Programme Jan – Jun 2011 – Winchester Art History Group

ILLUSTRATED SEMINARS

Thursday 20 & 27 January, 2.30 – 4.30pm, Winchester Discovery Centre

From Uccello to Nash: Images of War: Dr Antonia Whitley

In the first of these two seminars, we will look at the age of the artist Paolo Uccello to consider how soldiers of fortune became subjects and patrons of art. The focus will be on three notable mercenary figures: Federigo da Montefeltro Duke of Urbino, Niccolò da Tolentino and John Hawkwood to illustrate how such men were depicted as heroes, victors and icons of military fashion. In the second seminar, we will explore how bloody conflict nurtured a number of creative artists of Paul Nash’s age and how the Great War called for a new kind of art while maintaining a tradition stretching back to Uccello’s age.

Thursday 3 February, 2.30 – 4.30pm, Winchester Discovery Centre

How to enjoy a painting: Bernard Courtis

Art lovers can see for themselves and make up their own minds whether or not they find the work aesthetically pleasing. Yet a painting is more than just a pleasing object. It reflects the artistic fashion of the time and can reveal a mine of information about the period in which it was produced. Depending on genre, it can reveal, inter alia, social mores, history, dress fashion, industrial, agricultural, and trade developments. Looking carefully can increase the viewer’s enjoyment and interest. This lecture suggests how you can achieve this.

Thursday 17 February, 10.30 – 12.30pm, St Lawrence Parish Hall

The Production of Stained Glass: Gill Graham Maw

Gill Graham Maw has made a study on how stained glass is produced. This lecture should prove a fascinating follow up to Mary Callé’s talk on the stained glass of Winchester Cathedral.

Tuesday 22 and 29 March, 2.30 – 4.30pm, Winchester Discovery Centre

Chinese Painted Silk: Bernard Courtis

Silk is synonymous with luxury, beauty, refinement, and sensuality. No fibre – natural or manmade – rivals its versatility. Silk is light, strong, smooth and soft but above all supremely adaptable. Sericulture was established in China over 2,500 years before the birth of Christ, One of its early uses by the Chinese was as a support for calligraphy and then as a painting support. These two seminars will examine the use of woven silk as a painting support by Christian era Chinese painters who produced outstanding paintings which reflected their customs and, in a totally different style, met the expectations of the 18th century Western market.

Thursday 5 & 12 May, 2.30 – 4.30pm, Winchester Discovery Centre

The Aesthetic Movement: Beth Taylor

These two lectures will cover the fine and decorative art and architecture of the Aesthetic Movement in Britain 1860-1900. The rallying cry of this cult of pure beauty in art and design was “art for art’s sake”, visual and sensual. In painting it was exemplified by Whistler, Leighton, Rossetti and Burne-Jones. In architecture and design the ‘House Beautiful’ is exemplified by buildings such as Leighton House and Thomas Jekyll’s Peacock Room and by the Japanese influenced furniture of designers like E.W Godwin, sold at Liberty’s of London.

GROUP VISITS

Tuesday 15 February 11.30am Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City: V & A Exhibition

This display of the official, festive and travelling robes and accessories worn by the emperors and empresses of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) has been arranged as part of an exchange with the Palace Museum in Beijing. They are being shown in Europe for the first time.
Thursday 7 April, 2 – 4pm Presentation of Chinese Painted silks: British Museum The British Museum has probably the most extensive collection of Chinese painted silks in the UK. Clarissa Von Spee, the Senior Curator in the Asian Depart has agreed to present examples of painted Chinese silks from this extensive collection to members. This is a rare opportunity.

Thursday 19th May, 11.30am The Cult of Beauty: The Aesthetic Movement in Britain 1860-1900 V & A Exhibition

The exhibition features major paintings by Whistler, Rossetti, Leighton and BurneJones as well as furniture, ceramics, metalwork, wallpapers, photographs and costumes together with architectural and interior designs.

Tuesday 14th June, 10.30am Sandham Memorial Chapel, Burghclere

This chapel is the location for a series of large scale paintings by the artist Stanley Spencer. Inspired by his experiences as a First World War medical orderly and soldier, these paintings are considered to be among his finest achievements. Our visit will include a lecture on the paintings by Dr. Antonia Whitley.