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'The Christmas Story in Art'
Tuesday 1, 8, 15 and 22 December 4.00-5.00pm (or in your own time) When Christmas cards begin to drop through our letter box, how many of us will stop to think where the imagery of the Annunciation, the Nativity, the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Magi originated and how it has developed, evolved and been expressed by artists over the centuries? The earliest depictions of the Christmas story are found on 4th century Roman sarcophagi and since then artists have created images that tell the Christmas story in a myriad of different ways. In this series of online talks, we will be taking a journey, along with the shepherds and magi, in search of the origins and meaning of these familiar scenes. Why do the ox and the ass appear in nativity scenes? Why is Mary so often seen worshipping rather than holding her baby? Whose portraits do we find in the faces of the Magi? These and many other questions will be explored as we follow the star, through some of the most beautiful and striking images in western art, to the manger. The course will be run on Zoom and take place over the 4 weeks of Advent. All the talks will be fully illustrated and lists of works provided. The talks will also be recorded allowing you to do the course in your own time or give it to a friend or relative as the perfect Christmas present. Cost - £40 to attend the talk live and/or receive the recordings 'The Art of the Self Portrait'
Tuesday 20, 27 October, 3, 10, 17, 24 November 4.00-5.00pm (or in your own time) We live in the age of the “selfie” where smart phones and social media allow us to instantly create and share images of ourselves but the fascination with the ‘self’ is nothing new. This course will chart the history and development of the self portrait in Western art from medieval manuscripts to contemporary art. We will explore how the artists of the past saw themselves and look at the work of some of the greatest self portraitists including Albrecht Dürer, Rembrandt, Artemisia Gentileschi, Gustave Courbet and Vincent Van Gogh. The course will be run on Zoom and take place over 6 weeks. All the talks will be fully illustrated and a list of works provided. The talks will also be recorded and a link to the recordings made available to all participants. There will be opportunities to ask questions at the end of the live talks. Cost - £60 to attend the talk live and/or receive the recordings PAST COURSES and TALKS
available as recordings The New Hall Art Collection - Guest Lecture (October 2020) with Harriet Loffler, Curator of the New Hall Art Collection The New Hall Art Collection is one of the world's largest and most significant collections of works of art by women. In this online talk the curator discusses the history of the college, the start of the art collection and some of the works. Cost - £10 The Women Impressionists" - 4 week course (September 2020) The Impressionists were an innovative and radical group of artists whose work took Paris by storm in the 1870s. They reinvented the subject matter of art and how the world was depicted, using new colours and techniques to create paintings of modern life. The group included, from the beginning, women artists. Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassatt, Marie Bracquemond and Eve Gonzalès all exhibited at the Impressionist exhibitions but how much do we know about them? What and how did they paint? What obstacles and prejudices did they face as women artists? This course explores these questions and many more. Cost - £40 "The Art of Cornwall" - 4 week course (July 2020) Throughout the history of art particular places at particular times have inspired intense periods of creativity. From the late 19th century, Cornwall became a focus for artists, beginning with the artists' colony at Newlyn and then the Lamorna Group. In the 20th century, St Ives was home to British modernists such as Bernard Leach, Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson who in turn inspired and were challenged by a younger generation that included Peter Lanyon, Roger Hilton, Patrick Heron and Wilhelmina Barns-Graham. The course will look at the work of these artists and others who lived and worked in Cornwall from the 1880s to the 1970s and explore their artistic influences, relationships and legacy. Cost - £40 Teatime Talks on Tuesdays
A series of six short talks taking a thematic approach to works in Cambridge collections. Each talk is fully illustrated and takes a thematic and engaging approach. There is a charge of £5.00 to receive a recording of one of the following talks, each of which is approximately 30 minutes in length. Cost - £5 per talk "A Gust of Wind" (26.05.20)
This online talk explores the theme of 'wind' by looking at a number of paintings and objects from the Fitzwilliam Museum and Kettles Yard including works by Jacob van Ruisdael, Pierre Auguste Renoir and Alfred Wallis. "Portrait of a Lady" (02.06.20) Starting with some of the smallest portraits in the museum, this talk will look at some of the different images of women in Cambridge collections including works by Van Dyck, Hogarth and Duncan Grant. "Beasts and Birds" (09.06.20) This talk looks at a menagerie of creatures from the strange beasts found in the marginalia of medieval manuscripts to Henri Gaudier Brzeska's depictions of cats, dogs and birds as well as works by Rolandt Savery and Rubens. "Apples and Pears" (16.06.20) When did artists first start painting still lives? Why do apples appear in classical and Christian art? Who said "I will astonish Paris with an apple"? Find out as we discuss works of art from Kettles Yard and the Fitzwilliam Museum. "Mirror, Mirror" - (23.06.20) This talk will discuss artist's self portraits in Cambridge collections including works by Rembrandt, Christopher Wood and Stanley Spencer. How do artist's see themselves? What, if anything, do they reveal in their self portraits? How much should we read into these images as we look at them with 21st century eyes? "At Home" - (30.06.20) Many of us have been spending a lot of time at home over the past few months. This talk will discuss works of art that take us through the keyhole into private spaces including works by Jan Steen, Camille Pissarro and Edouard Vuillard. |
The Adoration of the Magi, Historiated initial from an Antiphoner, c 1567, parchment, Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-c.1656) Self portrait as an allegory of painting, 1638, Oil on canvas, 98 x 75 cm, Royal Collection
Berthe Morisot (1841-1895) Self Portrait, 1885, oil on canvas, Musée Marmottan, Paris (The Women Impressionists)
Laura Knight (1877-1970) A Dark Pool, 1908-10, oil on canvas, 46 x 45 cm, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle (The Art of Cornwall)
Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) Marguerite Chapin in her Apartment with her Dog, 1910, oil on canvas, 59 x 74 cm, Fitzwilliam Museum
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