The Arts Society Rutland
Previous Lectures
We will be archiving the lectures as we go through the year, so you can look back on lectures,
perhaps look at some of the links associated with them.
2024 Membership Year
17 October
Rosamund Bartlett
The Culture of Ukraine
This lecture tells Ukraine's story through the shared culture which binds its proud people
together. We will explore the sacred art and architecture of Kyiv and its links to Byzantium, as
well as the distinctive characters and ethnicities of Odesa and Lviv.
Tracing Ukraine's complicated multi-ethnic history also means looking at its rich folk culture
traditions. These range from native song and the secret codes embedded in ancient
embroidery, which have exerted a surprising impact on modern painting and contemporary
haute couture, to Cossack dancing and borshch.
19 September at our new venue
Sian Walters
Behind the Scenes at the National Gallery
In 2024 the National Gallery celebrates its 200th birthday. In the run up to this special
anniversary, join me as I explore some of the nation’s best-loved paintings in a new light,
revealing details which cannot be seen with the naked eye and discussing what goes on
behind the scenes in the conservation, framing and scientific departments. The lecture will
result in a greater understanding of not only the art itself, but also of the work the National
Gallery does to care for it, present it and interpret it.
Few of the gallery’s works retain their original frames but an expert team will often source
and adapt examples which complement the paintings historically, or indeed hand-carve new
ones from scratch. We will also look at the technical challenges involved in hanging,
displaying, moving and framing the collection and the various solutions devised by the Art
Handling Team. Many of the paintings in the gallery were designed for a very specific
function, an altarpiece such as Piero’s Baptism of Christ for example, so how do the curators
allow us to interpret and view these within a museum context? Finally, we’ll talk about
restoration and conservation, exploring extraordinary details from works such as the Wilton
Diptych, which have only been discovered recently thanks to scientific analysis.
A day out to Stratford on Avon, including Backstage tour of the Royal Shakespeare Theatre -
Thursday 26th September 2024
Visit to RSC Stratford and seeing performance of Northern Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet
We are planning to visit the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford on Thursday 26th
September 2024 for a backstage tour (further details to follow as September’s tours have not
yet been released) and a matinee performance of the Northern Ballet’s Romeo and Juliet.
This is the first time in decades that ballet has been performed on the main stage at the RSC.
The production is described as having “glorious dancers, eye catching sets and with Prokofiev’s
timeless music this is ballet at its most dramatic, romantic and intense”. The production has
received 5 star reviews, being described as "A wonderful, exhilarating and ultimately
extremely affecting retelling of the oft-told story. A must-see." by the Yorkshire Post.
20 June
Christopher Garibaldi
George Stubbs
(1724 - 1806) 'The English Leonardo'
Many art historians and critics have compared the work of
Stubbs to that of Leonardo da Vinci, one even christening
him the ‘Leonardo of Liverpool’ to reflect his humble origins
as the son of a Liverpool leather worker. The comparison can
seem hubristic until one considers the intense scientific
method and investigation that lay behind the production by
Stubbs of his world-famous Anatomy of the Horse published
in 1766 – a work which revolutionised the understanding
and depiction of equine subjects.
This lecture looks at the life and work of this country’s
greatest animal painter, putting Stubbs in the context of
British sporting artists of the eighteenth century more
generally. It focusses on his depiction of equestrian subjects
such as the National Gallery’s Whistlejacket but also looks at
the broader themes he addressed.
16 May 2024
David Winpenny
Coronation : Majesty, Myth and Music. The Development of a National Ritual
From King Edgar in 973 to Queen Elizabeth II in 1953, the coronation ceremonies of
successive monarchs have been both bastions of tradition and prime examples of adaptation
to new needs and circumstances.
This talk looks at the development of the ceremonies, their purpose, and the myths that
surround the public recognition and crowning of a monarch. The associated regalia – crowns,
sceptres and orbs, and also the more obscure items such as armills and buskins – developed
as part of the coronation ceremonies over the years, and their use (and misuse) is
considered.
One of the most important aspects of a coronation has always been music, from plainchant,
through the compositions of composers like Byrd, Purcell, Handel, Stanford and Parry to the
works written for the current Queen’s crowning. The talk will examine what makes a good
ceremonial piece, the texts that were set and will include audio examples.
There will also be answers to some interesting questions, including: What did Elgar say about
the speed of the National Anthem? How did the youngest chorister obey a call of nature in
1953 – and where did peers keep their sandwiches during the ceremony? How did the
Archbishop injure Queen Victoria? And who occupied the 'Loose Box' in the Abbey in 1902?
9th May 2024
Visit to Gainsborough’s House and Kentwell Hall Sudbury Suffolk
We are planning a fascinating trip to Suffolk, with a guided tour of Gainsborough’s House in
Sudbury together with a chance to see the Philip De Laszlo exhibition that will be on during
our visit. In the afternoon, we will go to Kentwell Hall in Long Melford, an early Tudor moated
house which is also a private home. We will make our own way round the gardens and then
have a private tour of the house with the owner Patrick Philips.
The cost of this trip will depend on numbers, but will be in the region of £76-£82 per person,
depending on the total number participating. Note: Historic Houses members have free entry
to both properties, saving £13/head at Gainsborough’s House, (but will need to pay £5 for the
De Laszlo exhibition) and £17.85 at Kentwell Hall. The cost is inclusive of travel in an
executive coach and a sandwich lunch at Gainsborough’s House.
In order for the visit to proceed, we need a minimum of 25 participants. TASR members will
be given priority and non-members are welcome if there is space. If you are interested in this
trip please contact our Visits Organiser, Della Stones – djstones@aol.com, for further details
and a booking form.
18 April
Sophie Matthews
Music in Art
So many of our historical references for musical instruments can be found in works of art. Not
only can these windows into the past show us what the instruments looked like but also the
social context in which they would have been played.
Music and different instruments also play a strong role within symbolism in art.
Sophie explores the instruments in selected works and then gives live demonstrations on
replicas of the instruments depicted.
21 March 2024
Twigs Way
The Life and Art of Marianne North Victorian Botanical Artist and Traveller
An unconventional life painting exotic and rare plants in their native lands. Living and
travelling with the ‘liberty of a wild bird’, but maintaining the dress and manners of a
Victorian lady. The pursuit of plants took her around the world whilst her paintings were
destined for Kew.
This talk explores Marianne North’s work, her social context and the eventual creation of her
gallery at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.
15 February 2024
Julia Marwood
Introducing the Glasgow Boys
Disillusioned with the stuffiness and sentimentality of academic painting, a group of radical
young painters burst onto the Glasgow art scene in the early 1880s and set in motion the
stirrings of modernism in Scottish painting. Working out of doors in Scotland and France, they
painted contemporary rural subjects strongly influenced by Dutch and French realism,
especially the Naturalist paintings of Jules Bastien-Lepage and the tonal painting of the
American artist James McNeill Whistler.
This lecture introduces the characters and their works, and shows how they set the scene for
what was still to come – especially the explosion of talent centred on the Glasgow School of
Art under Francis Newbery, and the Scottish Colourists.
18 January 2024
Chris Aslan
Unravelling the Silk Road
Wool, cotton and silk have each played a crucial role in the fortunes of Central Asia. Wool
created the clothing and housing needed by the great nomadic cultures that were to
dominate Middle Asia. Silk was more valuable than gold and used as currency, creating a
network of trading routes that led to the first outbreak of globalisation.
Cotton was the cause of Russian and then Soviet Colonisation and continues to cause
controversy today as well as human misery and environmental catastrophe.
The felts, carpets, embroideries, robes and veils of the Silk Road stratified wealth, displayed
religious and political entrenchments and changed the fortunes of this fascinating part of the
world; a meeting place between Mohammed and Marx.
From the gold of medieval altarpieces to photography, techniques and materials capture its
rich and subtle possibilities.
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