PROGRAMME Membership year 2019/20 The Summer ‘Virtual’ Lecture Programme Until further notice, meetings will be held online by Zoom at 10.50am for 11am start and the necessary connection details will be e-mailed to members 24-48 hours before each talk. When actual meetings recommence they will be held as usual in Barnwell Village Hall. Waiting list members and guests will be welcome to attend meetings for a £10 fee, provided they give prior notification to the Membership Secretary on 01572 747091 or drtonyb@icloud.com. Friday 7th August - Nicola Moorby Looking over the Artist’s shoulder: The Italian Sketchbooks of J.M.W. Turner. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries Italy was the country of every artist’s dreams. This lecture recreates a visual tour of Italy in the company of J.M.W. Turner. By studying rarely seen drawings from his travel sketchbooks we will take a privileged look into the world of the artist, following in his footsteps through Venice, Rome, Tivoli and Naples. Through his most intimate and private sketches we will recapture the excitement and dangers of nineteenth-century tourism, and the British love of Italian culture and history. In addition to on-the- spot sketches documenting where he went and what he saw, we will examine Turner’s artistic response to his Italian experiences, tracing the evolution of his ideas from preparatory studies to finished watercolours and oil. JMW Turner, Friburgo, 1841 Sailko Friday 21st August - Dr Max Jones The Glorious Dead: Grief and Politics in memorials to the Great War. Six million Britons served in the armed forces during the Great War. One in eight perished. The legions of the bereaved launched a wave of commemorative projects, erecting thousands of memorials which still mark the landscape of countryside and city today. We will explore how artists developed new strategies to represent loss on an unprecedented scale, how bitter disputes scarred many projects, and how memorials helped families grieve for those they had lost. This is a modern (2014) memorial to the soldiers who were based in Morn Hill, a large army camp on the eastern side of Winchester during WW1. The inscription reads "A PROMISE HONOURED" Dianthus33 Please read the latest Chairman’s Bulletin for the latest news. Friday 18th September 2020 Paradise Lost and Restored: 400 years of Garden Design in Oxfordshire Timothy Walker A fascinating look at the history of English garden design through the lens of one particular example – the Oxford Botanic Garden, founded in the early 17th century. Successive head gardeners over the centuries have followed garden fashion and botanic developments while remaining close to the fundamental motive of garden design – the desire to create Paradise on Earth. Photo:Joss O'Kelly Friday 16th October 2020 English Women and the French Revolution Karin Fernald Early on during the French revolution, several dauntless English women visited Paris and reported on their experiences in their diaries and letters. We hear about their adventures and encounters in a very entertaining lecture, illustrated by contemporary French paintings. Friday 20th November 2020 Raphael of Urbino: Artist and Architect Shirley Smith 2020 marks the 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael at the age of 37. In this lecture, we will study his art and architecture, from his early work in Urbino and Florence to its full maturity in Rome. Friday 18th December 2020 The Journey of the Magi: Origins, Myth and Reality – The True Story of the Three Kings Leslie Primo A welcome return by this ever-popular lecturer who will seek to unravel the myth and iconography behind the story of the adoration of the Magi, from its Eastern and pagan roots to its Christian interpretation. Illustrated with works by Bosch, Botticelli, Bruegel the Elder, Masaccio and Rubens, the talk considers what we want this story to mean and why we continue to value it in our largely secular Western society. Friday 15th January 2021 Great Tarts in Art: High Culture and the Oldest Profession Linda Smith A mixture of art-historical analysis and scandalous anecdote, this lecture takes a generally light-hearted look at changing attitudes to sexual morality down the ages, examining the portraits and careers of some of history’s most notorious mistresses and courtesans. It charts the complex attitudes towards these figures, and the changing ways they have been represented. Friday 19th February 2021 Frida Kahlo: A Life in Art Fiona Rose Mexican artist Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) was queen of the selfies long before Kim Kardashian. Recognised as one of the greatest female artists of the 20th century, she is known for her originality, bold use of colour, passion and courage, and as someone who created life and beauty in the face of great personal suffering and adversity. We look at her tumultuous life and extraordinary unflinching works. Friday 19th March 2021 Art and Religion in Post-War Britain Monica Bohm-Duchen In the immediate post-war period the Church in Britain was keen to enlist contemporary artists to work in sacred spaces. Walter Hussey, Vicar of St Matthew’s Northampton, commissioned work by Henry Moore and Graham Sutherland; other major post-war projects included works for Coventry and Llandudno Cathedrals. We also look at more recent Cathedral commissions by artists including Bill Viola and Tracy Emin as well as other work with religious overtones produced for secular venues. Friday 16th April 2021 The Prince and the Prophet: Tradition and Modernity in Architecture Colin Davies Criticism of modern architecture has come from public individuals including the Prince of Wales as well as philosopher Roger Scruton. This lecture will help us form our own reasoned opinions. We look at basic architectural concepts such as Classicism, Functionalism and Urbanism and discover that modernity and tradition are not just simple opposites: modernity has always depended on tradition; tradition has often contained a progressive spirit. Friday 21st May 2021 A Taste of Dutch Brian Healey Discover the coded messages that hide behind the wondrous banquet paintings of 16th century Holland. What looks like the leftovers from a wellto-do Dutch breakfast is on closer examination a statement about the perils of luxury and the precariousness and transience of life. None of which stops us from marvelling at the incredible level of detail and exquisite mastery of technique and structure that inspired Matisse and Dalí to produce their own 20th century versions. Friday 18th June 2021 Red, White and Blue – a Story of Three Colours in Art Alexandra Epps A wide-ranging look at the symbolism, significance and spirituality of colour throughout the history of art. Experience the power of the red of the Tudors, the utopian white of Abstraction, and the secret formula of New Realism artist Yves Klein. Please keep checking back as we will be putting a list of future lectures and visits on the web site as soon as we can organise them.