Past Lectures

Tuesday 18th May 2021 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Julia Musgrave

Caravaggio’s paintings inspired many artists during his lifetime and would go on to influence many more, from Orazio Gentileschi to Peter Paul Rubens, Gerard van Honthorst and Rembrandt.

Each absorbed a different aspect of his work. His style spread across Europe and gave rise to the international movement known as ‘Caravaggism’. Yet for many, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is famed as much for his art as for his criminal record. Was it the violence of his times or his own violent spirit that inspired the dramatic lighting and intense naturalism of his work? This lecture follows the dramatic incidents of the artist’s life and looks at why and how his influence spread so far.

Tuesday 20th April 2021 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Scott Anderso

The making of Hard paste porcelain going back over 2,000 years, represents one of the most important ,technical ,artistic and economic achievements in the history of mankind. Meissen became the first place in Europe where the secret of making hard paste porcelain was discovered and made commercially. This talk looks at the varied and beautiful products of this factory in the 18th and 19th centuries. 

Tuesday 16th March 2021 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Timothy Walker

What role does colour play in the design of gardens and in what ways are the principles of garden design different from those of fine art? Are there any parallels between the motivation for creating gardens and creating works of art? 

Tuesday 16th February 2021 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Nicholas Merchant

Eileen Gray, born in Ireland in the 19th century enrolled at the Slade School of Art and became one of Paris' most sought after and innovative designers of the 20th century. In the late 20th century she built an extraordinary house at Roquebrunne which became the envy of Le Corbusier. 

Tuesday 19th January at 10.30am

Lecturer: Carole Petipher 

French 19th Century design owes much to one man Nicholas Fouquet who made an error of judgement which led to his downfall, by employing the talented Vaux-le Vicomte to design a spectacular chateau for himself which completely out shone the Sun King. 

Tuesday 17th November 2020 at 10.45am*

Lecturer: Gavin Plumley

Budapest was formed in 1873 by the unification of Buda and Pest, situated on either side of the River Danube. The new capital was the focus of resurgent Hungarian nationalism, which found expression through lavish new buildings, the continent’s first underground railway system and myriad paintings featuring specifically Hungarian subjects and locales. Meanwhile, in the countryside, composers Bartók and Kodály began to collect the music of their compatriots. Placing these endeavours in a historical context, this talk explores how the Hungarians came to understand national identity through cultural means.

*This lecture will be preceded by the AGM, also by Zoom, at 10.30am.

Tuesday 20th October 2020 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Malcolm Jones

The return of Charles II led to the re-opening of theatres after the 18 year closure of public playhouses under the Commonwealth Government. The new theatres saw the first actress on the stage replacing the cross-dressing males.  Great actors and lively audiences in  Restoration Theatre brought the morals of the court onto the stage in its comedies of city life and an era of great playwriting was unleashed.

Tuesday 15th June 2021 at 10.30am

Lecturer: Tim Stimson

Mr Punch's reign as premier puncturer of pomposity spanned five monarchs; his blend of cartoons, jokes and satire holding up a mirror to society, with a wry grin, pointing out questionable politicians, unimaginative beaurocrats, rude shop assistants, striking workers, rich foreigners, rising prices and ... the British railways - recognising that to laugh rather than cry is a good tonic.

Punch Magazine described itself as:

"a guffawgraph"

"a refuge for destitute wit"

"an asylum for the thousands of drawings, orphan jokes and perishing puns which otherwise wander about without so much as a shelf to rest on"