Friday’s at 2.30 & 7.30 pm, Tues. 7.30 pm only.
February Tuesday 7th & Friday 10th: British Modern Art – The Who, The How & The Why. A background to Tate Britain’s forthcoming exhibition:Picasso & Modern British Art which opens in March. Friday 24th & Tuesday 28th: Ben Nicholson & Barbara Hepworth: The Courtauld is hosting Mondrian // Nicholson in Parallel, until May, so this talk will provide a background for those thinking about going. March Tues 6th & Thursday 8th: The Venetian Colourists: a background talk for the National's forthcoming exhibitions of Titian's work. The National is working in conjunction with The Royal Opera House and this summer promises a host of events linked with Titian's work inspired by Ovid's Metamorphoses. April Friday 13th & Tuesday 17th: 17th Century French Landscape painters & How they influenced British Artists of the 18th Century. The Sainsbury Wing will be hosting Turner Inspired in the Light of Claude. Claude Lorraine was in many collections and the young Turner first saw his work in the collection at Stourhead. The French Revolution meant those young men wanting to go on the Grand Tour were unable to travel to the Continent and so Turner travelled from grand house to grand house in England and studied the collections. Claude Lorraine and Poussin were the leading artists of their day, but there were many others which will look at and study. Friday 20th: Claude Lorraine: A look at the artist and the times in which he lived. May Tuesday 8th and Friday 11th: The Royal Visage: Are the royal portraits art or propaganda? We will look at the last 500 years of royal portraiture as well as how the monarchy has been portrayed since the advent of modern media. Tuesday 15th & Friday 28th: Cecil Beaton Royal photographer and creator of the public image of the young Elizabeth II. June Friday 8th & Tuesday 12th: Art in the Age of Mixed Media: Guest Speaker Tuesday 26th & Friday 29th: Andy Warhol & The Factory: Dulwich are featuring the work of this colourful and influential artist. We will look at Warhol's work and life and see how he has influenced those who have come after him. July Tuesday 3rd & Friday 6th: Art & The Mental State: So many artists are thought wacky, quirky, or just plain bonkers so, by looking at the work of artists such as Dadd, Blake, Van Gogh, Munch, Pollock, Rothko ( and Anon), is it possible for us to understand the state if mind of artists painting during the last 200 years or so? Friday 20th & Tuesday 24th: Edward Munch: Munch painted the disturbing painting The Scream. We shall examine his work and, for those planning Tate Modern's exhibition, Munch: The Modern Eye, I hope this talk will give you some background knowledge so you can fully enjoy your visit. August Friday 3rd & Tuesday 7th: Ovid as Inspiration: Looking at the work of Titian and others, perhaps we can learn something of Ovid and his writings. The National are staging some fantastic events in conjunction with the Royal Ballet and these will be screened for free in Trafalgar Square during the Olympics. September Tuesday 4th & Friday 7th: Were the Pre-Raphaelites so Avant Garde? Tate Britain will be opening its doors on The Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant Garde this month, but were this group of artists really that avant garde? We will look at their philosophy, what inspired them and what was happening in France, Italy & Spain in the 19th century so we will be better able to judge for ourselves. Tuesday 18th & Friday 21st: Keeping up with the Burne-Jones's. A look at the work of father and son and how they responded and were inspired by the art of the Pre-Raphaelites. October Tuesday 2nd & Friday 5th: The Male Gaze: A study of the nude since classical times. We will look at sculpture, painting & photography to see how and why the human form has inspired artists from ancient times to the present day. Tuesday 16th & Friday 19th: Rodin: We all know his bronzes such as The Kiss and The Thinker. Rodin was working in Paris at the end of the 19th century, so was he inspired by the various movements such as The Impressionists, Post-Impressionists and Art Nouveau? We will take a closer look at what was happening in the art world in this most decadent of cities and how Rodin responded to those influences. November Friday 2nd & Tuesday 6th: The Art of Propaganda. After the death of Lenin, Russian art became stultified by the proletariat. Hitler used art to promote his ideas of a pure Aryan race. This talk will look at how both Stalin & Hitler used art as a weapon of war. Tuesday 27th & Friday 30th: Stanley Spencer - War Artist. Spencer is a British artist who worked as a war artist during both World Wars. His style is immediately recognisable and by concentrating (but not exclusively so), on his war paintings we will see how he portrays a quintessentially British view of both wars. December Tuesday 4th & Friday 7th: The Ballet: A look at how artists such as Leon Bakst, Picasso, Zefferelli and others have designed sets and costumes for much loved favourites such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake and other ballets. |