissioned art and sculpture, we will build a picture of what life was like during the early Renaissance and why art became so important as a political and religious tool. We will examine how surviving documents of the ancient world were reinterpreted and became the movement known as 'humanism' influenced all aspects of life including sculpture, painting and architecture. The patrons of art were the rich and powerful and we will look at who they were, and what and why they commissioned artists to paint and sculpt for them.
Italian High Renaissance & Mannerism 1501 - 1600.
How and why did artistic influence shift to Rome? Looking at the patrons and the political events of the time, we will explore how art changed. The physical and spiritual exploration of the world and religion was documented in the art of such artists as Titian, Raphael, Veronese, Giogione, Sangallo, Bramante, El Greco and, of course, Michaelangelo. However, art was changing from a salutation of the glory of God into a consumer luxury item, so we will examine how and why this was so and why the subject matter was moving away from the religious into allegorical and historical subjects.
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