Alice tackles two giants of British figure painting: Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon. This lecture is a celebration of the chaotic and the carnal, evoking the spirit of 1960s Soho nightlife. Fleshy models, furious drinking habits, fractious tempers and fabulous fame combine in the story of these artists, whose life-long competition had lasting impact on each other and the art world. 

If you like paint, passion and personality, this talk is for you.

Alice White is a contemporary oil-painter, and a Tutor at the University of the Arts London and University College London. She has provided Guest Lectures at Kings College London, The Art Workers' Guild, the Courtauld Institute of Art. Her essay 'A Painter's Perspective' is published in Alfred Cohen: An American Artist in Europe (Alfred Cohen Art Foundation and Ben Uri Gallery 2020). Her article ‘How to Look at Painting’ was printed in The Art Society Magazine (July 2020).  

Alice’s solo show 'A New Wave' documented her year’s residency as Artist for Animals at ZSL London Zoo. Recent projects include 'The Art of Science' (Scott Polar Institute, University of Cambridge 2021). She regularly exhibits at the Mall Galleries in London.  

Awards include the Russell and Chapple Prize for an Outstanding work in Oils (Royal Society of Marine Artists 2017) and the Time Space Money Bursary (A-n The Artist Information Company/Arts Council England 2020). 

An assessment and analysis of how stonemasons worked with their patrons to create meaningful imagery upon buildings which can give us a unique insight into the mediaeval mind. By looking at both sacred and secular architecture we can begin to understand the fascinating, disturbing and sometimes comedic messages imparted to the viewer. Ideas connected to religious texts, morality, lordship, politics and personal identity are covered as we explore how one simple image may have many complex meanings…

James Wright FSA is a buildings archaeologist with over twenty years of professional experience. He has published a number of books and articles concentrating on mediaeval and early modern architecture. His latest book - Historic Building Mythbusting - investigates and debunks commonly believed and repeated stories about ancient buildings. 
James is interested in how we can use the evidence of physical structures to understand the realities of the everyday existence of ordinary people living in elite buildings. He was part of a team which won Best Project in the British Archaeological Awards for his work at Knole in Kent. 
He has spoken to a wide variety of organisations including Historic Royal Palaces, the National Trust, Gresham College, Shakespeare400 and the Museum of London.

Garden-making has long been considered what William Morris called one of the ‘lesser arts’. Many painters of the 19th and early 20th century took the opportunity to engage more closely with this idea, either working as professional garden designers or using their own gardens as experimental workshops. W.A. Nesfield, Prince Albert’s favourite garden designer, was admired by Ruskin as a watercolourist of the front rank. Gertrude Jekyll applied Chevreul’s influential colour theories to her famous experimental herbaceous borders. Alfred Parsons, Louis Comfort Tiffany and Wassily Kandinsky found the garden to be just the right studio for studying controlled nature on the spot.

Steven is an Independent landscape consultant specialising in historic gardens and architecture since 1985; freelance lecturer; specialist tour leader and lecturer in Britain, Ireland, France, Germany and Italy. ADFAS lecture tours of Australia in 2010, 2013 & 2016, and to New Zealand 2019. Writer, mainly for Country Life, and broadcaster on historic gardens and related topics. Steven's book Gardens of the Italian Lakes, with photography by Marianne Majerus, is published by Frances Lincoln.

Garden of Lindisfarne Castle - Gertrude Jekyll CC BY-SA 2.0

From the moment they bonded over bad accommodation at Oxford, William Morris and Ned Jones were firm friends. They came from very different backgrounds – Morris had never wanted for anything, but Jones’ family was poor – but their shared love of medieval literature and art bound them together. Over the more than 40 years of their friendship they weathered personal storms, tragedies and political disagreements to create beautiful art and craft, collaborating on book design, stained glass and many other decorative projects. This talk charts the peaks and troughs of Topsy and Ned’s long and fruitful friendship. 
 

Kirsty Hartsiotis was the curator of the decorative and fine art at The Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Cheltenham from 2008 to 2023. She is currently a curator at Swindon Museums. At Cheltenham she looked after the Designated Arts and Crafts Movement collection, which includes the important private press archive, the Emery Walker Library. She’s curated many exhibitions on the Arts and Crafts and Private Press Movements, including Ernest Gimson: Observation, Imagination & Making.  Kirsty is currently researching Arts and Crafts war memorials and the work of Arts and Crafts designers in churches in the South West. She’s also been an oral storyteller for over 20 years, and has published a number of collections of stories. She's the Editor of the Journal of William Morris Studies, and was the newsletter editor for Society of Decorative Art Collections.

William Morris and Edward Burne - Jones © National Portrait Gallery, London

A fully illustrated talk with in excess of 60 images exploring the relationship between the making of an image and the way in which it is perceived by the viewer. Further discussion around the eye and the brain being an extraordinary double act made up of visual references and intellectual interpretation.

Charlie Waite is firmly established as one of the world’s leading landscape photographers. Whilst working as a professional actor he became fascinated by theatrical lighting and design. His style is unique in that his photographs convey a spiritual quality of serenity and calm. He has established a worldwide reputation for his particular approach to his work. His photographs are held in private and corporate collections throughout the world. Over the last thirty-five years, Charlie has lectured throughout the UK, Europe and the US. He has held numerous solo exhibitions all over the world, including in London, Tokyo, Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, New York and California. Charlie has provided and continues to provide tuition to amateur, professional and aspiring photographers of all ages from the UK, Australia, Europe and the US which he hugely enjoys.

The Maya lived in Central America between 1000 B.C. and 1528 at which time they were conquered by the Spaniards. The peak of their civilization was between 300 and 900 AD. During that time, they built enormous monuments, produced jade and ceramic items of great beauty and developed a calendar that was far more advanced than anything in Europe at the time. They had an advanced understanding of mathematics and astronomy and developed a hieroglyphic script which scholars are beginning to decipher, allowing us to understand their achievements much more fully.

Duncan was educated at Oxford (BA, MA) and London (MA, Ph.D) universities. PhD thesis on “The Preclassic Ceramics of Northern Belize”. Subsequent articles, mainly on Mayan ceramics. The Protoclassic in the Maya Lowlands published in 2000 by British Archaeological Reports. Recent publication on Early Maya Ceramics in "Pre-Mamom Pottery Variation and the Preclassic Origins of the Lowland Maya" ( Ed. Debra Walker University Press of Colorado 2023).

Daniel Schwen CC BY-SA 4.0.   El Castillo, Chichen Itza

 I write only for fame…    Jane Austen

When Jane Austen declared that she wrote ‘only for fame’, she was, of course, being ironic: she published anonymously; there is no record on her gravestone that she was a writer; and her books fell out of print shortly after her death. But now, Jane Austen is one of our best loved authors, with legions of adoring fans throughout the world.  Her novels have inspired countless stage and screen adaptations, and even provided solace to soldiers in the trenches.  She is the face of the £10 banknote, and she adorns tea towels and fridge magnets everywhere.  Jane Austen is now very famous indeed.  But how did it all happen?  This lecture will chart Jane Austen’s rise to fame; it will explore the makings of a literary celebrity and examine Austen’s legacy, 250 years after her birth.   
 

Following a career in teaching, Annalie spent several years working on education programmes at museums and literary houses across the UK, including Jane Austen’s House in Hampshire; the Wordsworth Trust, Grasmere; Wordsworth House in Cockermouth; and the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford.   At Jane Austen’s House, Annalie won the Sandford Award for Excellence in Heritage Education and worked with the British Library, the Bodleian Library, and Chawton House Library in promoting Austen’s work to young people.   Annalie’s lectures focus on aspects of Romantic and Victorian literature.  She uses her knowledge and personal experience of literary houses and their collections to offer a unique perspective on writers and their works.

Four hundred years ago in July 1623 saw the death of the outstanding English composer William Byrd; prolific and successful, he was a favourite at the court of Queen Elizabeth. But Byrd led a complicated existence as a devout Catholic in troubled Tudor times, when to infringe strict religious rules ran the risk of imprisonment or even death. Forced underground, he created some of his most expressive music for fellow Catholics to use in secret worship. This talk celebrates the best of Byrd’s awe-inspiring work and reflects on what it means to create superb art in circumstances of great danger.  
 

Sandy is one of the UK’s most versatile music commentators, enjoying a career that combines broadcasting, performing and lecturing. After studying at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, Sandy Burnett spent a decade as one of the core team of presenters on BBC Radio 3. Combining engaging scholarship with hands-on expertise, he devises and leads cultural holidays all over the world, is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music, is a highly sought after double bassist on the London jazz scene, and was appointed the Academy of Ancient Music’s Hogwood Fellow for the 2018-19 season.

The lecture will trace the story of Banksy’s humble beginnings as a tagger on the streets of Bristol in the 1980’s to one of the most recognisable names in the art world.  We will examine the reasons behind his incredible rise, looking at some of his famous stunts and discuss what his influence has been on the art market today and look at what his legacy, if any, might be.

Martinez qualified as a London blue badge tourist guide in 2011, graduating at the top of his class. Since qualifying as a guide he specialised in the graffiti and street art of East London. Prior to becoming a London blue badge, he was a tour manager for 15 years, travelling extensively, all over the world. He also combines a lecture with a walk of street art and graffiti in the East End and can also organise a practical spray session, giving your group an opportunity to have a go at creating their own works. 

Photo by Matt Whitby in Brick Lane, East End. 2004.PD

In this lecture we look at Oscar’s great literary successes, beginning with The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890 followed by 4 smash hit plays in 3 years. We focus especially on The Importance of Being Earnest, one of the funniest, most performed and most frequently quoted plays in the English speaking world. Described as ‘A Trivial Comedy for Serious People’, it was of its time and yet ahead of its time, satirising the shallowness and superficiality of upper class Victorian society. We explore some of the hidden elements which the audience then (and perhaps now) were not aware of and discover that for the author, this glittering triumph heralded the beginning of his own fatal final act…2025 marks the 130th anniversary of the premiere of The Importance of Being Earnest.

Simon is a (recovering) actor, lecturer, presenter, Alexander Technique and voice teacher and award winning London Blue Badge guide. He has worked as a guide lecturer in house at Shakespeare’s Globe, the Royal Opera House, the BBC and the National Gallery guiding both public and private tours. He is on the faculty of Ithaca College and also lectures for the Blue Badge Guide training course on the performing arts and English literature. Simon’s specialisms and passions are theatre, literature, fashion and art history but whatever the subject, Simon will weave a wonderful story from it.

Image - Oscar Wilde PD

To understand jewellery, we need to read its secret language. In this talk, we will learn how to read the message sent by jewels, both open and hidden.

Medieval lapidary books interpreted gemstones - each stone had a meaning and power. Gemstones in eighteenth and nineteenth century acrostic jewels spelled out secret messages.

Romantic jewels used flowers, hands and hearts to send coded messages of affection and mourning jewels used a visual language of urns, broken pillars and veiled women to send a message of grief. 

Political jewels also send a silent message, whether through the colours of the Suffragettes or the hidden imagery of Stuart loyalists.

Whether drawing duchesses or portraying princes, John Singer Sargent (1856–1925) was high society’s leading portraitist. Flaunting a consummate technique, his luxurious canvases mirrored his subjects’ wealth.

Yet beneath the dazzling veneer of works such as Madame X, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit and Lady Agnew of Lochnaw lurks a much rawer world by far. Sargent certainly scandalised Parisian society and the city’s Salon with his frank depictions of human sexuality, yet he was even more modern than they might have feared. This talk charts the artist’s life and his prolific output, showing that, like the era he came to represent, Sargent was always on the cusp of seismic change.

Image Public Domain

Brown's new book, Bede and the Theory of Everything, explores how a little boy who entered a monastery in the North East of Anglo-Saxon England in 680 became one of the greatest thinkers of the post-Roman world, wrote the best guidebook to the Middle East whilst only travelling 60 miles or so from home, worked out gravitational pull of the moon and invented tide timetables, wrote some of the earliest English poetry, was the first to translate the Gospels into his native tongue, and gave us a unified dating system and the concept of being 'English'.

The late 7th-century churches at Monkwearmouth and Jarrow, where he dwelt, retain some of their remarkable masonry, sculptures and stained glass and housed the greatest library of its age and artworks brought back from the Mediterranean, which fuelled a cultural revival known as the Northumbrian renaissance - to which many subsequent renaissances were indebted.

Image - Venerable Bede in an illustrated manuscript, writing his Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Public Domain

Ukiyo-e, or ‘Pictures of the Floating World’, executed in woodcut, was the dominant, popular Japanese art form between the 17th and 19th centuries. This historical overview beginning with the introduction of the woodcut to Japan in 770 introduces the cultural and political background, key artists, imagery and innovations that led to the ukiyo-e period, and goes on to explore the cultural and creative cross-fertilization that such prints inspired when they first arrived in the West in the 1880s, causing an immediate sensation. The influence of ukiyo-e can be particularly seen in the work of the Impressionist artists, and later through the Crown Point Press.

Following a residency in Japan, where the lecturer learned the mokuhanga technique from Japanese sensei, her own artistic practice has been informed by a similar cross-cultural sensibility.

Image The Great Wave - Hokusai Met Museum Public Domain

This lecture examines the unique buildings and structures associated with the UK’s canal network, with a vast array of distinctive designs, landmark features and unusual artefacts: only the National Trust and the Church of England have more listed structures than our canals. 

Look out for lock flights and lighthouses; cottages and clock towers; warehouses and lots of whimsical architecture - our canals delight the eye and refresh the spirit. 

Available also as a tour and lectures are always tailored to include local and regional examples which reflect the unique distinctiveness of our inland waterways.

The first time the word cartoon was used in the sense that we know it today was in 1843 in Punch magazine. But the employment of satire, caricature, speech bubbles and the writing of captions had been around long before then. In this talk Ian tracks the early stages of cartoons and how, through the works of Hogarth and James Gillray, they gradually evolved.

Copious illustrations abound  from the masters of their craft such as John Tenniel, John Leech, David Low, Vicky, Ronald Searle, Heath Robinson and Giles; and, bringing it right up to date, with Gerald Scarfe, Steven Bell and Peter Brookes.

Punch cartoon Davy Jones Locker - John Tenniel  Public Domain

The principal aim of this lecture is to understand better the films of one of America’s greatest film makers by placing his work in the historical context of Jeffersonian democracy. Although Capra’s films were mostly set in his contemporary America the lecture looks at the reasons why that rural idyll, so foreign to the growth of a modern urban country, resonated so powerfully with audiences during the Great Depression. Capra won the Best Director Oscar for three times in four years for It Happened One Night (1934), Mr Deeds Goes to Town (1936) and You Can’t Take it With You (1938).

Probably his best film, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, was released in 1939, the same year as Gone with the Wind so the winning run came to an end. Finally I will be asking whether this spirit of small town America still exists in the post-Trump America of the twenty-first century. More worrying, is Trump’s America basically the latest version of Capra’s America?

This lecture, illustrated with photographs and music examples, explores how jazz emerged in the early decades of the twentieth century. It addresses frequently asked questions such as 'who invented jazz?' and 'where does the word 'jazz' come from?' The second part of the lecture focuses on the origins of jazz in Britain, showing how the music evolved in response to the particular musical and cultural circumstances here.

Image of Louis Armstrong ex Library of Congress P & P division digital ID cph.3c27236.  No known restriction 

Completed in 1432, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan and Hubert van Eyck is the first datable painting of the Northern Renaissance, and a milestone in the history of art. This lecture looks at the Van Eyck’s dazzlingly – and unprecedentedly – naturalistic depiction of people, plants and objects, enabled by their novel use of the oil medium, and unravels the meaning of the altarpiece’s complex imagery. We also explore its later history, including its finding by the Monuments Men in 1945, and will highlight some of the discoveries to have emerged during its current restoration.

Image of Alterpiece. Public Domain

There has been, and always will be, a strong link between literature and art, and this unique lecture focuses on one aspect of that link: namely poems that have inspired paintings. To provide a focus, 12 or so poems and associated paintings, dating from 1800 to the present day, will be discussed. They include: a couple of Blake’s ‘Songs of Innocence and Experience’; Bryon’s ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage’, and Turner’s ‘Field of Waterloo’; and Tennyson’s ‘Lady of Shalott’, and Waterhouse’s painted scenes of that poem.

From more recent times, there will be poems from the First World War, and the paintings they inspired. Lastly the poem that inspired one of Banksy’s most iconic images – ‘Rage, the Flower Thrower’ – will be revealed. As well as looking at the paintings, the audience will hear sample readings from the various poems. Towards the end of the lecture, there will be a discussion of how well artists can articulate, and perhaps improve on, what poets are trying to say. But, be warned, not every poem-based painting is successful, and the reasons will be explored. As well as being unique, this lecture is engaging, and full of interest and a few surprises.

Image Lady of Shallot Public Domain

 Arantxa Sardina was born in Santander, Spain, and moved to London in 1998 to work in finance.  She combines her work with her interest in art. She has been a volunteer guide at Tate since 2011, and she completed her MA in Art History in 2019 with her dissertation focused on fellow Spaniard Sorolla.

In this lecture we looked at Sorolla’s life and art, from early education to success; having been almost forgotten to be rediscovered in the last few years.  He was born in Valencia in 1863.  He later married Clotilde, daughter of Antonia Garcia Perez, a photographer. They had three children.

The National Gallery held an exhibition of his work in 2019,  his previous exhibition in London was at the Grafton Gallery in 1908 where he had 497 paintings on display and sold half of them. He has been compared to John Singer Sargent and was influenced by his work. He also meets Archer Milton Huntington, an American who shared a love of Spanish culture and one of America’s greatest philanthropists.  He built the Hispanic Society of America Museum near Columbia University in Manhattan and in 1909 invited Sorolla to exhibit. In 1911 he asked Sorolla to do a commission of 14 panels in the library room, an area of 70m x 3.5m.   Sorolla worked on the commission until 1919.  In 1920 he returns to Madrid and dies in 1923.

The place to visit to see the largest exhibit of his paintings, is his old home in a suburb of Madrid, Museo Sorolla, which was donated by his wife to the State after he died.  Many of his paintings are in private collections and can also be seen in the Hispanic Society of America in Manhattan.

Joaquin Sorolla hated darkness. Claude Monet once said that painting in general did not have enough light in it. Sorolla could not agree more. Sorolla believed painters could never reproduce sunlight as it really is, and he could only “approach the truth of it”. 

Most of us when standing in front of one of his canvases would agree he was the master of light. He managed to capture like no other the light of the Mediterranean beaches he loved and the energy of Spanish life. He painted what he saw, quickly, to capture that precise moment. As he said "I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly. Every effect is so transient, it must be rapidly painted.” 

In this lecture we will look at Sorolla’s life and art, from early education to success; having been almost forgotten to be rediscovered in the last few years.

Arantxa Sardina is an official volunteer guide at Tate, covering the permanent collection and some of the temporary exhibitions at both galleries, Modern and Britain. She completed her MA in Art History at the Open University in 2019, where her dissertation focused on fellow Spaniard Joaquin Sorolla, the master painter of Mediterranean light and a friend of John Singer Sargent. She is also an enthusiastic amateur musician, playing the cello and the piano and a lover of opera and ballet.  

A member of The Arts Society in Bromley, she takes every opportunity to learn about art and to find out more about the stories behind artworks. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and continuously learning from other.

Photo Museo Sorolla, Madrid.

A beautiful game board (2600 BC), a beautiful set of ancient rules (177 BC) and a world encompassing narrative. The hunt for clues has led the speaker halfway across the world in pursuit of this, the most successful board game of antiquity that survived for three thousand years until backgammon was invented. On top of that, the game survived, unnoticed, in south-west India until modern times. The result is a board game that can we could play in the company of Tutankhamun and that can compete with any popular two-person race game on the market today.

Irving Finkel is a British philologist and Assyriologist. He is currently the Assistant Keeper of Ancient Mesopotamian script, languages and cultures in the Department of the Middle East in the British Museum, where he specialises in cuneiform inscriptions on tablets of clay from ancient Mesopotamia. Irving is the author of several academic articles and books on ancient Babylon. He also studies the history of board games, and is on the Editorial Board of Board Game Studies. Among his breakthrough works is the determination of the rules of the Royal Game of Ur. Irving founded the Great Diary Project, a project to preserve the diaries of ordinary people. In association with the Bishopsgate Institute, he has helped to archive over 2,000 personal diaries. In 2014, the V&A Museum of Childhood held an exhibition of the diaries of children written between 1813 and 1996. Irving has written a number of works of fiction for children, including The Princess Who Wouldn't Come Home and Swizzle de Brax and the Blungaphone.

This talk provides an overview of the Church of England's magnificent 42 cathedrals, jewels in the crown of England's built heritage, some recognised as World Heritage Sites. Beautifully illustrated by Country Life photographer, Paul Barker, in addition to looking at their history and stories, evolving architecture and treasures, the talk considers the role of cathedrals over the centuries and specifically their role today.
 

Janet's Gough's biography

Janet works on strategic projects to conserve and develop historic church buildings for wider enjoyment, and writes and lectures regularly 
on ecclesiastical subjects. Formerly Director of Cathedrals and Church Buildings for the Church of England and a before that a director of Sotheby’s, Janet was awarded an OBE in 2017 for services to heritage, and in 2021 became one of the first lay canons of Bangor Cathedral. www.janet-gough.com

Janet’s new book from Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Deans' Choice: Cathedral Treasures of England and Wales  

https://scalapublishers.com/cathedral-treasures-of-england-and-wales/  

Image Salisbury Cathedral 

Shrines, stupas, cave temples, colonial grandeur and modernist architecture – a look at the history of this beautiful island through its intriguing art and culture. For much of Sri Lanka's past Buddhist and Hindu have lived alongside each other peaceably and much of its culture is evidence of this spirit of tolerance and generosity. This talk examines the fascinating story of Sri Lankan art and the original minds, talents and spirits that created this unique visual world.

Georgina is an art historian specialising in South Asian art who has lived and worked in the UK, USA and Singapore. Her practice includes lecturing, writing, consulting and collecting and she has developed a network of gallery and artist connections in Europe, the USA and India, which she visits regularly.  

Consultant Art Historian at the Oriental Club in London and an official tour guide at Tate Modern, Georgina is also a guest speaker on luxury cruise ships for whom she has developed a series of art talks relating to Asian and Pacific destinations. She has been a visiting lecturer at UK universities, presents talks at leading art institutions including Christie’s Education New York and the Museum of Modern Art, Moscow and speaks at international art conferences, most recently in New York, Paris, London and Lisbon.

Georgina holds a BA in Art History from Southampton University, an MA in Arts Management and Policy from City, University of London and an MA in Art History from SOAS, University of London. Georgina is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Arts Scholars and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Asiatic Society.

At the start of the 19th Century polar exploration was the height of heroic endeavour. Mark Cottle led us through the gripping tale of Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition in 1914 which was captured on film by Frank Hurley. His vivid black and white photos provided the visual and permanent narrative of an epic story that would be regarded today as a fictional fantasy.

More than 5,000 applied to join the expedition but it’s little wonder that Shackleton saw optimism as the primary criteria for his crew including a stowaway!. This mission would see why he became regarded as as a ‘miracle worker in adversity’ as they battled the elements in the wild seas, ferocious winds and freezing temperatures.

Their ship, the Endurance was to be found wanting in the conditions when it became stuck, crushed and ultimately sunk in the ice with the crew having to camp out on the unstable ice floes with the frozen deep just a few feet below. With little hope of accomplishing their mission they switched to survival mode and only when the weather eased after several months could they try and find a way out. Hurley who then had to jettison his main camera and many of his photos to save weight continued to capture the life and drama with all its hardships but didn’t neglect the more prosaic such as hanging out the washing or the morale boosting theatrics amongst the blazing white backdrops.

They stomped across land, dragging lifeboats with them and then sailed the perilous waters to the desolate Elephant island many suffering from frostbite and dysentery. Still there was little chance of survival but 6 men in a lifeboat sailed a further 800 miles to South Georgia in search of rescue. Even then they needed a 36 hour march over a mountain range without sleep to reach the whaling station, by now almost unrecognisable with their ragged clothes held together by safety pins.

Back on Elephant Island 22 men waited, rations and hope almost gone until a boat arrived 2 months later than expected to take them to safety, itself not an easy task. They arrived back nearly 2 years after they’d embarked on their quest with most then fighting in WWI and a few later joining Shackleton’s final expedition in 1921/2.

Cottle’s excellent story telling kept the audience enthralled with excerpts from the sailors diaries revealing their inner most feelings, enhanced by Hurley’s brilliant photos.

Joanne Watson

On Ernest Shackleton’s third Antarctic expedition in 1914, his ship, the Endurance, was trapped and eventually crushed in the pack ice. After camping for five months on the ice, Shackleton’s men rowed to the remote Elephant Island. From there, Shackleton sailed for help to South Georgia over 800 miles away. Over three months later he returned to rescue the crew of the Endurance. Frank Hurley, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, was the expedition’s official photographer. His photographs are a visual narrative of an epic journey which capture with great artistry new and amazing landscapes within which a remarkable human drama is played out. The aim of the lecture is to capture Hurley’s achievements as a photographer of the Antarctic in the first flush of human contact when it was still essentially terra incognita.

Shackleton Reading List 

Born on the Isles of Scilly and educated at Truro School, Cornwall, and Birmingham University. His career has been spent in education and training at home and abroad. He has lectured at Exeter College on Medieval and Tudor history, St Mark's & St John's University College, Plymouth, and at Bath University on Anglo Saxon and medieval England. Currently runs two small companies providing training and study breaks.

January’s lecture for the Arts Society Farnham was Stories in Stained Glass by Susie Harris. 

While most of us would probably think of stained glass as a predominantly ecclesiastical art form, Susie began her very visual talk by showing that this is not the whole story. Stained glass appears in almost any public place, including airports, pubs, schools, sports centres, town halls, banks, libraries and shops, as well as being used in private spaces such as people’s homes. Its origins are in Christian medieval Europe, but it spread quickly, being used in synagogues since the 15thcentury, and also in Hindu and Buddhist temples.

Throughout the centuries, stained glass has been used variously to educate, inform and make political statements as well as being used purely for decoration. Its use in churches and cathedrals was primarily to educate worshippers by depicting the lives of Christ and the saints, often in more detail than we would expect today. One illustration, from awindow from a French church, showed the martyr St Denis carrying his severed head six miles to his place of burial. Apparently he miraculously preached all the way there.

The medium is also used for commemoration of well-knownpeople, but also of events and of groups. Susie showed beautiful examples of ancient and modern commemorative windows and panels, including a depiction of Queen Elizabeth II in the chapel of the Savoy hotel, complete with rampant corgis. Other windows showed the recruitment of the third member of Alchoholics Anonymous and a host of records of professions, some of which have all but disappeared – from shipbuilders and wheelwrights to office workers, churchwardens and cleaners. 

Some themes remain unchanged through the centuries, although their style evolves. We saw a very modern green man from the Wessex hotel in Winchester, and many war memorials from the Wars of the Roses through to 20th century conflicts including the two world wars and the Falkland Islands. 

Finally Susie made a special point of mentioning where fine stained glass can be seen in Surrey. Medieval glass from the 14th and 15th centuries are at Stoke D’Abernon and Great Bookham churches, but the county is particularly strong in modern glass and glass by female artists. The Holy Family Catholic church in Hale has a window by modern artist Maria Forsyth and Guildford Cathedral has modern glass depicting Mary Magdalen. 

Ann Perret

Stained glass tells stories. It has been used to play politics, bribe bishops, recruit soldiers and tell jokes. The most remarkable subjects appear in its panes, from miracles to Mandela, tanks to Tiffany, Burne-Jones's water-closet to Churchill's cigar. It is a powerful way to create atmosphere and send a message - not just in churches, but in airports, sports centres, town halls, banks, libraries and shops - and my talk will include a look at its stories in your area: your saints and your sinners.

A writer, editor and lecturer, specialising in 20th century culture and the arts. Has published eight books on subjects including official war art, opera and the composer Elisabeth Lutyens. The most recent is the biography of Sir Nikolaus Pevsner, published in August 2011. Lectured to a range of audiences, from the Imperial War Museum and British Museum to the Twentieth Century Society and the RSA, most recently at the Cheltenham and Bridport Literary Festivals and the Victorian Society.

image Hereford Cathedral Tom Denny 

Past lectures 2014-2023

Early Christians celebrated Christmas at the same time as the ancient Romans were feasting and partying for their pagan Saturnalia festival. Many of the pagan habits were therefore absorbed into our Christmas traditions. Present-giving, holly and even party-hats all have their origins in this 2000-year-old party. This talk will revel in artwork that is ancient and modern as we unwrap the images and stories behind our festive season.

BA (Hons) Latin and Ancient History, Exeter University, and then branched out into archaeology. Ex-BBC, lecturer for British Museum and York University, an award winning writer and author who specialises in relating the ancient world to our modern lives, in person, in the field, on line and in the media (most recently on BBC News Channel, Radio 4 Today programme and BBC World Service). Publications include Visiting the Past: A guide to finding and understanding Britain's Archaeology and Roman Britain. Forthcoming Latin Yesterday, Today and For Ever, and A Mediterranean Tour: Not just a Load of Old Stones. Teaches adult education courses in Latin, archaeology and ancient history and has publicly lectures widely and passionately, on cruises and tours and for museums such as the British Museum & Ashmolean, national press, universities, literary festivals, and diverse societies including Classical Associations, the U3A and the National Trust.

Saturnalia by Antoine Callet 1783 PD

It was with much pleasure the Art Society welcomed Patrick Craig to talk to us about two world famous contemporaries who never met – J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel. Our guide is a counter tenor, conductor and a Vicar Choral at St. Paul’s. He also founded the first professional women’s choir, The Aurora Nova, in 1996. His lecture was enlivened by snippets taken from the Proms of 2012 and he delighted us by singing David’s famous aria from Handel’s Saul.

Both composers were born in 1685, a mere month apart and only 130 kilometres distant, but nonetheless they never met.  Also they both lost their fathers when only aged 10. While Bach came from a family completely dominated for generations by music, in comparison Handel’s family came from Halle where his lawyer father was clearly against a musical education for his son.  In order to survive financially in the 17C and 18C musicians required a patron. In that era Germany consisted of several small states each with a ruler surrounded by a court and it was only by finding favour in one of these that a living could be made. Bach’s career moved around the courts of Weimar and Arnstadt, where he fell out with the bassoon player, before moving to Mulhausen in 1706. It was here he married his first wife and second cousin Barbara.  He returned to Weimar but disagreements led to his dismissal and move to Kothen from 1717-23. . This would prove a happy time for Prince Leopold and his wife were both very keen musicians. Sadly Bach’s first wife died and in 1721 he remarried the young soprano Anna Magdalena. However when the Prince too remarried on the death of his wife his second choice had no love of music and the relationship broke down. Patrick then played the suite for unaccompanied cello No 6 with Yo Yo Man performing. Bach then moved to Leipzig in 1723 where there were 4 churches. He only succeeded in getting the job because he agreed to teach Latin as well as singing while the other candidates had refused to do so. Given he was expected to write a new cantata every week we may guess he had little time for Latin. While there he wrote approximately 500 cantatas many of which he included in the B Minor Mass which was not compiled until 1749. Patrick then played us the beautiful Sanctus which had been composed in 1724.   

While Bach never strayed far, Handel was far more adventurous. On leaving Halle University he travelled around Italy composing the first of his 42 operas. On arrival in Rome in 1707, finding operas were banned in the Papal States, he wrote his famous Cantata Dixit Dominus based on Psalm 110 aged only22. In 1710 he found employment with the Elector of Hanover visiting England the following year.  He decided to remain in 1712 having found favour with Queen Anne for whose birthday he wrote Eternal Source of Light Divine. The brief Alto solo was then rewritten as a soprano part and sung by Elin Manahan Thomas at the Paralympic Games in 2012 while Torville and Dean skated to the music. While working in England Handel was of course also being paid by the Elector of Hanover who on the death of Anne in 1714 became King of England. While this could have been more than awkward the delightful water music appears to have soothed any ruffled feelings. In 1727 George 11 succeeded to the throne and Handel was given the task of composing the coronation anthems among which is Zadok the priest with its slow build up to the trumpets and drums. It has been played at every coronation since. In the same year Handel became a British citizen.  

In 1730 Handel’s mother died and he returned to his hometown Halle for the occasion. Possibly conscious of his greater wealth and success he standoffishly declined an invitation to meet Bach. He returned to England where he found to his surprise that things had moved on. The Beggars opera and Hogarth’s cartoons openly mocked his successes. Undertaking spa treatments following a stroke, he recovered writing Saul in 1739 although, like Bach his eyesight was now failing. In 1742 the first performance of the Messiah was performed in Dublin and the following year at Covent Garden to less warm approval. Now a wealthy man he left the manuscript it to the Foundling Hospital. The Royal Firework music was written in 1749 following the signing of the treaty that ended the War of the Austrian succession (1740-48). He died blind and still a bachelor in 1759.

Bach’s final employment was with the Elector of Saxony where he wrote for the harpsicord and concentrated on the development of the fugue. He died in July 1750 some 9 years before Handel while working at his desk. It is possible his failed eye operation by the charlatan surgeon John Taylor may have been a contributing factor. While Bach was given a low key funeral Handel’s was a grand affair and he is buried in Westminster Abbey. What of their legacies? Handel has always been celebrated while Bach was somewhat overshadowed being regarded as old fashioned in comparison with Haydn and Mozart. However in the 1960s he was taken up by the  Modern Jazz Quartet and our final slide was the Swingle Singers gliding round a Department Store to Bach’s Badinerie.  

1685 was an extraordinary year for music. Two of the world’s greatest composers were born 130km and just one month apart. Much of their childhood development mirrored the other – including the tragedy of losing their fathers at the age of ten. Their careers took very different directions, and they never met, despite several near misses. Patrick will reunite these two giants, tracking their lives across six decades, with a special focus on their vocal music, which has inspired his career as both a countertenor and a conductor.

Patrick Craig is a Vicar Choral at St Paul’s Cathedral. For twenty years he combined this with an international career singing over a thousand concerts with the world-renowned early music consort The Tallis Scholars. He also sings with the award-winning group The Cardinall’s Musick. He founded and conducts this country’s leading all-female professional choir, Aurora Nova. He has conducted concerts for the BBC Proms, the Brighton, Lichfield and Aldeburgh Festivals, and with the City of London Sinfonia.

As a Cambridge history graduate with a lifelong interest in the arts, he has gone on to lead choral workshops for amateur singers across the world, where he places music in its historical and cultural context. He regularly lectures for the St Paul’s Adult Education programme and for John Hall’s Venice Courses, which have allowed him to incorporate his interests in theology, art and poetry. 

In 2020, when his singing and conducting work disappeared overnight as a result of the Covid pandemic, Patrick poured all his experience into online presentations which have raised vital funds for the Help Musicians Charity.

MURDER, MAYHEM, MYSTERY and PAINT - the disturbing story of Walter Sickert

Michael Howard, artist, writer and teacher of art, gave a talk on Walter Sickert, the Victorian painter considered by some to be Jack the Ripper. The main focus of the lecture was on Sickert’s art..

Walter Richard Sickert was born in Munich in 1860 to a Danish father, also an artist, and an Anglo-Irish mother, a dancer who eventually abandoned her family. In 1868 the family moved back to England and became part of a raffish circle of aristocrats and bohemian artists, so Walter grew up with influential contacts. Initially he wanted to be an actor, and he had some small parts, but he eventually went to the Slade School of Art, where he met James Whistler, the American artist of the aesthete ‘Art for Art’s Sake’ school and left the Slade to become an assistant in Whistler’s studio. Whistler believed that art should always be beautiful, improving ‘the vulgarity of nature’, as Japanese art did. This view was opposed to an opposite tendency in late nineteenth century art, which held with Gustave Dore and Ford Madox Brown that art should reveal the ‘underbelly of cities’, just as the railways running past London slums had forced the prosperous to be aware of poverty. Whistler could paint realistic scenes, such as a view of Wapping Docks, but the overall effect is still beautiful, opening our ‘eyes to the joy of the world’ and the ‘dark joy of living’. This can be seen in the1875 painting, The Falling Rocket, which, with a restricted colour palette, captures a moment, an impression of the Cremorne Pleasure Gardens in Chelsea. Ruskin accused him of ‘flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face’. Whistler sued him and won, but he had to pay costs, and so retired to the cheaper Italy.

Meanwhile Sickert was developing a mixture of impressionism and realism of his own, using dark colours, such as in Laundry Shop East End, 1885. A meeting with Degas inspired his numerous portraits of music hall stars, such as Jeannette Kelly, who was eventually murdered by the Ripper, but as Sickert was in Paris most of these years, it is unlikely that he was the murderer. Visits to Venice and seeing Monet’s views of Rouen Cathedral led to a freer style of painting, ladling on the paint thickly in earth colours and the subjects tended to realism, mostly portraits of nude prostitutes lying on beds. He saw these as ‘pages torn from life’ and it is possible to see clear continuity from his work to that of Erich Auerbach and Lucian Freud. He was probably not Jack the Ripper, but he was certainly a strange, complex man.

Jan Herbert

Walter Sickert, one of the most celebrated of English artists working at the turn of the last century, is often considered to be ‘a painter’s painter’. The well-known crime writer Patricia Cornwell has claimed this much-loved artist was responsible for the murders attributed to the infamous Jack the Ripper. This lecture will attempt untangle the truth of this claim following a trail of murder, mystery, mayhem and paint.  Was this much-loved, colourful and enigmatic painter Jack the Ripper? - Come and judge the evidence for yourselves!

Michael is a familiar face to The Arts Society. He is President of The Arts Society Bolton and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Although retired, he continues to teach at the Manchester School of Art. He has published widely on European art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, his books include: L. S. Lowry: A Visionary Artist; The Impressionists by Themselves; The Stations of the Cross / The Captive Figure and the award-winning dramatic interpretation and publication of material originally performed by the Zurich-based Dadaists of 1916. A New Order: An Evening at the Cabaret Voltaire. His book on Gauguin, was written in association with the Gauguin Museum, Tahiti, and his book on Monet for the Musée Marmottan, Paris.  One of his most recent books concerns his wife’s life and work: The Human Touch: Ghislaine Howard. (Ghislaine is also an accredited lecturer of The Arts Society). 

Michael is a practising artist, and has exhibited at the Royal Academy, the New York Art Fair and elsewhere. He is represented in Manchester Art Gallery and in many private collections both here and abroad. He has appeared on television and radio many times and in 2004 he and Ghislaineworked the film, Degas and the Dance which has awarded one of the prestigious Peabody awards.

Report from ‘Every picture tells a story’ by Grant Ford

Grant Ford has worked in the artworld for 37 years. During that time he discovered many wonderful paintings and collectors and has seen how the artworld market has changed since 1986.  He started work at Sotheby’s in Billingshurst at age 16. It was during those formative first years that he became inspired by Victorian art. 

One of the first most interesting collectors he met was Lady Valerie Scott of the Dower House, Northamptonshire, wife of Sir David Scott who had been an avid collector all his life. Over the years they became friends and he decided to write a book on her collection of narrative Victorian art.  These pictures explained what was going on at the time with symbolism.   

Grant talked us through a selection of paintings he encountered in the Scott’s collection auction after Lady Valerie dies, such as ‘No Walk Today’ by Sophie Anderson from the 1840s.  It became an icon of Victorian childhood and was used to front an exhibition catalogue.  Nothing of Sophie Anderson’s had sold at much more than £20000 and Sotheby’s decided to be a bit aggressive in its marketing  - it eventually sold for over a million pounds.  Lesser known artists can do well at auction if they have created a great subject.

Some of the other paintings in the collection included ‘Flaming June’ by Lord Leighton (1895) which was one of the last pictures he painted, an ultimate Victorian icon.  Sir David Scott had bought the painting for 14 guineas. This recently sold for $40 - $60 million.

Part of the Scott collection was a narrative painting by Emily Mary Osborn, ‘Nameless and Friendless’. (In 1857 the Society of Female artists was formed offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell their works). This painting depicts an example of how women artists were treated in their day.  On the day of the sale in 2008 this picture failed to sell at its estimated £300 - £400k but after the sale the Tate bought it. Obviously they believed in it. It hangs in the Victorian rooms at the Tate. Sir David had bought it for £1200 in the 1960’s.

Further paintings in the collection included:

‘Christ in the house of his parents’ by John Everett Millais (1850s) - Sir David had bought it for about £1200 and it sold in the sale for over half a million.  It became a national treasure.

John Calcott Horsley ‘Showing a Preference’ 1862 figurative work (he had met Millais and Dante Gabriel Rosetti did 2 versions of this painting.)  Exhibited at the Watts Gallery some years ago.

‘La Mitrailleuse’ 1916 by CRW Nevinson, a little pen and ink study. Nevinson is pushing the subject forward as though man is becoming machine and the machine gun becomes the humans (French soldiers) - very much a narrative subject.  This little picture made over £100,000 as it’s so very rare.  The oil painting for this picture is in the Imperial war museum.

Grant included other collections in his lecture as well as individual stories and recollections of paintings he has had a particular interest in.   He has travelled to many parts of the world in his work and in 2016 he became an independent valuer and seller as well as looking after many private collections for their owners and working on the Antiques Roadshow.  He made the point that to attend the Antiques roadshow these days with an item, you now need to reserve a ticket online beforehand.

Sue Allison

Grant will discuss some of the great pictures he has handled during his extensive career in the art world, from incredible masterpieces by the Pre-Raphaelites to Lord Leighton and Modern British works. Why did certain works fall out of fashion at a certain point in time, only to spring back and set new world records many decades later? He will explain changes in the market place and his experiences with sellers and buyers. This talk will be focused on the international art market, but will specifically look at some of the great British artists and their work within the global art market arena.

Grant is an Independent Fine Art Advisor, Private Curator and Representative. His eponymous company is based in Marlborough. Grant is a senior paintings specialist for BBC's Antique Roadshow in the UK and is particularly well known in the field of Victorian, Pre-Raphaelitism, Irish, Scottish, Sporting and European Art. He was responsible for Sotheby’s Victorian Art Department (2001-2016), as well as being a Senior Director and Head of British & Irish Art Post 1850. Grant spent 30 years at Sotheby’s and now represents a number of prestigious family collections. He is also a regular guest lecturer in the UK, Ireland, USA, Canada and elsewhere and has written extensively for multiple publications.

On Tuesday 20th June  Mark Meredith presented the story of an obsessive collector fuelled by unparalleled extravagance entitled “Castles – The unquenchable thirst of William Randolph Hearst”.  

“Born in 1863, William Randolph Hearst was an only child. His father George Hearst, a gold rush pioneer success story, died a billionaire in 1891 and left everything he owned to his wife Phoebe who passed on her love for art and antiquities to her son.

After being expelled from Harvard for bad behaviour, his father gave him a failing newspaper to manage, the San Francisco Examiner and by 1927 the Hearst Corporation was the largest publishing business in the world. But he had one major character flaw. He could not live within his means and when the depression of the 1930’s hit, his legs were taken from under him despite a substantial inheritance from his mother.

His first ‘castle’ was a five floor apartment in the Clarendon, a newly built block on the wrong side of Central Park in New York but his next even grander project was Hearst Castle in California on a 250,000 acreage of land he had acquired near San Simeon. Building commenced in 1919 but his  debts increased tenfold as Hearst Castle took over 27 years to build at an estimated cost of $30million. He chose Julia Morgan as the architect and furnished it with art, antiques and entire historic rooms purchased from great houses in Europe.

Searching for an original castle, in 1925 he bought St Donat’s Castle in Wales for $130,000. At 800 years old it had a moat, a portcullis, dungeons, and even ghosts but needed a further $1.3million to bring it back in line with its origins.

Hearst had repeatedly tried to enter the political arena but with no real success, becoming increasingly right wing and buying into the Nazi rhetoric earning the reputation as a fascist. In 1936 he was in debt to the tune of $87 million dollars but still buying antiques.

Although he was married with five sons he had a longtime affair with Marion Davies, a successful actress. Unable to pay out the dividend on Hearst Corporation to keep it afloat, Marion raised 1million dollars by selling some of her assets. Vast amounts of property were liquidated and during the next two years a huge quantity of his arts and antiques were sold at way below their original prices.

Without an empire he and Marion retreated to the last of his great estates Wyntoon deep in Northern California where his mother had built a castle.  In 1929 it had burnt to the ground but was rebuilt as a Bavarian castle with an adjoining village.

Parodied in the film Citizen Cane, and with Hearst Castle and Wyntoon now owned by the Hearst Corporation, he was forced to pay rent. Marion came to the rescue and in 1947 they bought Beverly House where he lived out his final years and died at 88 in 1951.”

Hearst was an obsessive collector of ‘Objets d’Art’. Through the unparalleled extravagance of the castles he lived in, we’ll dive into the extraordinary life of a man who Orson Welles satirized as Citizen Kane. Hearst changed the face of journalism, but died paying rent to his creditors.

Mark is a writer, the founder of HouseHistree.com, and lectures regularly at societies, festivals and clubs in both Europe and the United States. After leaving Stowe School, Mark worked for twenty years as a plumber in London. However, his real passion has always been for history, particularly the history behind houses through the characters that conjoin to create them. His special interest lies with the great American houses and their relationships with those in Europe, both socially and architecturally.

Photo of Meredith Castle

Pieter Bruegel the Elder was commissioned to create a series of paintings for a dining room in Antwerp. The images, charting the course of a year, changed the way we view the world through art. Bruegel pioneered a new way of thinking about the environment and our individual places within a shifting cosmos.

 Gavin is a writer and broadcaster, appearing on BBC Radio 3, BBC Radio 4 and contributing to newspapers, magazines and opera and concert programmes worldwide. Lectures widely about the culture of Central Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries. Recent talks include the Royal Opera House, the National Gallery, the National Trust, the National Theatre, the British Museum, the V&A, the Southbank Centre, the Tate and the Neue Galerie, New York, as well as for history of art societies and The Art Fund.

Painting - Hunters in the Snow 1565. Public Domain 

Richard looks at Doyle’s fiction in his Undershaw years at Hindhead. In an arena dominated by one iconic figure in a deerstalker, there were many other contenders who succeeded in breaking free from the shadow of Sherlock, and here they are given their proper due.

Richard took a BA Hons in English Language and Literature from the University of Manchester, followed by an acting diploma at the Birmingham School of Speech and Drama. He combines acting, writing and lecturing. He has lectured in many venues including the National Army Museum and the Museum of London, and is currently presenting a variety of virtual lectures online.

Richard has contributed to, among others, The Journal of Popular Film and Television, The Sherlock Holmes Journal, and the P G Wodehouse journal Wooster Sauce. A specialist in voice work, he has narrated numerous documentaries and 150 audiobooks.

A journey across the greater Middle East, from medieval Andalusia and North Africa to Persia, exploring the four main features common to Islamic art and architecture: calligraphic; geometric; vegetal; and figurative. Illustrated by some of the finest examples from the Middle East and in collections across Europe and North America.

Eamonn explained that Islamic Art is currently defined as:

- artistic output from any Muslim polity

- religious or secular

- art and architecture;

- patrons of any faith by artists of any faith.

Thus the interior of the Sheikh Lotfollah Mosque in Isfahan is defined as Islamic art, as is the Taj Mahal, Agra, India, completed 1643 and a 9th century palace mural in Samarra, Iraq depicting dancing girls pouring wine.

The 4 key elements are:

Calligraphy – for example on ceramics, stonework, wood and also the Blue Quran - c. 900 C.E. … or 287 A.H. – a beautiful book, approximately 600 pages of vellum dyed blue with gold leaf lettering

Vegetal, or the Arabesque – such as the Clark Sickle-Leaf Rug from Kirman, Iran, 17th century, made of a cotton and silk foundation with wool pile - 8’9” x 6’5”. Also the exterior decoration on the Sheikh Lotfallah Mosque, 17th century,Isfahan.

Geometric – often incorporating calligraphy and vegetal designs such as the back door of the Jameh Mosque in Yazd,Iran 

Figurative – Figurative art is everywhere, except religious settings, i.e. not in a Quran or mosques

There is also a range of works dealing with the life of a prince in his court, where the most common and persistent themes are expressions of power, entertaining, eating & drinking and hunting. He illustrated the vast spread of such works with mosaics from 8th century Umayyad, Spain; 11th century ivory from Fatimid, Egypt; metalwork 1232 Abbasid, Iraq; A carpet c.1530 Safavid, Iran and lastly a painting c.1590, Mughal, India.

For further reading, Eamonn recommended the book ‘The Formation of Islamic Art’ (1973) by Oleg Grabar (1929 - 2011)

Eamonn Gearon is an author, historian, and recovering journalist, who lived and worked across the greater Middle East – from Kabul to Casablanca – for more than 20 years. As well as living in the Sahara with the Bedu, Eamonn conducted a number of solo, camel-powered expeditions … and has never lost money when re-selling a camel! 

The author of three, multi-million selling lecture series on Middle Eastern history and culture for The Great Courses, in addition to entertaining general audiences, Eamonn also designed, and is responsible for delivering Middle East and North Africa (MENA) area studies training for both the British and American governments, at the US Department of State and FCDO (ex-FCO) 

Photo Granada Spain c Eamonn Gearon

Report by Jennifer Thorpe

Lecture by Julia Musgrave

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was born in Lowell Massachusetts the elder of two brothers to William Whistler, a railway engineer and his pious wife Anna Matilda. In 1842 his father was appointed to assist in the building of the Moscow to St. Petersburg railway. In 1847-8, while his father worked in St. Petersburg, the family lived in London where James’ interest in art was encouraged by his brother in law Francis Haden. In a letter to his father James declared his intention to follow a career in art hoping “you will not object to my choice.” Unfortunately his father died of cholera in 1849 and in straightened financial circumstances the family returned to America. With no inclination to be a minister Whistler entered West Point. However despite no serious wrongdoing, his numerous entries for misconduct and his failure in the chemistry exam led to his dismissal. He then worked as a mapping draughtsman and learned the technique of etching. In 1855 his father’s financial affairs were finally settled giving him an income of $350 p.a., roughly the equivalent to the minimum wage today, and with that he set off for Paris never to return.

Whistler joined the art school of Charles Gieyre which gave him permission to visit the Louvre and copy the Old Masters. Here he met and became friends with Henri Fantin Latour who introduced him to the realist painter Gustave Courbet. He also met Alphonse Legros and Edouard Manet. While Whistler was witty and very sociable he was also quick to take offence and many of his friendships did not last. Using his skill at etching he created many scenes of Northern France. Moving to London he settled in Wapping where he made a series of etchings depicting life scenes from the Thames. In 1858 his portrait of his sister and her daughter at the piano was accepted by the Royal Academy. Making friends with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and his circle, Whistler now moved to Cheyne Walk enjoying a bohemian life style which included an interest in poetry and music. Following the fashionable Japanese trend his Symphony in white No. 2 depicted a young woman in white leaning on a marble mantelpiece. On this stands a blue and white Japanese vase and a red lacquer box while she holds a Japanese fan. The standing woman herself is cropped – i.e. three quarters in length as are the flowers on the bottom of the picture. The abstract musical title is also typical as Whistler is not interested in telling a story but sought to produce tonal harmony through his subtle palette. In his Nocturne Blue and Gold of Old Battersea Bridge the composition is very similar to a print he owned by Hiroshige.

In 1864 much to Whistler’s “general upheaval” he mother decided to visit London. When his model failed to turn up she took her place. While officially titled Arrangement in Grey and Black it is more commonly known as Whistler’s mother! Again there is tonal simplicity and balance while the face is very finely painted. Due to her age she is painted sitting while his other portraits are all standing.

Introduced by Rossetti, Whistler gained a new patron in Frederick Leyland. Wishing to display his fine collection of Japanese blue and white porcelain he employed Thomas Jeckyll to decorate his dining room. Jeckyll chose some very expensive brown leather wallpaper which was not a total success and so, delighted with the portrait of his wife, Leyland asked Whistler to make some “minor improvements” while he was away. Whistler painted over the costly wall paper and then put in a bill for £2000;  a mighty row ensued. This was eventually settled but when Leyland left London, Whistler, who had kept the key, returned and painted two magnificent peacocks vying with the other and invited everyone to a party to admire his efforts. One is clearly Leyland symbolising money with gold coins floating among his tail feathers and the other is Whistler symbolising art. That proved the final straw. About this time Whistler created his famous signature turning his initials into a butterfly later adding a sting in its tail to symbolise his wit/sarcasm. Its position in any painting was always carefully considered

In 1877 Whistler sued the celebrated art historian John Ruskin for libel over criticism of his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold; the falling rocket which was exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery. Here the sparks from the rocket are tiny specks of gold and the figures are dark and vaguely depicted. The cost was 200 guineas which Ruskin declared was like “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” The review appeared in the magazine Fors Clavigera which had a limited circulation but when it was picked up by the Times an infuriated Whistler acted. The trial lasted 2 days from November 25th – 26th 1878 and while Whistler won, his damages were one farthing and both sides had to pay their legal costs. As a result Whistler was now bankrupt and everything had to be sold. The trial generated a general discussion about art. To Whistler and the Aesthetes art had no narrative or social/ moral purpose it was simply art for arts sake. Further he declared that Nature could be wrong and might be improved by the artists’ vision.

Recommended to the Fine Art Society, Whistler was commissioned to create a set of etchings of Venice. These 12 images of misty canal backwaters and alleyways proved very popular and saved him financially

The Royal Academy had a blockage problem as talented artists had to wait for admission until the death of a member. Thus the Society of British artists was formed for those in the queue. Whistler joined in 1884 becoming President two years later. He introduced cream walls and insisted on far greater attention to the hanging of paintings. However he was seen to favour French artists to general annoyance and was not re-elected.

His final years were less productive but he enjoyed mentoring young artists such as Walter Sickert. Gwen John attended his art school in Paris which only lasted from 1898 -1901. He died in London aged 69?

Julia Musgrave got her first degree in Chemical Engineering and went on to become a Chartered Information Systems Engineer and IT project manager. In 2008 she decided that life was too short for just one career and decided to become an art historian.

She now has a Graduate Diploma in the History of Art from the CourtauldInstitute of Art and an MLitt in ‘Art, Style and Design: Renaissance to Modernism, c.1450 – c.1930’ from the University of Glasgow. She is currently working towards her Ph.D. at the University of York the involvement of Roger Fry and the Bloomsbury Group in the development of the Contemporary Art Society from 1910 to 1937. She is a lecturer in Art History at the City Literary Institute (City Lit).

Mary Branson’s contemporary light sculpture, the first piece of abstract art for permanent display commissioned by the Palace of Westminster, is Farnham’s second link with the palace. Mary is an alumna of Surrey Institute of Art and Design and her six–metre high sculpture ‘New Dawn’, celebrating Women’s Suffrage, is permanently displayed there. 

Her work is ambitious and large-scale. It has included a 2002 temporary light installation on Guildford Mount celebrating International Women’s Day and a 2019 ‘Ladders of Light’ installation in Salisbury Cathedral. She was Artist in Residence at Wisley Gardens and her ‘Daughters of Theia’ work is at the Watts Gallery.

In 2013 she was commissioned to create a memorial to the suffragette Emily Wilding Davison. The work never came to fruition, but it led to her becoming Artist in Residence for the Houses of Parliament. The brief: to research and create an artistic commemoration of the Women’s Suffrage movement which would last for 400 years.

Research started in the Act Room. This is the repository of the 50,000 vellum scrolls which record 500 years’ worth of Acts of Parliament. Other sources included Serjeant at Arms’ reports on security breaches by suffragists. Surprisingly these were often by ordinary women and men of all ages and backgrounds and from all over the country. They showed greatcourage in their willingness to travel long distances, often scandalously unchaperoned. 

The scale of the movement – between 1866 and 1918 Parliament received over 16,500 petitions containing over 3.5 million signatures – called for an artwork of a similar scale. Mary proposed a construction of hand-blown glass discs representing the vellum scrolls on which the legislation granting women the vote is recorded. The discs are mounted on a portcullis, backlit by an LED bed whose colours constantly change, reflecting the inexorability of the tide of change. The sculpture is shaped like the sun and the lighting rises and falls over a 12.5-hour cycle, linked to the Thames tide. Its title comes from the campaigners, who believed that the vote offered a ‘new dawn’ for women. 

‘New Dawn’ was revealed on 7th June 2016, exactly 150 years since John Stuart Mill started the campaign for votes for women. It is placed directly over the site of so many heated demonstrations in the place where women finally won the right to vote. It shares a place in history with the hammerbeam roof of Westminster Hall constructed in Farnham.

See Mary’s website for a documentary video about the making of New Dawn, as well as photographs of the installation https://marybranson.com/new–dawn .

By Anne Perret

Best known for her large scale conceptual light installations, particularly this iconic New Dawn 2016 sculpture, which celebrates the centenary of the Suffrage movement, Mary will talk about what was involved in making this public work of art in the Palace of Westminster.

Mary Branson has created works for the London 2012 Olympics, The Magna Carta Memorial at Runnymede, Royal Holloway University and more recently Harvest a huge site-specific installation at Box Hill Surrey in collaboration with the National Trust. Her latest work is Ladders of Light, a piece for Sky Arts 50, that fills Salisbury Cathedral.

She is an award-winning print maker, a choreographer for performance and dance events, and a mentor and public speaker, having lately returned from a lecture tour to New York and Washington DC.  

Mary has held a number of artistic residencies, including for Parliament, the British Council, Crisis, the National Trust and HM Prison service, where she led an art group for women prisoners. 

Report by Jan Herbert

A fortunate coincidence led the Society’s Programme Secretary to arrange a lecture on snow on the coldest day of the year so far, Tuesday 13th December. The enjoyable talk, entitled The White Mantle of Winter – Impressionist Paintings of Snow, was given by Julian Halsby, who is both an artist himself and an art historian and therefore well able to describe both the history of depicting snow-scenes and the various techniques involved.

Before Impressionism snow was used simply as a striking background, as in the mediaeval Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry or in Dutch paintings like Breughel’s Hunters in the Snow but Monet was the first to break down the snow colour into different tones, not just lighter or darker but colder or warmer. He was inspired by the chromatic theories of Michel Chevreul, published in 1864. Chevreul realised that colour was affected by adjacent colours, a discovery which Monet put to excellent effect in his snow paintings. He painted 140 such pictures but perhaps his masterpiece of tonality is the famous Magpie in the Snow, which contrasts not just light and shade but warmer and colder, brighter and duller tones of white. Severe winters round the outskirts of Paris offered plenty of scope for the careful observation of the landscape and the area’s combination of still rural but fast industrialising environment provided further contrasts of shade. Monet was also influenced by his collection of Japanese prints. Other painters, such as  Pissarro and Sisley, also lived around Argenteuil and Louveciennes and they would often set up easels together outside, painting the same scenes. Initially the critics objected to a perceived lack of composition  and the choice of unworthy subjects in their work. The outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870 caused many of them to seek refuge in England. By the 1890s, however, an art-dealer, Durand Ruel, created a market for their paintings and, of course their popularity endures.

Unlike in England, some American artists were impressed by the Impressionists and came to France to study at the Academie Julian, including John Singer Sargent and Mary Cassatt. Some were known as the Group of Ten, for example Childe Hassam and Willard Metcalf. Their lively paintings tended to take more interest in people and daily city life and the snow in the images reflects this. It can be scuffed and soiled by human activity. Others, however, painted the lonely and majestic hinterlands of New England, particularly in Maine and New Hampshire. The deep and semi-permanent snow here has a harder, crisper, more packed quality than that of the Paris area, and that extreme cold is reflected in the art of Metcalf and Walter Launt Palmer, in pictures such as The Hush of Winter and Moonrise at Dusk, which are cleverly designed to emphasise the immensity and isolation of their subjects.

Much fascinating information has had to be omitted from this brief review but the greatest joy of the talk was the beautiful illustrations, so many of which were completely unfamiliar

A lecture rich in wonderful images. The Impressionist produced some of the finest snow paintings - Monet, Pissarro and Sisley, but also the Norwegian artist Thaulow and the American Impressionists, who captured the silence, beauty and grandeur of an American winter.
Julian studied History of Art at Cambridge. Formerly Senior Lecturer and Head of Department at Croydon College of Art. Publications include Venice - the Artist's Vision, The Art of Diana Armfield RA, Dictionary of Scottish Painters, Scottish Watercolours 1740-1940. He is a member of the International Association of Art Critics and The Critics Circle. A practising artist, he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists in 1994 and appointed Keeper in 2010.

  Sarah Lenton’s excellent and entertaining talk, illustrated musically and visually, tracked Opera from its late Renaissance origins in Italy to the unenthusiastic reception in 17th century Britain.

  Here spoken drama held sway, the temperamental audiences encouraged by the literally tone deaf critics hated any musical incursion and opera only appeared if shoehorned into drama, such as Purcell ‘s Fairie Queen slotted into Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. Handel expanded its standalone presence with his stream of Opera and Oratorio which helped nurture native talent. It was an era too where Castrati or “tuneful scarecrows” were a familiar sight on the English stage. 

 In the 19th century operas including those by Verdi and Wagner were often remodelled for British taste and who could imagine a female Don Giovanni. With a heady mix of good tunes and dramatic spectacle, enhanced by advances in stage technology from trap doors to spotlights, Opera became a popular attraction. Native composers did flourish though many of their works have long since disappeared.

  The emergence of the Old Vic in a slum district of South London in the early years of the 20th century, under the Inspired leadership of Lilian Baylis, brought more working class audiences into the theatre and the touring Carl Rosa company found an appetite for opera outside the capital.

  In the 1930’s an element of snobbery appeared even though the programme at the London Coliseum offered an eclectic mix of opera, dance, popular music and plays.

   The founding of the Sadler’s Wells company which morphed into the English National Opera with all the works sung in English dovetailed neatly into the offering at Covent Garden. Sadly the future of the ENO at the ‘Coli’ seems destined to be derailed by their proposed cut in funding and banishment.  The move smacks of little understanding of its breadth of good work on stage and in the community or its legacy and value to our musical life.

Joanne Watson 

Sarah Lenton has spent her working life in the theatre, principally at the Royal Opera House, Glyndebourne and English National Opera. She writes programme articles and websites, she gives lectures on the operas and ballets in the rep. and does live opera broadcasts and podcasts for BBC Radios 3 and 4. She has written and directed many shows, including more than 20 for the Royal Opera House Linbury Studio Theatre and for Glyndebourne Touring Opera. She is also a cartoonist.

Royal Opera House c1810 Public Domain British Library

The Bayeux Tapestry: 950 Years of Propaganda, Intrigue and Spin
One of the world’s best-known artefacts, the Bayeux Tapestry features in every book and article about the Norman Conquest. It 950 years old, 65 yards (59.5m) long and 20 inches (50cm) high and tells the story of the death of Edward the Confessor, the coronation of King Harold, the launching of a fleet of ships against England and William the Conqueror’s victory at Hastings.
But it isn’t quite that simple. Tim Wilcox took us through the tapestry’s history, first looking at three questions that are still being asked: who made it, where was it made and who was it made for? He then reviewed the most important episodes in its lifetime. 
Who made it and where? Since it has been stored and exhibited at Bayeux Cathedral for so long, it has been claimed to be of French origin, but modern scholarly consensus is that it is an English object, designed and drawn in Canterbury, then stitched by women probably in an Essex nunnery.  
It was made for Odo, half brother of William and Bishop of Bayeux who ran the country from Canterbury when William was in Normandy.  The tapestry was probably presented to him there but taken back to Bayeux.
Perhaps surprisingly it was used to illustrate the story of the conquest in live storytelling by bards to knights. It presents an epic secular story of knightly valour similar to Beowulf. Yet there are ambiguities: Harold is depicted as Edward’s nominated successor who swears an oath of allegiance to William, but does he actually renounce his claim? Did he swear under duress? He is shown being crowned, with no mention of William’s claim to the English throne. At such key moments it is ambiguous but of course with live commentary those ambiguities could disappear. 
Over the centuries it has become an icon often used for propaganda. Napoleon famously used the scenes depicting the ships crossing the Channel to tell the French what he planned to unleash on the British. In World Wars I and II, it was used to depict the tussle between Britain and Germany.  Hitler even coveted it for his prospective Fűhrer Museum. 
History came full circle when the Allies invaded Normandy in 1944. The monument to the British fallen bears the (Latin) inscription: We who were conquered by William liberated the homeland of the Conqueror?

Anne Perret

One of the most outstanding cultural objects to survive from the early Middle Ages. Admired for its vivid narrative, today it is the unanswered questions that most intrigue. This lecture looks at its creation and its more amazing afterlife. Now set to become even more celebrated as it enters its next, surprising chapter.

Timothy Wilcox is a writer, lecturer and exhibition curator with special interests in British art, in landscape and in watercolour painting. He was a museum curator in the British Museum Department of Prints and Drawings following positions at the V&A, in Liverpool and Hove. As a freelance curator and lecturer since 1997, he has organised exhibitions on Laura Knight, Hilda Carline, John Sell Cotman and John Constable, at venues including Tate, The Lowry, the Wordsworth Trust and Dulwich Picture Gallery. He contributes regularly to the Courtauld Institute Summer School and lectures at museums and galleries in Britain, Europe and the USA.

Our new season began with an entertaining and revealing talk on the life and works of multi genre artist, Grayson Perry entitled “Pots and Frocks”. As Ian Swankie revealed there is much more to this rebellious punk transvestite potter turned national treasurer than a cursory look at his work would suggest. A disruptive childhood, his early desire to seek safety in womens clothing and the frequent presence of his favourite Teddy bear has led him, perhaps surprisingly to become a Royal Academician, Turner prize winner and celebrity whose work aims to mirror society at large.

Born in Essex he studied art at Portsmouth Poly before ending up in a squat in Camden where he discovered a pottery class that was to be his formative artistic direction. However these ceramic pots have never been ordinary, often covered with racy text, a symbolic imagery pervades all he does. The matching pair of vases on Brexit differ only in dimensions reflecting the size of the vote, and his Rosetta Vase in the British Museum is a modern take on its greatest artefact, the Rosetta Stone.  

Perhaps more frequently recognised as his alter ego Claire in the flamboyant flocks he has curated the Summer Exhibition at the RA and designed a shrine like holiday cottage in Essex. Here visitors are faced with the imaginary and colourful, in your face life story of a fictional local woman, Julie Cope in what one critic described as like “being inside a migraine”.

His complex tapestries replete with images have modernstory lines from the class structure, with a nod to the “Rake’s Progress” and other contemporary themes aimed at potential buyers. Designed on a laptop with photoshop and transferred to a computer driven loom it allows him great flexibility to reflect his often complex ideas. More recently woodcuts and rugs have emphasised his talents as a keen observer of life, often with a sting in the tale. A documentary maker and Reith Lecturer, he even dressed in a “Mother of the Bride ”style outfit (dark blue and black) to receive his CBE. 

Swankie’s talk would surely have encouraged the doubters in the audience to pay closer attention to one of the most significant British artists of the last few decades.

Joanne Watson

A Turner Prize winner, Royal Academician and popular broadcaster. Grayson Perry’s ceramics, textiles, tapestries and prints are highly sought after. This talk will examine his work, his exciting and thought-provoking exhibitions, and the unique character inside the flamboyant frocks.

A Londoner with a passion for art and architecture, Ian Swankie is an official guide at Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Guildhall Art Gallery and St Paul’s Cathedral, and gives tours around each venue. He is also a qualified and active freelance London guide and leads regular tours for various corporations and organisations. Since 2012 he has led a popular weekly independent art lecture group in his home town of Richmond in West London. He is a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Art Scholars, one of the City livery companies.

This was the last lecture for the calendar year 21-22.

As a result of the train strike our lecturer - Sue Jackson – presented her talk to us in the Great Hall via zoom after the efforts of our incredible technical team.  Her subject was the Huguenot weavers of Spitalfields: From rags to riches and back to rags. The Huguenots were French Protestants who fled to England in droves seeking freedom from persecution when in 1685 the Catholic Louis XIV revoked all their religious and civil liberties. While some made their homes in Canterbury and East Anglia the vast majority settled in London. Wishing to remain outside the city of London and the guild regulations, the moved to Spitalfields – so called due to the large medieval hospital and chapel dissolved by Henry VIII in 1539 which was surrounded by fields. They set up shop using the open spaces for stretching and drying. While they were welcomed by the fashionable and wealthy, understandably the same could not be said of the English weavers!

The oldest surviving silk designs in the world are those of Jean Leman (1688-1745). Behind his beautiful watercolours may be seen a grid pattern to help the weaver. Another famous designer was Anna Garthwaite (1688-1763). It appears that several of her biological designs came from the Chelsea Physic garden. (Google their names to see several beautiful delicate examples of their work which are kept in the V&A). The designs were so appreciated that they flowed unimpeded despite the resulting impracticability of the dress itself. Later silver thread was incorporated which added both to the weight and cost. Overall the English taste was for a pale background with a floral design while the many exports to America were of a far stronger palette. Fashion was not only for the women, as portraits clearly show the men enjoyed their velvet coats and embroidered waistcoats.

The settlement grew and developed while families intermarried probably maintaining their language for up to 3 generations. Schools were established and along the main street there were as many as 9 chapels.  Some became wealthy master craftsmen while others remained lowly journeymen supervising apprentices. The retail side of the business was covered by the Mercers. As they became more affluent individual master craftsmen built their own brick houses along such streets as Fournier Street.

In 1773 an Act was passed fixing prices, restricting the number of apprentices to two and forbidding French imports. As business dried up and people moved away by the 1880s there were no schools or street lighting and only pawn brokers flourished. Those remaining were now living in dire poverty and the fabric of the houses was in danger. However eventually in 1977 due to such luminaries as John Betjeman and Dan Cruickshank with considerable local support The Spitalfields Trust was formed with the aim of conserving this amazing heritage. The Trust now operates from Dennis Seevers house which is open to the public. The vast Hawksmoor Church has also been fully restored. The corner chapel, built when the weavers first arrived, has been a Methodist chapel and is now a mosque; thus life evolves.

Jenny Thorpe

Welcomed at first with open arms, they brought luxury skills, their fortunes fluctuated wildly, their early 18th century houses that still stand, how they were decorated the fashionable designed silk , and how the trade died out with the weavers dying in poverty at their looms.

Originally in academic art and design publishing, Sue is also a Fellow of the Huguenot Society, a Freeman of the City of London, a tutor at the City Literary Institute and a Blue Badge guide, conducting a variety of walks and visits.

Drawing Thomas Cook after William Hogarth (CC BY 4.0) https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ftjab3gt

St Petersburg and Moscow

Dr Rosamund Bartlett recounted the fascinating tale of these two cities and their development. The philosopher Alexander Herzon thought their history reflected the famous double headed Imperial Eagle, one head pointed east (Moscow) and the other (St Petersburg) to the west, there may have been strife but the heart beat as one. 

Moscow founded in 1147 drew on the Byzantine tradition with the Orthodox church based on the principles of Constantinople. Eastern dress was the norm, Cyrillic script was devised but there was little cultural activity and the Church dominated society with its extremely conservative outlook. The abundance of wood saw the popularity of traditional icons, millions of copies were based on the ‘Tenderness’ Icon,  there was no money for the more expensive mosaics found elsewhere .

When the state fell to the Mongol invaders establishing the Tartar yoke, they exhorted money from their captives and Ivan Ist, or Ivan the moneybags became the collector of taxes from all the Russian cities increasing Moscow’s status.

Until then Kiev had been part of the equation as one of the centres of the church but they escaped the Mongol hordes and followed a different path.

The fall of Constantinople led to the rise of the Muscovy empire and the building of the important Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary designed by an Italian architect recruited by Ivan the Terrible. A more apt translation was probably Ivan the Awesome but on such divergences are reputations formed. Now free the Empire expanded east into the former Mongol lands and new landmarks appeared in Moscow including St. Basil’s, albeit without its now famous decoration which was added much later.

When Peter the Great became Tsar in the 17th century his European travels brought new western ideas to the court amongst them forcing the Boyar aristocrats to shave off their beards. He expanded to the west, St Petersburg became the new capital and gone were the onion bulb churches of Moscow as more classical designs prevailed including the first iteration of the Winter Palace.

He was followed by a period dominated by 3 Empress’s and further expansion with the Prussian born Catherine the Great taking another large step closer to the west developing more classical buildings and secular culture. The Peterhof Palace, influenced by Versailles and the famous Hermitage museum were built as she became a notable collector including many Old Masters. Art Academies followed, all which necessitated new words to be added to the language. Her acquisitions included the purchase of a notable British art collection from Houghton Hall, which caused something of a scandal in this country. Her approach was a steep learning curve and even extended to a guide on table manners, cleaning your teeth with a knife was definitely unacceptable.

However whilst the capital now faced west, much of Russia lagged behind, dogged by medieval practices, serfdom and abject poverty.

Moscow was revitalised in the 19th century, post Napoleon and the Kremlin further developed. The Tsars, who disliked St Petersburg, were a string of alternating reforming and repressive rulers as Moscow became the centre for the new merchant wealth. Chekhov and Tolstoy would be found there and when the old wooden buildings burnt down new more modern architecture appeared, including Art Nouveau, unconstrained by the rules of St Petersburg. The Revolution brought further changes but that’s another chapter.  

Joanne Watson

Russia’s two capital cities looked in different directions before 1917, Moscow towards Asia and St Petersburg towards Europe. This lecture explores the art and architecture of both, and how and why they increased and decreased in importance before and after the 1917 revolution.

Rosamund Bartlett is a cultural historian with expertise in Russian literature, music, and art.  She has a particular interest in European Modernism, opera, and the intersection between politics, history and the arts, and has lectured on these subjects at universities and public institutions around the world. Her books include Wagner and Russia,  Tolstoy: A Russian Life, and a biography of Chekhov and has published translations of his short stories and letters.

Mary Sharp is an experienced broadcaster and teacher with particular expertise in literature and drama. She worked for many years for BBC Radio 4 producing some of its most popular programmes including Start the Week and Woman’s Hour.  She subsequently worked as a teacher and Director of Sixth Form at a leading girls’ grammar school. She now runs her own company 'Opening Up Literature' which offers literature courses for adults including studies of Shakespeare, a favourite of hers.

“Creative people are like magpies who pick up stories and repurpose them whether through painting, writing, sculpture, ballet, films or opera”.  Three well known manufactured women were Pandora, Eve and Pygmalion each a temptress in their own way.  They have inspired generations of artists to imagine how and why women came into the world including their origin. The Greek poet Hesiod tells the story of Prometheus, a Titan distinguished by their giant size, who created mankind from clay but only men.  Zeus was angry with Prometheus for giving fire to mankind and his creation of mankind and he had his Olympian gods create a woman with the express purpose of causing trouble to men which, by opening her box, she achieved. In fact in the original legend it was a jar. Zeus said “I will give men an evil thing in which they may all be glad of heart while they embrace that which will destroy them.” He charged Hermes to put in a shameless mind and a deceitful nature and they called her Pandora. A punishment for men.

Pandora’s name for example is quoted in  headlines such as “This covid medicine opens a pandoras box”; “Brexit pandoras box is about to open”; implying a box of tricks, a box of worms.  Others used it too such as the jewellery maker Pandora tempting buyers.  Adrian Mole aged 13 and ¾ had a love of his life called Pandora.  In the film Avatar the planet is called Pandora.

Artists who have painted Pandora include Daniel Rossetti and John William Waterhouse, and John Gibson sculpted her scantily clad and there to tempt men.  Her name and character is used in plays such as Playwright Frank Wedekind who wrote two plays one called Earth Spirit and the other Pandora’s Box both depicting a society riven by the demands of lust and greed.

Pandora’s name means a woman of all gifts both receiving gifts but giving them as well as she was also tempted to open the box, but the box contained all the evils of the world  This lecture looked at the original sources for the story, and draws parallels with both Eve in Genesis and Galatea in Ovid before showing how ballets, operas and plays from Coppelia to My Fair Lady and The Winter’s Tale to Educating Rita have developed the theme of a creation that runs out of control.  

In Greek legend Pandora was created with the express purpose of causing trouble to men by opening her box. This lecture will look at the original sources for this story and show how My Fair Lady, The Winter’s Tale and Educating Rita have developed the theme of a creation that runs out of control

An experienced broadcaster and teacher with particular expertise in literature and drama, Mary worked for many years for BBC Radio 4 producing some of its most popular programmes including Start the Week and Woman’s Hour before joining the senior management team as a Commissioning Editor. Mary has subsequently worked as a teacher and Director of Sixth Form at a leading girls’ grammar school. She now runs literature courses for adults, the most popular being  'Telling Tales' which explores how writers and artists have reinvented classical stories.   

Pandora opening the box - John William Waterhouse ( public domain)

John Ruskin – his impact and legacy by David Cross.

Our lecturer has lived for many years in Cumbria, as had Ruskin, and his affection and regard for the man shone through in his most interesting talk. Ruskin – an only child of wealthy parents enjoyed a privileged childhood often travelling with them to the Lake District, the Alps and Venice. Despite bouts of illness he lived from 1819 to 1900 becoming the most highly regarded Victorian polymath. He was a very prolific writer on a wide range of subjects from theology to geology, literature, ethics, political economy and more. While talented artistically, since he never had any need to sell his works, his oeuvre of drawings and water colour sketches remains small. As an art critic he was a staunch defender of Turner and challenged the view of the art critics of his day that Raphael was the apogee of art. He concentrated his admiration on the period before – the Gothic – championing Millais, Holman Hunt and Rossetti known as the Pre- Raphaelites. For Ruskin great art required the co-ordination of the eye, hand, heart and pencil. Having studied as a gentleman-commoner at Christ Church Oxford, where his father’s generous wine cellar proved a major attraction, he made many life long friends including Henry Acland – in time the Regius Professor of Medicine. He would go on to found the Oxford Museum of Natural History – a stunning neo gothic building in complete contrast to the classicism of the Ashmolean as well as the Ruskin School of art. Further in 1899 two American friends would establish Ruskin College. This was an independent but affiliated college for the working man. In 1903 the collection of all his written works was published in 39 volumes. His many papers, which could well have been lost on his death, now reside at Lancaster University. Ruskin was always generous giving 48 drawings by Turner to the Ashmolean.  Having founded the first museum in Sheffield he then donated several of his own treasures including a Tintoretto and a Verrocchio. Further a school of art primarily for craft was established at Keswick. Having travelled to Venice with his parents he continued to visit and in his book The Stones of Venice (2 vols) he exposed the peril the city was in thus encouraging the necessary conservation works. In 1871 he founded the Guild of St. George in order to promote the principles underlying the ethics of an ideal society where all men enjoyed their work and happiness came before wealth. Ruskin had many admirers including Tolstoy who wrote, “he had more understanding than the whole of the House of Commons!”  Mahatma Gandhi’s ashram with its emphasis on spinning and rural crafts may also be a reflection of his influence. From 1872-1900 Ruskin lived at Brantwood on the shores of Coniston water – now open to the public. William Collingwood – a friend from Oxford days and an Icelandic scholar worked as his unpaid secretary for several years sculpting his memorial at Friar’s Crag, Derwent Water as well as founding the Ruskin museum of Cumbria.        

Jenny Thorpe      

A scholar of Northern Gothic, he was a significant collector of paintings and a perceptive critic. Generous with his treasures he donated to museums and supported the education of women.  His books influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi and the founders of the National Trust.

David A. Cross is a writer, lecturer and independent art historian with interests in biography, sculpture and the artists of Cumbria. He is an Honorary Research Fellow at Durham University.

He won Lakeland Book of the Year awards for his biography of George Romney, A Striking Likeness [2000] and for Dear Mary Love Percy [2011], his second volume of the letters of Percy Kelly.

Photo of  John Ruskin 1863 (public domain)

THE GENIUS OF BEETHOVEN -  Peter Medhurst

“If you take nothing else away from this morning”, said Peter, “this is the vital thing: Beethoven places himself in the centre of the composition. He is no longer on the outside, but on the inside, and no composer had ever done that.”

Beethoven reflected his life in his music. And what a life:  lived against a backdrop of warfare, revolution and social change as the Napoleonic wars raged across Europe, his own health declined and his hearing eventually failed.

He arrived in Vienna in 1792, an exceptionally gifted 17-year-old who secured a position to study under Mozart. But he was recalled to his native Bonn and by the time he returned, Mozart was dead. He studied instead under Haydn, Salieri and Albechtsberger. By the time he died in 1827 music, Peter argued, had been changed for ever.

His early compositions, though inventive and exciting, drew heavily on the classical traditions and are Mozart-like. Peter illustrated this with the Sonata in F Major, Opus 17 (1800), for Piano and Horn, showing that his feel for melody and musical form resembled that of Mozart and Haydn.

This early accessibility – where the melody and energy of the music is enough in itself – contrasts with his later works. Beethoven believed that music should challenge, with each piece preparing the way for greater depth and complexity in the next; that his best work was always his latest. His composition became so complex that his publisher insisted on separate publication the ending of his String Quartet Opus 130, the Grand Fugue Opus 133. The original gained a new, simpler end.

The complexity grew and so did his subjectivity. His music spoke of himself and his emotions: the String Quartet in F Minor, Opus 95, written after Napoleon’s invasion of Vienna, was written after lying on the cellar floor of his brother’s house with cushions protecting his failing hearing from the noise of battle. More happily, his Sixth Symphony describes ‘the awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside’.

Peter argued that, whereas we do not need to know Mozart’s mood when writing his Jupiter Symphony to appreciate it as a model of symphonic perfection, a knowledge of Beethoven’s life absolutely informs how we listen to his music. His String Quartet in A Minor, Opus 132 reflects a time when he was ill and expected to die. He lived and his gratitude drove him to create an unusual five-movement piece with the central movement in F Major set as a hymn of thanks: Heiliger Dankgesang eines Genesenen an die Gottheit, in der Lydischen Tonart.

This subjectivity had never before been successfully achieved in music. Beethoven paved the way for Mendelssohn, Wagner and Berlioz.

His deafness drove him to consider suicide, but he wrote to his brother that if he killed himself, he would deprive the world of future masterpieces. We can be glad that he lived until 1827.

Report by Anne Perret

The lecture explores Beethoven’s genius as a composer, the exact detail in his music is often so subtle that most people do not know it is there. His extraordinary story against the backdrop of the 19th century warfare,  revolution and dramatic social changes.

Peter appears in the UK and abroad as a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

Painting of Beethoven by Joseph Karl Stieler in 1820 (public domain)

On January 18th 2022 the society was treated to a very entertaining lecture by Toby Faber, grandson of the founder of the publishing house and a former director. The talk was entitled 90 Years of Excellence in Cover Design and combined a potted history of the company with illustrations of changing cover designs over the years, all enlivened with fascinating family anecdotes and recollections.

By1921 Geoffrey Faber, the founding grandfather, had served in the First World War, worked in publishing, trained as a barrister, been made a Fellow of All Souls, Oxford. He’d also managed to get sacked from his wife’s family brewery. Through All Souls’ he met Sir Maurice Gwyer, who published scientific journals, particularly the Nursing Mirror. They set up a publishing house called Faber and Gwyer, but their aims were different and in 1929 they separated. The sale of the Nursing Mirror allowed Geoffrey to buy out the book side of the business in its handsome premises just off Russell Square. Geoffrey was in fact the only Faber, but he decided you could not have too much of a good thing, hence the doubling.

He was fortunate to secure the services of T.S. Eliot, already known as the author of The Waste Land and disillusioned with banking, as an employee, then fellow-director. They secured their first best-seller immediately, Siegfried Sassoon’s Memoirs of a Foxhunting Man and they also gained Richard de la Mare, son of the poet Walter, as their production and design director. Eliot’s increasing fame and contacts led to their supremacy in poetry publishing. All the twentieth-century greats featured in their lists: Eliot himself, of course, Auden, Isherwood, Ezra Pound, Edith Sitwell, Spender, Louis MacNeice through to Philip Larkin, Ted Hughes, Sylvia Plath and Seamus Heaney. Part of the attraction was that renowned artists such as Rex Whistler and John Piper would design covers and sometimes illustrations.

Their mid -century fiction and drama lists were also distinguished: James Joyce’s Finnegan’s Wake, William Golding’s novels, Kazuo Ishiguru and plays by Samuel Beckett, John Osborne and Tom Stoppard. It is an astonishing rollcall of twentieth century British literature for one publishing house but they did make mistakes too.

They turned down Ulysses out of fear of a prosecution for obscenity, leaving Bodley Head to snap it up. As a result Joyce called them Feebler and Fumbler. Eliot refused to publish Animal Farm in 1944 because of offending our then Soviet allies. Another firm published it after the war and got all the income from its use as a GCSE text. Not surprisingly Orwell didn’t offer Faber the A-level text 1984, but this is where the real money is in publishing.

They were luckier with Lord of the Flies, which a new director, Charles Monteith, picked off the slush pile by chance and insisted on publishing.  Nevertheless they were in financial difficulty by the 1970s, but the musical of T.S.Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, itself called Cats, brought in enough royalties to rescue them. This and a well-judged decision to expand early into paperbacks allowed them to continue as the only fully independent major British publishing house.

Report by Jan Herbert

As the grandson of the founder Toby is passionate about the firm’s success as one of London’s most important publishing houses. It has employed some of our most celebrated artists as cover illustrators including Rex Whistler and Peter Blake.

Toby read Natural Sciences at Cambridge but his diverse career included investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board. 

Toby has written three narrative histories: Stradivarius – Five Violins, One Cello and a Genius; Faberge’s Eggs; and Faber & Faber – The Untold Story, as well as a novel, Close to the Edge.

The curtain rose on the final Arts Society Farnham talk of 2021 on 14th December.  

Malcolm Jones – lecturer on Theatre History and Practice for the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre, Road Scholar and London Arts Discovery Tours – spoke on The Honourable and Dishonourable Art of Acting and Actors.

He began in the sixth century BC, with Thespis (from whom we get the word Thespian), the creator of the role of the single actor. He then moved to England where the acting profession began with itinerant, all-male troupes regarded with fear and often hounded out of town by husbands and fathers afraid for their womenfolk.

Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the establishment regarded theatres as dubious places: hotbeds of potential political and moral danger – which is why the Globe Theatre was built on the South Bank, safe from the control of the City of London. They were also thought to be places where people could unknowingly spread infections. Nothing new there then.

Actresses appeared in the 1660s to provide a useful and constructive representation of human life. Women onstage though were deemed to be of loose morals and therefore subject to catcalls and jeers from the pit – especially those who played ‘breeches’ parts where, shockingly, gentlemen could see their legs!

Theatre entertainment then was nothing like modern times. Performances could run from 5pm until midnight, with audiences there to roister rather than watch. Halfway through there were half price tickets, admitting a rowdy crowd with their own food and drink and ready for a great night out. Definitely not respectable.

Content could be political dynamite. In 1737 the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole took exception to Henry Fielding’s satirical targeting of his government and had all London theatres closed except Covent Garden and Drury Lane, which had to have their plays approved.  That censorship only ended in 1967.

Tastes and technology changed.  The 19th century railways enabled travel into cities for entertainment, so plays could run for longer because the audience came from further afield. Novelty and fashion were the watchwords: in the mid-1800s, it was all the rage to see seven-year-old Ellen Bateman playing Shakespeare’s Richard III. No child safety legislation then.

Acting also changed. Malcolm described the craft’s advancement from ‘delivered’ speeches to more naturalistic acting with actors portraying real characters.  New schools of thought created new schools of acting, with George Bernard Shaw and Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree creating RADA and Lilian Baylis sponsoring new talent at the Old Vic – including Gielgud, Redgrave, Edith Evans and Flora Robson. Many British actors received honours: acting was now respectable.

Malcolm ended by describing the emotional recall-based Method Acting with a story about Dustin Hoffman and Laurence Olivier in Marathon Man. Hoffman ran six miles to rehearsal so that he would arrive in the right state for his part. A calmer, less breathless, Olivier looked up and said: “Try acting”. 

Anne Perret

Often seen in the past as rogues and vagabonds, the road to respectability was a long and lively journey. The start of the 20th century established the actor as an honourable profession, with the great generation of actors such as Henry Irving, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Edith Evans.

Malcolm has lectured on the Victoria & Albert Museum Short Course and Year Course Programmes since 2009, devising and developing a range of courses on Theatre History and Practice. He also lectures on theatre for Road Scholar and London Arts Discovery Tours for theatre groups visiting the UK from America.   

Image:- An actress at her toilet or Miss Brazen juft Breecht

Arts Society Lecture 16th November 2021

Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts by Christopher de Hamel

David Attenborough said recently, ‘Immerse yourself in the medieval world of Christopher de Hamel before you die’ and members of the Farnham Arts Society did just that on the morning of Tuesday 16th November at the lecture in Farnham Maltings. 

De Hamel is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and former Fellow Librarian of the Parker Library.  His book Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts is the winner of the Duff Cooper Prize for 2016 and the Wolfson History Prize for 2017. Another book, due out soon, is about the men and women who have worked with medieval manuscripts.

His fascination with medieval manuscripts, and academic libraries all over the world, began at the age of 13 when he discovered the collection at Dunedin Public Library in New Zealand.  Unlike Britain with its castles, cathedrals and other buildings, it is only these ancient texts that can inform people directly about distant history in that part of the world. The earliest of these is a 9th century gospel.

Apart from their intrinsic beauty these illuminations inform us about events and beliefs in the past. In one, a beaver is shown biting off its own reproductive organs rather than be captured for them, and therefore becomes a symbol for virginity. In a Chronicle of German History from 1114 a pretzel can be seen on the wedding table of Queen Matilda’s wedding feast.

Part of the fascination of these texts is their physical history, from their origins to their provenance, as they are sold and bought in auction houses like Sothebys’ where de Hamel worked from 1975 to 2000.  He recalls selling the Spinola Book of Hours, the most expensive book in the world at that time. It was made in Ghent in the 1515 and includes incidental details about daily life in its 84 illuminations: silver and pottery jugs, lilies in vases, the seasonal work of agricultural labourers.

His work at the Parker Library in Cambridge helped to date the antiquity of the English Church after the Reformation. A letter written by Anne Boleyn in 1514 to her father is clearly the hand of an adult so we can determine her date of birth as about 1497, not 1507 as she stated.

Some Illuminated texts, like the 6th century Gospel of St Augustine, are among the oldest manuscripts in existence. They were used as sources for later designs, such as an image of the Last Supper that provided the template for part of the Bayeux Tapestry, which convinces researchers that it was made in England.

These objects were often given as momentous gifts at important occasions. De Hamel proved that an 11th century psalter in the Parker Library belonged to Thomas Becket from a description in a sacrist’s roll and a 13th-century stained glass portrait of Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in which he cradles a similarly bound and coloured book under his left arm.

A 14th century Book of Hours, belonging to Jeanne de Navarre, was looted from Rothchild’s bank in Paris in WW2 by the Nazis and finally repatriated to the Biblioteque National.  De Hamel finished his excellent, informative lecture by talking about celebrated forgers and imposters like Constantine Simonides and Belle de Costa Green, now the subject of a feature film.

Jane Blandy

The talk is based on his best-selling book which won both the Duff Cooper and the Wolfson Prize. The story asks how the book came to be written at all, and it recounts a long life among medieval manuscripts, from the little Public Library in Dunedin in New Zealand via Sotheby’s to Cambridge University. It tells of adventures in the art market and in rare book libraries, and it describes the excitement of actually seeing and touching some of the finest illuminated manuscripts ever made.

“Immerse yourself in the medieval world of Christopher de Hamel” (Sir David Attenborough’s advice on life, quoted in The Evening Standard on his 90th birthday). Christopher de Hamel, FSA, is a Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He has doctorates from both Oxford and Cambridge. He was a director of Sotheby’s for 25 years, responsible for illuminated manuscripts, and then librarian of the Parker Library in Cambridge for 17 years. His very many books on medieval manuscripts include the best-selling Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts, which won the Wolfson History Prize. He is widely known as a lecturer across six continents

“Eric Gill: The Early Years” was presented by one of the artist’s great nieces, Caroline Walker.  Illustrated with many examples of his varied work as well as more personal images from family archives, Caroline traced Gill’s development, from the Sussex schoolboy with a passion for drawing and order to becoming a crucial figure in 20th Century design, calligraphy and stone carving, whose impact is still felt today. 

Born in 1882 in Brighton, one of thirteen children, his clergyman father introduced his offspring to the principles of drawing; and Eric and his brother Max were particularly good at it.  Following a family move to Chichester and Eric’s studies at the local Art College, aged 17, he won a Queen’s Medal for his drawings of “Doorways of Chichester.”  “Escaping” a year later to London, he was soon disappointed, leaving the firm of church architects, inspired to take up stone carving by a  fellow pupil’s vision of architecture being about purpose not ornament.  He also studied calligraphy part-time at the College of Arts and Crafts, and through friends there joined a joined a circle of practitioners and supporters of the Arts and Crafts movement. He became engaged in social projects, joined the Fabian Society and married Ettie, with whom he had been madly in love for years.  He was also fortunate to gain a lifelong patron in the wealthy and cosmopolitan Count Harry Koestler.

Always searching for the ideal life-style and artistic practice, he returned to Sussex with his expanding family, and established an Arts and Crafts Community in Ditchling, the precursor of the present-day Museum.  Meeting Jacob Epstein on one of his frequent visits to London, the two soon became close friends and collaborators; though they were to fall out several years later over their differing views for their proposed Temple of Love.  Seeing Epstein carving directly into stone, a skill not practised since medieval times, was a “Revelation” for Gill who, from then on, would always practise direct carving, bringing the technique into mainstream practice. All the influences and people that helped to make Gill the artist he was were in place, though setting up a Catholic Lay Benedictine Community caused a break with several of them; and when the Community fell apart Gill moved to Wales, still searching for the ideal life.  Always striving for truth to materials and purpose, his designs for typeface are still with us today, (particularly Gill-Sans), and the clarity and harmony of his carved memorials are a testament to him as well as the memorialised.  We still enjoy his woodblock Christmas cards and his glorious calligraphy; and the tension between passion and order created moving religious stone carving (The Stations of the Cross in the new Westminster Cathedral) as well as powerful public sculpture (as in  Portland Place). Whatever the vagaries of his personal life his focus on design and truth to materials remain influential today.

Kate Siebert

The work of the controversial artist Eric Gill is woven into the fabric of our lives from the typeface on our computers, the images on our Christmas cards, sculptures on buildings such as the BBC Broadcasting House. His great niece Caroline Walker explores how his family background and friendships influenced his work and how he became one of the greatest artist-craftsman of the twentieth century. 

Whilst her main profession was as an English Teacher Caroline now spends much of her time researching the Gill brothers, Eric and his younger sibling Max (MacDonald) and promoting their works including co curating exhibitions.

A Selection of Works by Eric Gill in Surrey
I’ve only included works here that are accessible to the public.
Guildford Cathedral
St John the Baptist – carved figure over South Door Diocesan Arms – over St Ursula’s Porch
Sculptural work elsewhere:
Our Lady and St Peter’s Church, Leatherhead. Fourteen Stations of the Cross (1924-5)
Inscriptional Work
Brookwood Cemetery
Tombstone for John Winterbotham Batten K.C. (1902)
Tombstone with French inscription for Alice Junod (1902)
Pierced Celtic cross in memory of Colville Adrian de Rune Barclay (1929)
Head- and footstones for Henri See. Stones joined and shaped in form of a double bed (1929)
St Bartholomew and St Christopher Church, Haslemere. Reredos inscription (below arched panels with saints) Raised and gilded capitals (1908)
St John’s Church, Dormansland, nr Lingfield. Ledgerstone in memory of Sybil Gwendoline Spender Clay (a child) – with a cross and pair of clasped hands (1912)
Compton Cemetery, Guildford. Headstone (Maltese Cross in relief) for Ethel Ann Burton- Brown (1927)
Godalming Old Cemetery, Farncombe. Headstone for the art critic Arthur Clutton-Brock (1925)
Surbiton Cemetery. Headstone for Marion Moody (1937)
Craft Study Centre, Farnham. Stone garden roller with inscriptions on both sides (1910s)

Self portrait (public domain)

On 21st September Arts Society Farnham members returned to the Maltings for the first time since covid for a fascinating lecture by Patricia Erskine-Hill, entitled Convents and Courtesans: Women’s Lives in Pre-modern Venice. The speaker had a wealth of information about the lives of these not particularly fortunate women. She first outlined the structure of Venetian society between the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. At the start of the period Venice was at the peak of its dominance and wealth, having control of trade with the Orient, particularly in luxury goods like spices and silk manufacture. Culturally its pre-eminence was expressed in magnificent art and architecture, which we can still admire. But times were changing; the opening-up of sea routes to India and China round Africa by the Portuguese and the discovery of the Americas by the Spanish and later the English side-lined Venice’s dominant position and the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw economic decline, although the cultural excellence continued, as shown by the Grand Tour tradition. Venetian governance was entirely male, not unusual, but the four thousand members of the Great Council had to belong to one of the families listed in the Libro d’ Oro compiled in 1296. Only thirty-six families squeezed in later. It was a completely exclusive and stratified society, partly because there was no room to expand on the archipelago, but as a result, marriage prospects for elite women were poor.

In general only one girl from each family was allowed to marry, because of the huge dowries required, and the rest were sent willy-nilly to convents, which was cheaper. Girls were despatched as if to boarding school at ten, and at twelve or thirteen the few to be married were removed and the rest took their first vows. The married few had quite jolly lives, as paintings by Pietro Longhi called The Dancing-lesson or The Game with the Cooking Pot indicated, and until the Council of Trent some of this jollity seems to have taken place where the young nuns could watch through a screen. The paintings show their slightly ghostly forms. After the mid-sixteenth century council the rule became stricter and enclosure was supposed to be total. Yet many of these girls had no vocation, just a lifelong lockdown.

Some women, however, managed to carve their own paths by becoming courtesans, the cortegiane honeste. These women could charge 60 times more than a street prostitute and were accepted in society as the mistress of one or more important men, if they were highly educated and charming. Some wrote books of verse or painted and used some of their own wealth to build refuges for those suffering from the occupational hazard. One was painted by Van Dyck and La Tintoretta was guess whose daughter. This was an enjoyable lecture about a very strange society.

Report from Jan Herbert

Recommended reading by Patricia Erskine-Hill: Virgins of Venice by Mary Laven

Photo: Chairman Shi Hutchinson and Lecturer Patricia Erskine-Hill

This lecture is based on research showing how thousands of women were forced to enter convents against their will, in order to save their families the cost of their dowries. Matched alongside with the huge growth in number and wealth of Venetian courtesans, illustrated with paintings by Pietro Longhi, Gabriel Bella and Francesco Guardi.

Brought up in Italy, France and Switzerland, Patsy holds a first class degree in Italian from Trinity College Dublin and a Masters in Imperial Russian History from Edinburgh University. Having spent 5 years lecturing at a US Univeristy she now lectures widely to societies in the UK. Her interests are the society, art and architecture of Imperial Russia; Italian History, art and culture and 18th English Society.

Timothy began with words from the great horticulturalist, Gertrude Jekyll; ‘One of the most important points in arranging a garden is the placing of the flowers with regard to their colour effect.

It is just in the way it is done that lies the whole difference between commonplace gardening and gardening that may rightly claim to rank as fine art.’ Gertrude Jekyll The Garden Vol.XXII No.562 26 August 1882.

Human beings have always found colour beguiling. As soon as you add colour to a scene, it changes. Early eighteenth century gardens were predominantly monochromatic, designed to highlight light and shade, before colour was increasingly used in the flower border to create harmony and contrast, using warm and cool colours.

Humans react to colour, but colour has always been difficult to describe.  Aristotle identified six: from the lightest – white, then yellow, red, green, purple and the darkest – black.  Newton describes seven: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.  Pablo Picasso apparently asked; ‘I want to know one thing. What is colour?’ Colour can be understood through chemistry and physics, and conveys important messages in biology; a young chick often has a bright target in the throat to help the parent bird place food accurately; flowers signal that they are ready to be visited by insects and colour is used as a warning and in mimicry or camouflage.

Gardening as art can appear haphazard, uplifting or even garish. A garden is often attached to buildings and needs to include space where people can walk and see the right 3-dimensional picture. Our reaction to a garden often depends on how we are feeling and on the quality and direction of the light, especially when viewing colours together.

The living palette provides colours for gardeners which can be simplified into: blues – which gardeners are often suspicious of; greens and also the relationship between green and red - green is the canvass of nature; yellows and harmonising yellow and green – yellow is the brightest, most intense colour; oranges – ranging from reds to browns; pinks – from the warm plummy reds and cerise to the soft, cool light chiffon: pink is an enthusiastic colour and the only pastel colour with its own name; black – although most examples are actually dark purple; white – which makes the colours around it appear more saturated, a diplomatic colour linking others together.

Harmony can be achieved in garden design using cool or warm colours, gentle pastels, but also saturated harmony. Colour combinations have been influenced by paintings such as The Skiff by Renoir, with purple, orange, yellow and green; or with unapologetic contrast influenced by Mark Rothko. James Hitchmough’s gardens are abstract: he mixes seeds together and sows in a swirling pattern emulating Jackson Pollack.

Timothy’s advice for design is firstly, choose your portrait plants - the ones you really love; secondly, put them into a family group of plants and lastly, associate these into a harmonious community. Think about how the light changes throughout the day and remember, it should be what appeals to you. In the UK there is so much choice, with over 70.000 different plants that grow in our climate.

Timothy read Botany at University College Oxford before further studies and work at Kew and Savill Gardens. He was subsequently awarded Master of Horticulture by the Royal Horticultural Society of London. His gardens have won many awards including Chelsea Golds. A regular lecturer in the UK, USA and Australia he is now a stipendary lecturer in plant studies at Oxford. He is a fellow of the Linnaean Society of London.

Photo of Monet's painting of his Garden at Giverny. Public Domain.

Hockney's 'Arrival of spring" Video tour 

It was a great pleasure to welcome Mark Bills to our screens on May 11th. Mark had been the Curator of the Watts Gallery in Compton before moving on in 2013 to be the executive Director of Gainsborough’s House in Sudbury. The plan for the morning was to focus on the early life of the artist and to relate the tale of the skeletons in the family history. These turned out to be not one but two murders from which Gainsborough would benefit personally to the tune of £40; not an inconsiderable sum at the time.  

Thomas was the youngest of nine children whose father John, a weaver, clearly had a weakness over money being declared bankrupt in 1733. Apart from that shadow, he enjoyed a happy childhood exploring the surrounding countryside. He soon showed a marked artistic talent enhanced by the study of Dutch landscape drawing books.  

While Gainsborough’s roots were humble, his paternal uncle - a Whig Dissenter was well to do. His son – another Thomas - was pursuing a successful career in London aged 29. In the course of business he took over the debt of a man named Brock and began proceedings. On March 1st 1738 a threatening letter was sent to his father stating as this would result in Brock’s ruin, he must be released from the debt. This was ignored but on September 3rd another, and far more threatening letter, was sent by a “friend” giving an ultimatum of a week for a free discharge otherwise Thomas’s “life would suffer.” Indeed on Sept 15th his body was returned to Sudbury. His father on a visit to London – presumably to investigate - was also murdered in the Golden Fleece pub. Father and son were buried together and, despite the offer of a reward, no arrests were ever made. Luckily for young Thomas, in his will his uncle had left him £40 and with that in his pocket he took the coach to London.

Gainsborough went to work for the engraver Hubert Gravelot as a draughtsman drawing and designing the decorative plates. Rejecting the career of an engraver, he remained determined to be a painter. He studied prints, copied landscapes of the Dutch Golden Age and worked with figure models learning perspective from his friend Joshua Kirby. He then began to work for the portrait painter Francis Hayman even filling in his landscape backgrounds. Initially his own figures were stiff and doll like, but they soon developed more fluidity. He also visited auction houses being prepared to clean and even amend. Many of you may have watched the Fake or Fortune programme on Gainsborough on Monday May 10th and interestingly once he was called as a witness to a trial between two art dealers. His opinion was sought on whether a painting, having been sold for 500 guineas, was a genuine Poussin. After one glance he commented he would not have paid five shillings for it and when challenged by the lawyer sharply replied, a “painter’s eye is equal to the lawyer’s tongue.” His letters are full of such witty and confident comments which tell us a lot about the man.  

In 1746 aged 19 on a Tuesday morning in Fleetwood prison he married Margaret Burr the illegitimate daughter of the Duke of Beaufort with an annuity of £200 p.a. While the circumstances of marriage appear rather dodgy it was legal and importantly gave him sufficient money to survive as an independent painter. By 1748 he was beginning to be noticed, and was the youngest contributor to the Foundling Hospital – the first space for artists to exhibit their work. However there was sadness too as both his little daughter and his father died that year. He then returned home to Sudbury hoping to find sufficient work from among the good and the great such as Mr. and Mrs. Andrews painted in 1750. From 1752-59 he moved to Ipswich where his reputation and clientele increased and he moved to full length studies such as that of an Admiral and the local M.P. The family then moved to Bath where he was kept successfully and very fully occupied until his return to London in 1774.  

In 1769 he had became a founder member of the Royal Academy, although his relationship with Reynolds and the institution was often fraught.  In London he was also gratified to receive several royal commissions. At this late stage he turned to soft ground etching prints. Further his landscapes now developed a more romantic mood in the style of Claude Lorraine. However he rarely turned to mythology for his subjects preferring the home grown. The influence of Murillo can be seen in such pictures as Girl with Pigs which Reynolds purchased for 100 guineas. While portraiture dominated his prolific output there is little doubt his greatest love was landscape. Sadly he died of throat cancer in 1788 being buried at St. Anne’s in Kew. In 1913 a splendid statue of him was erected in the middle of Sudbury. 

Written by Jenny Thorpe

http://www.gainsborough.org/

Mark studied at the Slade School of Art and at the universities of Birmingham and Manchester. Was Curator at the Watts Gallery, now Curator of the Gainsborough Museum and lectures regularly at the Tate, Russell-Cotes Gallery, Museum of London, Guildhall Art Gallery, Bristol University and Mercer Art Gallery. Has also presented talks in New York and Finland.  Publications include George Frederic Watts: Victorian Visionary(2008), The Art of Satire: London in Caricature (2006) and William Powell Frith: Painting the Victorian Age (2006).

Photo of the Blue Boy Gainsborough Public Domain

Gavin Plumley gave a vivid and absorbing picture of fin-de-siècle Vienna, where two cultural giants led the charge for modernism, in a city where the conservative elite wanted the talents and glamour of contemporary artists while expecting them to follow a suffocating style of the past.  Klimt, a prodigiously talented graduate of the School of Applied Arts, began working for Makart, the mastermind controlling the decoration of the cultural buildings of the Emperor’s beloved Ringstraβe and so much admired for his murals as well as his innovative portraits of women; on Makart’s death, Klimt succeeded his master.  With greater freedom Klimt’s images increasingly and overtly expressed his views on universal freedom, brotherhood and erotic love. He led other artists such as Egon Schiele, all determined to break from the stifling and hypocritical mould of the past; and in their Art Nouveau gallery they exhibited their work under the title Secession.  It was a bold statement that was anathema to the old guard, who excoriated the paintings, considering them offensive, dangerous and pornographic.  

Klimt left Vienna for the simplicities of a life by Lake Attersee and focused on the glories of nature,  painting intense and intimate landscapes.  For him “tradition” was slovenliness and Mahler would probably have agreed.  A famous outsider, a Jew from Bohemia, Mahler was invited to run the Vienna Opera House; but again, though the elite wanted the glory of his name, they hated his compositions.  Admired when conducting the works of great composers of the past, the Viennese audiences could not cope with his uncompromising modernism, breaking “musical rules” to achieve specific effects, so that at performances of his own works he was booed off the podium.  For Mahler, music was a sacred experience not a trivial entertainment, so unable to express his utopian vision of universal love and hope, he eventually left Vienna for New York.  As his train left, the station was packed with artists honouring the great composer.  Both artist and composer, swimming against the tide in Vienna, were honoured by their creative contemporaries, and left an indelible mark for the future.

Written by Kate Siebert

Described by The Times as a ‘leading cultural historian’, Gavin Plumley is well known for his work on Central European music and culture during the 19th and 20th centuries.A writer, lecturer and broadcaster he is in demand at home and abroad.

Gavin was born in Dundee in 1981 and studied music at Keble College, Oxford, before beginning his career at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

Brush up on Mahler's most famous works here

Opera House Stage Curtains link

Both Photos in the Public Domain

On March 16th members of The Arts Society Farnham thoroughly enjoyed learning about the relatively unknown Chateau of Vaux le Vicomte, near Fontainebleau. The chateau was built in the seventeenth century during the reign of Louis XIV. Nicolas Fouquet, the founder, intended it to celebrate his dazzlingly successful political career as MP, Attorney-General, and, from 1653, Superintendent of Finances in France. On his way up, however, he had made powerful enemies of the Prime Minister, Cardinal Mazarin, and his successor, Jean-Baptiste Colbert.

Fouquet’s first architectural venture, financed by market speculation, was in Saint-Mande outside Paris. He had despatched his younger brother to Rome, where, with Nicolas Poussin as adviser, he had procured numerous beautiful artefacts to send home for the new house. Fouquet also collected a magnificent library. Then he inherited a small estate, Vaux le Vicomte, which moved him into the minor aristocracy. Deciding to create a chateau from scratch, he assembled a dream team of designers: Louis Le Vau, architecture, Charles Le Brun, interior decoration and Andre Le Nôtre, gardens. In 1656 the plans were signed off and by 1661, 18,000 workers and 18 million francs later it was completed.

The annual spend of the French Treasury was only 30 million francs so Mazarin and Colbert had become suspicious. Fouquet was probably fiddling the books but they also created false evidence and poisoned the king against him. Fouquet’s family motto, The Sky’s the Limit, and emblem, a climbing squirrel, were provocative and some of Le Brun’s decoration, appearing to compare Fouquet to the sun-god, was both hubristic and dangerous in the realm of Le Roi Soleil. The castle was indeed beautiful, designed around a central dome with forecourts and flanking pavilions, one wing being reserved for the Royal Family. Light and spacious, it showed off all the interior treasures to perfection, whilst its 170 acres of pleasure-gardens, on different levels with two diverted rivers, constantly surprised with optical illusions and shifting perspectives.

On August 13th 1661 Fouquet’s house-warming party had six thousand guests, including the king. Lully did the music and ballet, Molière wrote a play for the theatre in the grounds, La Fontaine wrote a celebratory poem. A six-course dinner was served on silver plates, with gold for the royal party. Louis had little gold of his own. Moreover, on the guided tour, he had seen Le Brun’s picture of his current mistress, Louise de la Vallière, as the goddess Diana. Given the witty and charming Fouquet’s reputation with women, what did that imply? Louis left early and furious and soon sent d’Artagnan and the musketeers to arrest Fouquet. He was eventually given a three-year show-trial. The court sentenced him to exile but Louis insisted on imprisonment in a remote castle in the Pyrenees. The harsh conditions lasted twenty years until Fouquet’s death. Meanwhile Louis took all movables and the dream team to furnish Versailles. This fascinating lecture was beautifully illustrated and wittily delivered by Carole Petipher.

 Written by Jan Herbert

Carole has a BA degree in French and Spanish. After graduating she embarked on a career in the French steel industry. During a sabbatical she found herself a passage on a French barge and fell in love with the lifestyle and the country. Life aboard river vessels on the Seine, Oise, Marne and Rhone offered her the chance to explore and further research certain riverside locations linked to art, which helped develop in- depth knowledge, and for more than ten years Carole has been a guide and lecturer on combined history and art tours in France. 

Chateau de Vaux le Vicomte 

CC SA BY 3.0

 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jean-Pol_GRANDMONT

In his mid-twenties in the early 1900s John was widely acknowledged as one of the most talented British artists to rival Gauguin or Picasso. The lecture explored John’s extraordinary life from his early successes before the First World War to his slow decline after it.

Augustus John spent his childhood in Tenby Pembrokeshire. His mother died when he was 5 and his father became a miserly recluse. At 16 John entered the Slade School of Art coming under the famous drawing master Henry Tonks. The School concentrated on drawing and he excelled. Many talented young artists passed through Tonks’ hands but he considered the best were Augustus John and Stanley Spencer.  

On holiday in Tenby, diving from a rock, John hit his head. Tonks believed this accident marked the change from shy boy to the reckless bohemian he would become. Fascinated by gipsies and often travelling in a gipsy caravan he became a womaniser, keen on drink and all too ready to pick a fight. In 1901 he married Ida Nettleship and they had 5 sons. When she died in Paris in 1907 he was already in a relationship with Dorelia by whom he fathered 4 more children. In total he would recognise 13 and by then he had lost count. While his relationship with Dorelia was tempestuous, it lasted until the end of their lives.

John’s talent had been recognised while in his twenties. In 1908 Virginia Wolfe wrote that it was the Age of Augustus John. His greatest talent lay in his drawings. These illustrate sensitivity, delicacy and a certainty of line. John Singer Sargent was an admirer and Lytton Strachey wrote; ‘the beauty of line and shape is incomparable.’  He would advise students to look long then draw with speed. However, John struggled to transfer his skills to oils and may have experienced a ‘crisis of brilliance’. 

Searching for an identity, he travelled widely exploring the work of other artists. Following his visit to Arles in 1907 and meeting Picasso during his blue phase, John painted A French Fisherboy. In his portrait Woman Smiling 1908/9, Dorelia is sitting and looking straight ahead with her hands on her knees - this pose compares directly with Ingres’ Portrait of Monsieur Bertin. Even his unfinished Lyric Fantasy 1913/14 may show influences by Botticelli’s Primavera.

His elder sister Gwen also trained at the Slade. Unlike her brother she kept her shyness all her life. She was happy to paint simple subjects such as the corner of her flat in Paris. Her work is highly sought after today.

After WWI John was sent by the Government to cover the Peace Conference where he met and painted T.E. Lawrence in Arab costume. Mainly though, John was in need of money and began commissioned portraits for those who could afford his prices. Such people did not interest him with the exception of Dylan Thomas 1938. Although he painted Lady Ottoline Morrell in 1919, she later said he had sold out to become a society painter. Having become something of a sex pest and drunkard, many would agree with Anthony Blunt, who while greatly admiring his talent, wrote in the Spectator that ‘he had wasted it.’ The 1980 Exhibition of British Artists of the 20th century did not include one example of his work. In the view of Dr. Haycock the pendulum has swung too far and his early work should be remembered and appreciated.

Written by Jenny Thorpe

David Boyd Haycock is a freelance art historian, author, curator and lecturer. He read Modern History at St John’s College, Oxford and has an MA in Art History from the University of Sussex and a PhD in History from the University of London.

His books have included Paul Nash (2001) and A Crisis of Brilliance: Five Young British Artists and the Great War (2009). He co-curated the exhibition ‘Augustus John: Drawn from Life,’ at Poole Museum (summer 2018) and Salisbury Museum (summer 2019).

Photo of Augustus John on board ship

Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.  LC-DIG-ggbain-35692 No Known Restrictions

Dr Foyle, a historian, curator of historic buildings, television broadcaster and journalist spoke about people who make a living by ‘making stuff’ using raw materials and ingenuity. He introduced his audience to metal workers, a ceramicist, weavers and furniture makers all of whom have made long term commitments to their training, producing and manufacturing products individually and often by hand, using traditional methods or updating them with new technology. 

Ryan McClean of Sheffield wanted to ‘break the bounds of convention’ when he designed bubbles on the sides of a silver column. Then, using a 3D printer, he revolutionised silver plating by using an organic material as a base that is later burnt away. 

Daniel Lee makes taps, bath and shower fittings from hand polished brass that will age and oxidise naturally because he values the joy of using beautifully made, practical things in our homes.

The owners of Blenheim Forge in London were initially fascinated by the folding and forging of samurai swords and taught themselves to make superb kitchen knives with handles recycled from old furniture. After an article about them in the Financial Times by Jonathan Foyle, demand was so great they feared their creativity would be compromised. 

Michael Johns of Newlyn, Cornwall, who makes original shields, vessels and sculptures in copper, also recognises that you have to keep learning to stay creative.

Jacob Bodilly calls his studio pottery ‘a place of study’, where he is inspired by the landscapes of the West Country. He uses natural materials in his glazes to achieve the colours of the sky or lichen on granite and shades of brown in valleys.

Some craftsmen have had to restore lost crafts, like Marion Glaser-Baur in Northern Ireland who weaves linen from home-grown flax that is soaked, carded and then woven on her loom. While others use technology to sell their designs to manufacturers. Dash and Miller invent weaving patterns from card-punched designs in the Italian tradition and they weave on a sophisticated 1950’s loom.  The Angrave rattan furniture and fittings business was saved by Lulu Little and is produced once more in Leicester.

English hardwoods are recovered by Nigel Fleckney in Northamptonshire; elm and dark bog oak, with their complex beautiful grains, are dug out of peat bogs to be made into objects by wood turners, or like Alexandra Llewellyn who designs and makes backgammon sets for discerning customers. These beautiful dark wooden boxes open to reveal bright inlays with pieces made of turquoise and lapis lazuli set in silver.
Perhaps the most unusual maker is Gavin Monroe of Bakewell who side-steps the processes of producing and manufacturing chairs by growing them, upside down, in willow beds. Like all crafts, his work is expensive to make and sell but prospective buyers are invited to buy shares as they wait for their furniture to grow.

Written by Jane Blandy

Jonathan Foyle has written thousands of words in the Financial Times Weekend section on Crafts People, their passions, skill and materials and how they see their prospects as inheritors and conduits of hand crafted tradition in a world of mass production.

Dr Jonathan Foyle was Chief Executive of World Monuments Fund Britain for eight years, and a Curator of Historic Buildings at Hampton Court for as long, during which time he took his 2002 PhD on reconstructing Wolsey's palace. A frequent broadcaster on a range of art-historical subjects and is an Honary Professor of Conservation

Lecture Reviews 

It took many centuries for artists to make the humble carpenter a visible image, Mary’s husband who never spoke a word in the bible. This lecture explores the many legends and faces of Joseph through the ages.

Joseph of Nazareth has often been depicted as a rather shadowy figure, however many of the stories and associated images are suppositions by theologians. Indeed, Joseph’s story is only told in two of the Gospels: Matthew and Luke.

The genealogy is outlined in the Gospel of Matthew. It tells that Joseph was descended from King David. ‘Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob...’ Jacob had twelve sons, one of whom was Joseph – of technicolour dream coat fame - and another was Judah. Judah was an ancestor of King David who was an ancestor of Joseph, thus establishing his royal descent.

Whilst the main story, beginning with the Annunciation to Mary, is told in the Gospel of Luke, artworks over time reflect changing interpretations of the story.

In an icon from 1315, Joseph is shown travelling to Bethlehem with a younger man, supposed to be his son. According to a legend, he was actually a widower and very old by the time he married Mary.

The 1327-35 Holkam Picture Book, an English school of bible stories, was almost a comic. It made Joseph look like a ridiculous character, who didn’t really understand what is going on.

In the 1494 Adoration of the Magi triptych, by Hieronymus Bosch, Joseph appears as an extra on the edge of the composition. It seems as if he is just doing menial tasks, but he is looking round at the stable as if keeping guard. So here, Joseph is the guardian and defender.

By the 16th century, Joseph is seen as more of a protector. Theologians begin to discuss why Joseph had appeared so old. He was about 36 at the time of the marriage, old enough to be sensible and secure in business, young enough to be a good husband. Michelangelo painted Doni Tondo 1507, showing Joseph supporting Mary and the baby, a tower of strength. In Guido Reni’s Adoration of the Shepherds (1575), an ass is shown above Joseph’s head suggesting he is carrying a heavy burden.

The Dream of St. Joseph (1642-3) by Philippe de Champaigne shows the Angel of the Lord appearing to Joseph in a dream, saying, ‘the Child is from the Holy Ghost and thou shall call him Jesus’. Joseph is depicted as kind, almost sacred, and has bare feet, a parallel with Moses at the Burning Bush in the Old Testament.

In the 16th and 17th century, people began to take interest in Joseph as a craftsman; guilds were started in honour of Saint Joseph as protector and maybe even as the teacher of Jesus.

Henry Ossawa Tanner’s painting The Flight into Egypt (1899) shows the couple travelling under cover of darkness, rather like holy refugees. Today Joseph has a modern resonance, as in Kelly Latimore’s Refugees: La Sagrada Familia (2016) depicting an escaping couple, with halos, carrying a child.

Pope Francis has just announced that from 8 December 2020 will be the Year of Saint Joseph.

Amina Wright has worked for the past 25 years as a curator of historic art collections, exhibitions and interiors. She has particular interests in eighteenth-century British art and Old Master paintings and has published books on Georgian Bath, Wright of Derby and George Stubbs.  Current projects include an exhibition and book on the early career of Thomas Lawrence and an MA in Christianity & the Arts at King's College London.

Painting of St. Joseph by Guido Reni 1620's

Hermitage Museum Public Domain

These two giants of British Art, were as unlike in temperament as their paintings were in style. They transformed the art of landscape. We examine their differences, similarities, battles and their shared triumphs. Who will be crowned star painter.

Continuing its programme via its own YouTube channel, The Arts Society Farnham hosted Nicola Moorby, who gave an enthralling, perceptive and lively lecture, “pitting” two Romantic British Landscape Artists “against each other.”  This approach cleverly revealed the talents of both; and we were left with a sense that both were giants who had enriched landscape painting and left a remarkable legacy.

Born within 14 months of each other their early lives were very different. Turner (1775- 1851) was the only surviving child of a wigmaker, raised in cosmopolitan Covent Garden. Ambitious like his father, hardworking, intelligent and restless, his prodigious talents saw him enrolled in the RA Schools at 14 and an Associate Royal Academician at 24.  Constable (1776-1837) was a country boy, son of a wealthy Suffolk mill owner with a large and happy family and no financial pressures, who only left home at 23 when he had finally persuaded his father to let him study painting at the RA Schools.  By this time Turner had already made a name for himself with his dramatic watercolour landscapes that always included a story, aware that the RA considered Historical painting as the highest art form.  Dramatic scenes leapt from canvases, whether, “Hannibal Crossing the Alps”, or “The Fighting Temeraire”; and guided more closely by the lecturer Nicola Moorby we saw the techniques which produced such energy, the glorious light effects he achieved with watercolour, and the ambition that elevated Landscape as the “sublime” backdrop to significant human lives.  He exploded on the art world, even though his medium was not the usual one for “high art” and never lost his popularity as a painter.  Constable on the other hand took much longer to make a name for himself.  Glorying in the “poetry and beauty” of the quiet Suffolk countryside and the mundane, and assuming to work with oil paint was novel and brave at the time. Using oils gave depth to the earthy colours, and allowed him to make changes during the composition; and his increasing use of white splashes of paint as his final layer brought clarity and vitality to the lovingly observed scenes.  The intensity of his vision came to be much admired as well as influential, with images such as “The Hay Wain” as iconic as Turner’s “The White Horse.”  Constable was finally elected to the RA when he was 52.  Recognition!   

We were shown many paintings during the course of the lecture, illustrating the rivalry between the two; but it seems to have been a competitiveness that stretched the players and increased their range. Turner was the more prolific, for not only did he start earlier and outlive Constable by 14 years he never allowed domestic “responsibilities” to encumber him.  Constable, grief stricken at the loss of his beloved wife Maria was left to care for seven children: he had far less time to devote to his art.  By the conclusion Nicola had given us a vivid sense of how these two very different artists had raised Landscape painting to “high art” through their innovative vision and ever-evolving techniques.  They gave pleasure and inspiration when alive and still do.  A life-enhancing hour indeed.

Written by Kate Siebert

Nicola is an independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner.  She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

(This talk was originally scheduled for June 2020)

Treasures from the Fan Museum was this month’s lecture, given by the museum’s creator, Jacob Moss.

Founded by Helene Alexander in 1991, it was the world’s first museum of fans and fan making. Nearly 30 years on, the museum in Greenwich now exhibits over 7000 fans and related articles dating from the 12th century to present day from all over the world. Along with a permanent display and numerous temporary exhibits, the museum offers lectures, workshops and specialises in conservation.

Jacob spoke about the history, culture and craft of fans from the 16th century to the modern day, however he began by showing an ancient Egyptian fan bearer carrying a tall processional fan from about 5000 years ago, demonstrating a fixed or rigid fan with no moving parts. Another common type is the folding or pleated fan, with sticks from a central pivot and an arc shaped leaf attached to the sticks. Sticks were commonly made from ivory, bone or tortoise shell with a leaf of calf or goat skin, lace, silver or paper.

Fans transitioned in the 16th century from exotic novelties to costume accessories. Bought into Europe by Portuguese or Venetian merchants from the Far East, they were predominantly small ornate fixed or flag fans, but by the latter part of the century, these were superseded by more utilitarian folding fans.

Throughout the 17th century, the French lead the way with increasingly lavish fans, incorporating hand painted scenes from theatre or classical history. They were an essential part of courtly attire, communicating the message of intellect and refinement for the carrier

The 1700s saw a more playful, seductive use of fans, decorated with classical influences or scenes from commerce around the world. Joseph Addison, 1711, the Spectator, wrote; ‘Women are armed with fans as men with swords but sometimes do more execution with them!’ Printed fans gave even the less well paid the opportunity to carry a fan.

The popularity that fans achieved in the 18th century diminished considerably at the end of the century after the French Revolution until a spectacular revival in the mid-1800s. As prosperity in Europe rose, fans became more luxurious – double-sided pastiches signed by the artist, mother of pearl, gold and gemstones.

Then came the era of fantasy and folly, from 1890- 1910, La Belle Epoch with renowned fan maker Duvelleroy and artists such as Tomasse specialising in animal subjects.

To enhance interest in the 21st century, the Street Fans project was launched by the museum in 2017 to encourage street artists to decorate their fans in new and exciting ways. It also highlighted world renowned fan maker Sylvain Le Guen and resulted in an exhibition of 54 vibrant and innovative fans.

Jacob Moss is the curator of the Fan Museum in Greenwich. After returning to formal education he graduated with distinction in his MA in Fashion Curation.

If you'd like to know more about the language of fans watch Lucy Worsley's handy guide. https://youtu.be/9fOs3B0_wJU

More on Jacob's life as an AS lecturer. Click here 

Photo courtesy of the Fan Museum

Fashion has always been a powerful influencer and in the Victorian and Edwardian eras it led to a trend that was to be devastating to exotic birds worldwide. The plumage trade where women wore hats decorated with feathers was a massive industry, worth at its peak the equivalent of £200 million annually with 5 million birds killed each year. The extraordinary decorative creations ranged from whole birds to delicate and rare feathers, remarkably the price of an ounce of egret feathers rose to twice that of gold. Hummingbirds, grebe, terns, and birds of paradise were amongst those sold in the markets by the thousand. Whilst the desire to have a bird hat crossed the social divide with the servant class clubbing together to buy an exotic feather to be shared around, not every woman fell under the spell.  Tessa’s interesting and entertaining lecture looked at how the campaign, instigated by some remarkable women against the trade led to the founding of the RSPB. Etta Lemon, Emily Williamson and Eliza Philips, unheralded for decades, set about ruffling a few feathers.  It wasn’t easy, the industry provided hundreds of jobs and even the leading suffragettes almost prided themselves on wearing this “murderous millinery”.  

The campaigners resorted to sandwich board parades round the sales, showing photos of what happened to the birds in the hope of awakening the consciousness of women.

World War One changed society in many respects, fashion moved on and with the help of Nancy Astor, a bill was eventually passed to ban the imports.  However perhaps in some dusty family album we all have a picture of a great aunt with her feathered hat and wondered about its origins and now we know. .

Written by Joanne Watson

Tessa Boase is a social historian, journalist and freelance lecturer for organisations such as the V&A, English Heritage and the National Trust. She has an MA in English Literature from Oxford and a diploma in Art History from the British Institute of Florence. Her interest lies in uncovering stories of the invisible women of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, revealing how they drove industry, propped up high society and manipulated politics.

Photo Humminbird Earrings Metropolitan Museum of Art Public Domain

These two giants of British Art, were as unlike in temperament as their paintings were in style. They transformed the art of landscape. We examine their differences, similarities, battles and their shared triumphs. Who will be crowned star painter.

Nicola is an independent art historian specialising in British art of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. She studied at the University of York and Birkbeck College, London. Formerly a curator at Tate Britain she has curated a number of exhibitions and has published widely on J.M.W. Turner.  She is also co-editor and author of How to Paint Like Turner (Tate Publishing, 2010). In addition, she has published on Walter Richard Sickert and is co-author of Tate's catalogue of works by the Camden Town Group.

Since 1925, Faber and Faber has built a reputation as one of London’s most important literary publishing houses. Part of this stems from the firm’s insistence on good design and illustrations. TS Elliot was famously an early recruit. This lecture traces the history of the company through its illustrations and cover designs peppered with personal insights and anecdotes.

Toby Faber has written two works of narrative history, Stradivarius and Fabergé's Eggs, and given lectures associated with these two subjects at venues including The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Library of Congress and the Huntington Library, as well as a number of literary festivals. His career began with Natural Sciences at Cambridge and has been through investment banking, management consulting and five years as managing director of the publishing company founded by his grandfather, Faber and Faber, where he remains on the board. 

Royal dynasties throughout history from Indian Maharajas to Catherine the Great all displayed their status, power and wealth wearing some remarkable gemstones and jewellery. The lecture features one of the world’s most famous collections under lock and key at the Tower of London.

Joanna’s early Interest was influenced by her godmother, a gemologist, who owned a jewellery shop here in Farnham. Joanna trained as a goldsmith before working for the diamond company De Beers as a valuer and dealer. Later she joined Sotheby’s organising auctions worldwide. An independent specialist she is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a freeman of the City of London and a regular jewellery expert on the Antiques Roadshow.

Crown of Louis XV photo by CsvBibra Creative Commons share alike 4.00

Research has shown how thousands of women were forced to enter convents against their will in order to save their families the cost of their dowries. Matched alongside this was the huge growth in the number and wealth of Venetian Courtesans.

Brought up in Italy, France and Switzerland, Patsy holds a first class degree in Italian from Trinity College, Dublin and a Masters degree in Imperial Russian history from Edinburgh University. Having taught in the US she returned to the Uk and lectures widely to societies and groups. Her interests are the society, art and architecture of Imperial Russia; Italian history, art and culture; the English eighteenth century.

Veronica Franco, famous Venetian poet and courtesan. Portrait by Paolo Veronese.

Rupert’s theme addressed the long lasting impact of the Normans on England. He pointed out that while this is visible in the castles and cathedrals, less obviously it is shown by the number of families who can trace their ancestry straight back to the Conquest. The knights who joined William on his massive gamble to invade England were brutal, pitiless and greedy. The Bayeux Tapestry depicts a knight bearing down with his sword ready to cut the throat of an Englishman who has already thrown down his. They came to plunder a peaceful land.

On arriving on Pevensey Beach, William leapt out falling heavily. However he picked himself up slowly with fistfuls of shingle in his hand, turning round what could have seemed a bad omen. He then announced, “What’s mine is yours.” He proved true to his word rewarding the band of 11 faithful friends with half the acreage of England; a land bonanza indeed. To Bishop Odo of Bayeux, his younger brother who commissioned the Tapestry, he gave the Earldom of Kent together with 500 manors. Robert Bigot was also amply rewarded and today his descendant is the Duke of Norfolk. Many knights passed on this generosity to their feudal followers. For example William Patrick was granted a single manor by Odo, and his name lives on in the village of Patrick Bourne which is also graced by a highly attractive Norman church.

The Norman knights hurried to erect 84 simple wooden motte and bailey castles on locations chosen in order to dominate the landscape. In time many of these would be rebuilt in stone. William himself immediately began work on building the White Tower of London. This could be seen for miles providing a potent symbol of his power and authority. Such buildings were a complete innovation in peaceful Anglo-Saxon England.      

When William died in Normandy in 1087, the body was brought to his Abbey at Caen. However the funeral was a litany of disasters. It ended in farce as his huge and now bloated body would not fit into the dug grave. Finally it burst and the disgusting odour brought the service to a swift close. While William had exuded strength, piety and authority; his sons did not.  William Rufus (1087-1100) scandalised the clergy by his immorality as William of Malmesbury records.  From drawings we note the fashions of the court; squirrel lined cloaks, shoes with curled up toes, tunics with side slits and long hair parted in the middle – quite unlike the style of the knights shown in the Tapestry. The shoes and long sleeves, which completely covered the hands, indicate a life of soft indulgence and today it is widely assumed William was homosexual. Following the First Crusade of 1099, piety itself became a fashion and the knights hurried to outdo each other in the establishment of monasteries and churches. The majority of our parish churches show strong evidence of the Romanesque Norman style. Winchester cathedral was rebuilt as was Canterbury with the stone being brought from Caen.

Hugh the Fat – nephew of the Conqueror and Earl of Chester - was one of the most depraved knights, but he was lavish with his gifts. This included the vast Westminster Hall which he contemptuously dismissed as bring “too small!” As Rupert was brought up on the Isle of Wight we were treated to slides of Carisbrooke Castle and a reminder that the descendants of Baldwin de Redvers remain residents there to this day. There can be no doubt the Norman legacy lives on.

Written by Jennifer Thorpe

Rupert Willoughby specialises in the domestic and social life of the past. He is the author of the best-selling Life in Medieval England and of a series of popular histories of places, including Chawton: Jane Austen’s Village. His most recent book – perhaps his greatest challenge to date – is Basingstoke and its Contribution to World Culture.

At the first meeting of 2020, the members of The Arts Society Farnham were treated to a lively exploration of “Caravaggio and His Models” given by Dr Anne-Marie Mancio.  With detailed  knowledge of, and a clear delight in her subject, Dr Mancio highlighted the originality, power and naturalism of his “new style” of painting, showing how it was very much a product of Caravaggio’s passionate engagement in life, the intensity of his vision and determined realism.

He was born in 1571 in the small town of Caravaggio near Milan, into a lowly family with good connections; and Michelangelo Marisi da Caravaggio seems to have had to deal with contrasting fortunes throughout his life. In an age of violence and bubonic plague, Marisi was an orphan by the age of eleven. He survived in Milan as a jobbing artist, before being apprenticed to Simone Peterzano, who encouraged him to go to Rome, where its many churches were vying with each other for the most magnificent interiors. He is reputed to have travelled to Rome via Venice, where he probably saw paintings by Titian, Giorgione and Tintoretto. The latter’s dramatic Crucifixion may have influenced Caravaggio as the power of the scene was partly achieved by the use of a dark rather than the traditional light background, which meant that the figures leaped out at the viewer.  As the illustrated lecture unfolded we could see this technique being developed by Caravaggio throughout his life.

Arriving in Rome around 1592, unknown and impoverished, Caravaggio’s models were either friends or the poor surrounding him, often prostitutes and minor criminals.  One of his first successful paintings was Boy with a Basket of Fruit: a beautiful boy, bursting with life, holding an exquisitely painted basket of luscious fruit, a reminder of the fleeting nature of youth.  But the attention Caravaggio lavished on the contents of the basket suggests that the artist was as attracted to the actuality of the fruit not just its potential symbolism.  His early paintings were much admired by the elite of Rome and one of them, Cardinal Del Monte, became his powerful patron, opening many doors for him.  For one of his aristocratic admirers he produced the much praised The Lute Player (1596) featuring another beautiful boy, probably a castrato from the papal choir; and eventually, in 1599 he received his first public commission – three paintings for the French Franciscan Church in Rome.  Caravaggio was really on his way, all the more remarkable because the popular Mannerist style – full of exaggerated, even distorted movement - was not for Caravaggio.  He always focussed on the reality of life and the simple truth of powerful emotions. The drama came from this and his continuing use of chiaroscuro – painting from dark to light, with one intense light source leading the viewer to the core of the story. The lecturer illustrated this through a variety of church commissions, including the first, illustrating scenes from the life of St Matthew, and later ones, including The Ecstasy of St Francis (1600), where Del Monte himself seems to have modelled for the saint, also The Conversion of Saul and The Sacrifice of Isaac where his assistant Cecco may have been the model for both paintings.  Though the rich and powerful were happy to sit for him, Caravaggio continued to use the poor.  The beautiful boy with his basket of fruit could have been friend and fellow artist, Mario Minniti; but he would also use a prostitute, Anna Brancini, to show a Penitent Magdalen (1596/7) as well as Martha in Martha and Mary (1598), the Virgin in Death of the Virgin (1606) and The Madonna and Child with St Anne; while the courtesan, Fillide Melandroni, first appearing in Portrait of a Courtesan (1597), also modelled for the Madonna, St. Catherine, The Martyrdom of St Catherine  and Judith, Judith and Holofernes.  At a time when hierarchy was so important, any association of the Madonna and Saints with prostitutes was an outrage and would lead to trouble. 

So his paintings were sometimes rejected and one in particular led to a great scandal.  A commission from Vincenzo Giustiniani in 1602 Amor Vincit Omnia caused uproar, for the cheeky, naked, young Cupid was clearly flaunting his sexuality and rejecting the gentler Arts.  An indignant cardinal commissioned a rival painter, Giovanni Baglioni, to paint a pendant to Caravaggio’s image: Sacred Love and Profane Love in which a more mature and powerful angel representing Sacred Love prevents the serpent from mating with Cupid.  When Caravaggio mocked him for this, Baglioni created a second version in which the serpent is replaced by the devil, whose monstrously grinning face was remarkably like Caravaggio’s.  There were already rumours about the artist’s possible homosexuality, so this painting added to the scandal. To make things worse, Caravaggio and Horatio Gentileschi posted scurrilous verses about Baglioni risking mortal punishment if found guilty of libel, just as the artist would have been condemned if sodomy had been proven.  Del Monte was able to save Caravaggio this time, but a duel in 1606 with Ranuccio Tomasini, leading to Tomasini’s death, was a step too far for the Cardinal who abandoned his erstwhile favourite.  So he fled to Naples, a very different place from the international sophistication of Rome and under Spanish rule.  The fierce devotion of the latter led to many commissions, such as The Head of John the Baptist (1607), in which the artist appears to have used his own head to model that of the decapitated saint.  Later he used himself as model again in David with the Head of Goliath but he is not the triumphant David, but again decapitated as the vanquished Goliath.

Although he constantly moved around to avoid the authorities he was relentlessly pursued and finally fled to Malta in July 1607, where he was given sanctuary by the Knights of Malta. Much admired there he was soon painting a portrait of the Grand Master, Olof de Wignacourt, who was clearly delighted, for Caravaggio received a host of commissions, both private portraits and religious subjects. His success led to his being welcomed into the Order, which would have given him an automatic pardon, but he assaulted a fellow knight, was expelled from the Order and imprisoned.  He must have had some friends left for he escaped an impregnable prison and sailed for Sicily, where he adorned many churches with his vivid storytelling.  He was pardoned but was again involved in a serious brawl, in which his face was disfigured.  The scar is clearly visible in the face of Samson, where again he used himself as model.  After a further time in Naples he decided to appeal to the Pope directly and so took ship for Rome.  Unfortunately he was arrested en route and imprisoned again. Though he was soon released, his poor health and the energy needed to continue his journey to Rome was too much for him and he died at Port’Ercole on 18 July 1610, aged 38.

His comparatively short life was as conflicted as his paintings were dramatic.  In spite of the violence there was a fierce honesty and vivid engagement in life; and perhaps a profound sense of sin.  Referring back to some of Caravaggio’s tormented paintings, such as The Beheading of John the Baptist where the artist had signed the work in his own blood and The Martyrdom of St. Ursula (1610) where he places himself behind the martyred saint. Dr Mancio suggested the possibility that the artist was recognising his guilt for his sins and begging for forgiveness.  The lecture revealed an enthralling if enigmatic figure who created unforgettable images in which the viewer is just as powerfully engaged today as they were in Renaissance Italy; and his intense naturalism and use of chiaroscuro would inspire many later artists.  An enthralling morning.

Written by Kate Siebert

Dr Mancio trained as an artist before gaining a PhD in Art and Critical Theory from the University of Sussex. Has lectured in art history for the City Lit, Tate Modern, the Course, Art in London, London Art Salon, Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Nth Degree Club and many private art societies; also runs art history study tours abroad. 

Posthumous Portrait of Caravaggio by Ottavio . 1621

2019 Reviews 

It was with delight and much anticipation that the Art Society Farnham welcomed back Bertie Pearce to our Christmas lecture where he enthralled us with “A Dickens of a Christmas.” Bertie explained the significance of the author’s childhood. Aged 12 he was forced to leave school and work long hungry hours at the Blacking factory sticking on labels, while his father rested in the Marshalsea Debtors’ Prison. The memory haunted him all his life and infused his passion for reform. As a man of literary talent and “superfluous steam” or energy, he raged against the twin monsters Ignorance and Want. Just as Dickens’ stories are alleviated by humour, so Bertie interacted amusingly with his audience performing three conjuring tricks. He even enticed the Programme Secretary onto the stage persuading her to hold an egg beater to her forehead! However the main focus was on his most famous story A Christmas Carol published in 1848. This tells of the transformation of the miserable skinflint Scrooge into a generous employer and community benefactor. While the Spirit of Christmas Past reminded him of the happy time he spent with Mr Fezziwig enjoying the food, dancing and games, he was also shown the future when Tiny Tim, the disabled son of his clerk Bob Cratchit clearly dies; his heart was touched and he changed. Dickens died in 1870 but his portrayal of the effects of those terrible times had impact; attitudes began to change. His books were wildly popular in the United States and one businessman was so moved by the story that he gave his factory workers the day off on Christmas Day for the first time. Bertie ended his splendid lecture with Tiny Tim’s immortal words “God bless us everyone.” 

Written by Jennifer Thorpe

Bertie is a member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star. He read drama at Manchester University and the Ecole Internationale du Theatre Jaques Lecoq in Paris. His life long fascination with Magic, inherited from his grandfather has seen him perform all over the world in many weird and wonderful places. A very popular cabaret and party magic act has endeared him to audiences worldwide and we welcome him back for our Christmas entertainment.

A packed session of The Arts Society Farnham listened to a lecture by Lars Tharp, one of the most experienced experts on the BBC Antiques Roadshow, about the introduction of porcelain china in Meissen, near Dresden in the early 18th century. His story starts with a painting, The Feast of the Gods by Bellini from the early 16th century which depicts three large Chinese porcelain platters fit to serve food for the gods.

The Chinese were the only producers for over 1,000 years before the recipe and extremely high firing temperatures were mastered by the Meissen factory early in the 18th century. Until then the Portuguese were the first to import this highly prized porcelain from China and Japan, followed by other European countries, including The Dutch East India Company.

Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, financed the development of porcelain at Albrechtsburg Castle, Meissen, firstly in 1708 with Böttger Ware, a hard, red stoneware which could be engraved through its glazed surface, and then in 1713 with the discovery of the recipe for white porcelain.

The signature underglaze "Meissen Blue" was introduced by Friedrich August Köttig. Minutely detailed landscapes and port scenes, animals, flowers, court and historical scenes, chinoiseries - fanciful Chinese-inspired decorations, and commedia dell’arte figurers were highly valued. Johann Joaquim Kändler was the genius behind life-size animal figures which were displayed in galleries in 1720s, while colour developed out of the existing manufacture of coloured enamelware.

By this time porcelain was also produced in other parts of Germany and Europe but Meissen porcelain excelled in its all round detail, ingenuity and intricacy. The Rococo period introduced mythology and Hogarth’s engravings as sources of inspiration but Meissen, with its famous trademark of two crossed swords, maintained its monopoly by keeping production to Albrechtsburg Castle. Over time the craze for Meissen porcelain declined as the factory continued to reissue traditional designs. In 1945 Allied bombing destroyed most of the factory but today the company survives mostly on limited production of 18th century designs.

Written by Jane Blandy

Lars Tharp is a Ceramics and Oriental Art Specialist. Born in Copenhagen, he read Archaeology at Cambridge, was at Sotheby's for sixteen years, and is today London's Foundling Museum's 'Hogarth Ambassador'. He holds an Honorary Doctorate in Art, is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and sits on the court of The Company of Weavers, London's oldest guild. He has served twice on the Art Fund's Annual Prize to Museums and Galleries. A regular broadcaster, Lars was part of the Antiques Roadshow team for more than 30 years.

Dr Susan Whitfield, a scholar, writer, curator and traveller has explored and studied the Silk Road for over 30 years so she brought a wealth of knowledge and understanding to her talk.  She showed how the name the Silk Road is really a misnomer as the trade route it encompasses had many different branches by land and sea; but it was an immediately recognisable term, vividly bringing to life the cultural and trading highway that was so significant across north Africa, central Europe and Asia for well over a thousand years.  A large map clearly showed its many branches from Eastern China, through a variety of routes across central Asia to the Middle East, North Africa and Europe; as well as the routes taken by ships across the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the rivers of Eurasia. These routes could change depending on external conditions such as weather and warfare.   And just as the trade route was far more complex and extensive than just one Road, so too, objects traded were far more than just Silks, but slaves, furs, spices and luxury goods of all kinds.

Dr Whitfield stressed that though trade was the reason for the highways, the significant result was an enriching exchange of technologies, cultures, religions, languages and life styles.  She chose to develop this by focussing on individual artefacts that had been traded or established along the Silk Road.  She referred to the trade in slaves – people as a commodity - a common practice in most societies at the time; and spoke briefly about the prevalence of Buddhist Stupas – sacred memorial sites – scattered over a wide area, often in now deserted regions, revealing where busy trading posts must once have been.  Travellers took their faiths along the Silk Road as they traded.  

But Dr Whitfield’s main focus was on 3 specific artefacts that showed how technologies were shared and sometimes modified as they are represented across the route.  An image of a contemporary glass works in Lebanon, where the same skills have been practised for nearly two thousand years, was an introduction to a glass bowl made in that region in the first century AD but found buried in a grave in South Eastern China.  What Dr Whitfield called an  IKEA bowl of the time in the place it was made, was clearly seen as an exotic and costly object in China as it had been buried in the tomb of an important statesman.  Shipwrecks have been found that show that such simple bowls were packed in their thousands in the holds of ships and transported across the Indian Ocean to China, as glass would have been considered too fragile to have been carried on camels.  Made in the West for thousands of years, glass was the preferred tableware as metal containers tainted the taste of wine and food; whereas in China where non-tainting stoneware was used for hot food and drink, there was no such need.  So glass was traded from the West to the East, and with time, its technology spread eastwards along the Silk Road; though the glass was used for different purposes and fashioned in varied ways in different cultures. In Egypt for instance, it was frequently coloured to imitate precious stones, such as blue glass to supplement lapis lazuli in the Funeral Mask of Tutankhamun; and in China, when it arrived there, glass was often made to emulate Jade, which was highly valued.

We were then shown an image of a magnificent silver-gilt ewer that had been made in the 6th Century in Bactria (now Northern Afghanistan), with a design reminiscent of the Mediterranean, but buried in a tomb in North Western China.  Its decorative panels showed a version of a story much loved in Ancient Greece, that of the Judgement of Paris: a story that may have found its way to the Himalayas when Alexander of Macedon marched his army so far from home. A closer look at the ewer’s beaded foot, a Sassanian motif, shows that the Bactrian craftsman was influenced by those from further north, in modern Uzbekistan. Other images of jewellery, silver and glass heightened our recognition that styles, stories, technical skills and usage were passed through many cultures, being modified or adopted as was found desirable or beneficial.

Finally Dr Whitfield considered Silk, the most prized and luxurious commodity that was carried from the East to the West.   Many societies had taken and used cocoons from the wild silk moth but the Chinese had domesticated the moth about 5000 years ago, and by feeding it constantly on the leaves of the white mulberry tree it became vastly bigger than its wild cousin.  Its correspondingly larger cocoon produced an average of a kilometre of fine but strong silk thread.  Their knowledge enabled the Chinese to produce more silk more speedily than any rivals; and it was their precious produce that gave the trading route its name. Silk technology spread rapidly through Eastern and central Asia and later into Europe, with the Muslims of Spain in the 9th Century.  Our speaker illustrated the wonderful variety of designs with examples of precious silk fragments that have survived for over a thousand years. One had been used to protect a holy relic in France, stressing the silk’s almost other-worldly quality. The Sassanian roundel appears again in the patterned silk from China showing how the art and culture of one society influenced another.  All the examples we saw showed how the Silk Road was far more than a trading route: more significantly it was a conduit for the exchange of ideas, beliefs, skills and culture.  We also saw clearly that though Silk from China gave the route its name, many commodities were traded, and it was a two way exchange - to and from the East and West.  In the words of Dr Whitfield “every object tells us something of the wonderful complexity of this Road.”

Kate Siebert

Dr Susan Whitfield is a writer, scholar, lecturer and traveler of the Silk Roads. During 25 years curating the collections of manuscripts from Dunhuang and other Silk Road sites at the British Library, she also helped found and then developed the International Dunhuang Project (IDP), now a thriving international collaboration working on the art and artefacts of the eastern Silk Road. She has lectured and written widely on the Silk Road. . She has also curated several major exhibitions and organized field trips to archaeological sites in the Taklamakan desert.

Lecture details 

The first of this season’s series of Arts Society Farnham lectures, Tantrums and Tiaras, was given by Nigel Bates to a packed Great Hall at the Maltings. It was a fascinating look at life at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, home of the Royal Opera, the Royal Ballet, the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House and also the Chorus.

Nigel, formally the Section Principle Percussionist at Covent Garden, was appointed the Musical Administrator for the Royal Ballet in early 2013. He explained that a prestigious organisation like the Royal Opera House, which often runs up to fourteen projects simultaneously, requires a highly organised, competent and cooperative team to maintain the highest standards.

He paints a vivid picture of the concert hall, horseshoe-shaped and lavishly redecorated in 1858 with red velvet and gold, that intimately focuses the audience towards the stage and music.  World-class singers and the Royal Opera House Orchestra performing say, Verdi’s La Traviata create a truly immersive experience.

Bates then juxtaposes this with the experience backstage: completely rebuilt in 1997-99, as the stage was becoming unsafe. It is now purely functional. The staging of any performance is all about creating an illusion, using lighting and props and never spending money on something that the audience won’t see, such as the back of the set. It is often unfinished, utilising crash mats to break the fall of a jumping singer acting out their despair. On more than one occasion, the lead got into character so convincingly that the stage crew swapped the crash mat for a trampoline in an effort to temper his tantrums! The illusion continues on stage with foam polystyrene instead of real rocks. There is a dedicated cleaning team removing the vast amounts of dust and dangerous objects such as nails, ensuring the safety of the singers at all times.

The deputy stage manager sits in a tiny cubicle off stage, often called Mission Control, surrounded by a conductor monitor, a stage monitor, microphones, controls and a high definition TV screen – as nowadays the action can be shown on a big screen. He or she must follow the score and be aware of every small component that makes up the total production.

The percussionists are at stage level and thus unable to see the audience and indeed, very little of the performance either. They are able to look up however to view the decorative roof dome of the auditorium. The rings edging the dome open inwards revealing the follow-spotlights in the roof. Operators thirty feet high must know the artist’s movement by heart to enable the spots to light up and draw attention to the appropriate singer.

It is difficult to imagine how a singer copes with performing at the Royal Opera House. The fear, insecurity and isolation beforehand; the audience’s eyes bearing down on you; lights shining from all angles; the modern high definition filming, up-close-and-personal; props letting you down; and supporting characters not being ready. No wonder singers sometimes behave like the king or queen they are portraying. The capacity to produce immense noise, also to act and navigate around the stage are needed. Pavarotti’s acting skills were not fantastic, but his voice more than compensated. Soprano Maria Callas, dubbed Madame Callous, would shake like a small child before a performance, but at the first cue, she was transformed and fantastic. Sadly, not all audiences are forgiving, as happened at La Scala in Milan, when the tenor Roberto Alagna was booed off stage and the understudy had to continue in his place, all caught on film.

The dancers at the Royal Ballet train from a very young age and the company directors usually rule with a rod of iron. The company also runs an outreach program called ‘Chance to Dance’ offering those who have never danced before an opportunity to be part of the Royal Ballet. The risks are very great and nowadays there is a health care team on site also. Dancing the Nutcracker can be dangerous and in Cinderella, there are many props on stage such as steps, some held down with sticky tape.

Live animals on stage can be unpredictable as well. In La Fille Mal Gardee, a dancer is always at the ready with a brush behind the Shetland pony, and even a pair of pigeons require an understudy, in case one has a tantrum and flies off.

Today the Royal Opera House plays to an average 90% capacity as a result of sound planning and finances. Knowing their audience and getting people to come to performances is paramount. Some are very long and serious, others such as La Fille du Regiment, featuring Dawn French are humorous. In addition, a tea dance is held monthly in the Paul Hamlyn Hall, so many members of the general public can also claim that they have danced at Covent Garden! It has not, however, always been such a well-run company. In the 1990s, the BBC spent many days in there, producing six hours of gripping documentary entitled The House, which showed disgruntled personnel and a lack of planning and budgeting.

Offstage and into the orchestra pit is a dark, airless and noisy place. The conductor looks down towards the orchestra. The layout is similar to that of a concert hall, although in a concert hall the orchestra looks down to the conductor. The players can hear the singers, but cannot see the dancers and very rarely any of the performers, so the electric moment before curtain up, when everything is ready, can also be a leap of faith. Sometimes musicians have to dress up, and the Chorus are given a myriad of costumes, wigs and face paint, often with many changes required during the performance.

Conductors of the Royal Opera have all had their own style, some very dictatorial, such as one German conductor who was treated to an impromptu rendition of The Great Escape during rehearsals. The last ‘Big Four’ conductors of the Royal Opera have been the Hungarian Sir Georg Solti, whose intention was to make the Royal Opera ‘simply the best opera in the world’.  Colin Davis took over in 1971 then Bernard Haitink, who retired at 90. The current conductor is Antonio Pappano, who has the knack of being able to explain very complex ideas.

There are numerous considerations with any production: artistic; practical, props, scenery, special effects; and the financial management of those aspects. Much rehearsal is needed to ensure everyone’s safety, indeed the theatre at the Royal Opera House was built in 1858 after the first two burnt down. Richard Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods, a fourteen hour epic, first premiered in 1876, makes huge demands on the audience, the singers, finances and stage management, including special effects such as flames and flooding.

Utilisation of the many spaces at Covent Garden is managed by a school timetable. The main stage is in constant demand for rehearsals with up to fourteen productions in process at any one time. Rehearsals in the Pit are every day and evening for 48 weeks of the year. There are Chorus rehearsal rooms, ballet studios, set production and so on.

It takes many people and much tension to produce the very best performers, music, scenery and staging for the 2246 spectators and expectations are extraordinarily high, but it is a collaboration of people and processes that have made the Royal Opera House one of the world’s flagship performance venues.

Nigel worked as a performer for over 30 years in and out of London’s Royal Opera House.  In 2012 he was a producer for BBC Classical Music TV’s Maestro at the Opera and in early 2013 he was appointed Music Administrator for The Royal Ballet

The lecture this month, Nothing to Declare: Art Stopped at Customs, was given by Rosalind Whyte. Rosalind is an experienced guide at the Tate Britain, Tate Modern, the Royal Academy and Greenwich. She leads art appreciation holidays and also lectures at the Tate, Dulwich Picture Gallery and independent art societies.

Rosalind discussed the clash between the legal and artistic worlds when art is seized at customs. Referencing numerous examples, she explained the difficulties in identifying firstly what is art,  and then, whose art is it? Two simple questions with very different conclusions, depending on the standpoint: literal or creative.

Constantin Brancusi (1876 – 1957) was born in Hobita Gorj, Romania, about 250 km west of Bucharest, a small town known for folk craft and wood carving. He studied sculpture at the Bucharest School of Fine Art and then, wishing to be closer to the centre of the art world, he walked to Paris, a 391 hour walk. After working closely with Rodin, he wanted to do something different, and he told himself that nothing can grow under big trees. Brancusi was interested in capturing the essence of a character, not the form. His sculpture, Bird In Space, created in the early 1920s, represented the abstract movement of a bird in flight. In fact, Brancusi made five versions using different materials in an effort to reveal something new about the form.

In 1926, the photographer Edward Steichen bought Bird in Space and shipped it to New York. The law in the United States permitted works of art to enter the country free of import taxes because American galleries were endeavouring to build collections, and European art was most influential at the time. Sculpture was defined as a reproduction by carving or casting; an imitation of natural objects or a directly human form. The customs appraiser classified Bird in Space as not sculpture therefore making it subject to 40% tax. He stated, If that’s art, I’m a bricklayer. This sentiment was remembered many years later when Carl Andre’s Equivalent VIII – 120 firebricks – was bought by the Tate in 1972.

So, the case was taken to court to ascertain whether the sculpture adequately resembled what it was supposed to represent. The judge decided that the object was beautifully symmetrical, and although difficult to associate with a bird, it was pleasing to look at. However, was Bird in Space an original piece, or simply an industrial process, similar to a kitchen utensil? And as mentioned, there were other versions of the sculpture. Brancusi poked fun at artists who did use Ready-Mades like Marcel Duchamp, who had made Fountain from a disused urinal. Eventually, after two years, the judge agreed that Bird in Space wasn’t industrial work and therefore was entitled to free entry, thus establishing an important principle that art does not have to involve a realistic representation of nature and that Bird in Space represented the abstract concept of flight. Interestingly, the sculpture went from being viewed as a kitchen utensil in 1926 to being sold at Christie’s in 2005 for $27 million!

The definition of art has always been contentious. Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (1875) by J.A.M. Whistler, was dismissed by John Ruskin, a leading art critic at the time, as Flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face. Whistler sued Ruskin and won the case, but was only awarded a farthing and subsequently went bankrupt after the court fees.

American Dan Flavin, specialised in conceptual minimalist art. Much of his work was constructed using fluorescent light bulbs, including Monuments to Vladimir Tatlin (1966-69), but the European import authorities argued that a monument is usually made of materials such as marble and that the piece was simply an electrical device, not sculpture.

Similarly, HMRC recently said they were not happy that video is art when the American video artist Bill Viola displayed works such as Hall of Whispers – videos of four people, mouths bound and eyes shut, as it lacks the three dimensional properties of a sculpture. A tribunal took expert evidence to expand the concept of sculpture to include video, but in 2010 the EU overturned the decision, saying it only becomes sculpture when it is working (not disassembled) when it comes into the country. The European Commission said that Flavin’s work has characteristics of light fittings - not works of art -and therefore subject to the higher tax rate.

Customs has also been involved with whose work it is. Portrait of Wally (1912) by Egon Schiele was captured by the Nazis and in 1954 was bought by Rudolph Leopold. Schiele’s heirs challenged the ownership of the work and it was seized at customs for ten years whilst it went through litigation. Eventually, the Leopold Museum paid $19 million to the heirs and the painting remained in the museum.

A parcel sent from Belgium was intercepted in Newark by FedEx with a customs declaration value label of $37. Inside, was a note; Happy Christmas, from Peter and the $2.5 million missing Picasso La Coiffeuse (1911) from the Pompidou Centre in Paris. No one was ever found guilty, but the painting was returned to the Gallery.

An interesting example of conceptual art was made in 1973 by Michael Craig-Martin entitled An Oak Tree. It consisted of a glass of water, standing on a small glass shelf, mounted high above the ground and a label below stating that the oak tree is physically present but in the form of a glass of water. The work may reflect the importance of faith, or transubstantiation, in Catholicism - the belief that bread and wine is actually the body and blood of Christ. Craig-Martin was interested in suspending belief and willing faith in the viewer, saying, It’s not only imperceptible but also inconceivable. Australian customs must have taken this on board when they banned the work from entering the country on the basis that the import of all vegetation into Australia is banned. The artist was forced to backtrack and clarify that it was not actually an oak tree.

The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living (1991) by Damien Hirst, better known as The Shark, was displayed at the Saatchi Gallery in 1992. A tiger shark bought for £6,000 from an Australian fisherman hangs in a tank of formaldehyde and sold for £50,000. In 1996, Hirst displayed Mother and Child Divided, two cows literally cut in half from head to tail and displayed in separate tanks. At the time, the UK was consumed by Mad Cow disease and he ran into problems with US customs when taking the exhibition to New York.

Tracy Emin, a Royal Academician, has always produced thought provoking and varied work. A famous piece My Bed (1998), featured a double bed, unmade and littered with the detritus of her awful life. In order to ship the piece to Japan for an exhibition, all the sheets and loose items were packed into a suitcase, but the Japanese customs refused to believe that it was art. Emin had to provide witnesses from the art world to prove that she was an artist, and alive. The piece was sold in 2014 to Count Durkheim at Christie’s for £2.5 million.

The installation Thirty Pieces of Silver (1988-9) by Cornelia Parker is a reference to the betrayal of Chris by Judas. It became a performance piece when over 1000 pieces of unwanted silver-plate – betrayed by previous owners - tankards, vases, trophies, trombones and such like from junk shops was laid out along a concrete road and flattened by a steam roller. The flattened silver was arranged into thirty groups and suspended in mid-air by thin metal threads. In 1995, Cornelia visited the Colt 45 gun factory in Connecticut. Struck by the chilling shapes of a gun in the bland metal elements of the initial manufacturing process, she made Embryo Firearms (1995). When the piece was exhibited, it not only appealed to the factory workers, all members of the National Rifle Association, but also the art world, who saw aborted guns and thus lives saved. After the exhibition, Cornelia took the work through JFK Airport and was arrested for carrying firearms. The incident inspired her to consider the role of customs, blocking objects on behalf of society. She visited HMRC in Cardiff, interested in obtaining seized objects for her work, and was given pornographic tapes, which she dissolved in solvent and used for the highly literal Pornographic Drawings.

When a philosophical question, such as what is art, comes under scrutiny from legal and artistic factions, the debate is likely to continue.

Professor Colin Davies, formerly editor of The Architects’ Journal and Professor of Architectural Theory at London Metropolitan University, described Zaha Hadid as an avant-garde ‘form-giver’ of modern architecture and a successor to architects such as Mies van der Rohe and Corbusier and early twentieth century abstract artists. Her career falls into two parts, the first as an architectural artist and project designer when she developed a reputation for producing spectacular drawings and paintings for unbuildable buildings. Then she proved herself in designing and building some of the most famous iconic buildings in the world which revolutionised the neo-classical vernacular architecture of the 1980s.

Zahar Hadid was born into an upper class family in Iraq where her father was a wealthy industrialist and politician in Mosul. Her talent for design was recognised and indulged from early in her childhood. After school in Europe and a degree in maths at the American University in Beirut, she studied at the Architectural Association School of Architecture, London in the early 1970s.  Her professor, Rem Koolhaas, described her at graduation as "a planet in her own orbit” while Elia Zenghelis said she was the most outstanding pupil he ever taught. He described her as the inventor of the 89 degrees because of her resistance to regular forms. The design for the Peak Leisure Club in Hong Kong in 1983, like a bundle of sticks thrown onto the hillside, looked impossible to build but illustrated her aversion to the regular, symmetrical standard features of traditional architecture. Her designs suggest movement and irregularity.

Zenghelis said, “She had spectacular vision. All the buildings were exploding into tiny little pieces." This explosion of sectional views can be seen in her drawing for the Malevich Tektonic Bridge Project in 1977 where a hotel sits on a streamlined design for Hungerford Bridge, but is surrounded by the same design from different viewpoints. However, her designs proved too controversial for universal appeal. A competition to redesign Grand Buildings in Trafalgar Square had to be abandoned when the judges, including Prince Charles, disagreed on the winner and her winning design for the Cardiff Bay Opera House was rejected although later adapted into the plans for the Welsh National Assembly building. Hadid suspected that racial and gender prejudice were against her.

It was the development of Computer Aided Design and later Computer Aided Manufacturing that enabled Hadid’s irregular, gravity defying designs to be built, where every concrete block can be unique in size and shape. The BMW Central Building in Leipzig (2005) is a zig-zag shaped structure with irregular levels and office areas opening into the factory, while the Phaeno Science Center in Wolfsburg stands above cavernous open spaces and the MAXXI Museum in Rome (2010) consists of curvaceous forms lying over each other with vast windows of reflecting glass overlooking the classical buildings around it.

The most recognisable building to us is Zahar Hadid’s Aquatic Centre for the London Olympics of 2012 with its even more radical use of curves in the roof and walls. The Riverside Museum of Transport in Glasgow (2011) consists of one form curving upwards like a brush stroke with another vast window reflecting ships on the Clyde and, on a much smaller scale, the light, curving Magazine Restaurant at the Serpentine Gallery in London contains columns like tornadoes descending from the ceiling and attaches itself gracefully on to the neoclassical building of the gallery. 

Other iconic buildings include the Guangzhou Opera House, The Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan, Daxing Airport in Beijing and the Morpheus Hotel in Macau.

Zahar Hadid died suddenly at the age of 65 having devoted herself entirely to her career. Amongst many prizes and tributes from the architectural world she had received the Gold Medal Architectural Design, British Architecture, and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.  Professor Davies recalled meeting her on several occasions and described as ‘nice despite a reputation for being difficult’. She saw herself as an outsider in a man’s professional world.

Reported by Jane Blandy

Colin Davies is Professor of Architectural Theory. Former editor Architects Journal and contrib to mags worldwide. Books: Thinking About Architecture, Key Houses of the Twentieth Century,The Prefab Home, High Tech Architecture and monographs on work of Foster, Hopkins, Grimshaw.

Dr. Oosterwijk elaborated the background to the enigma of Mary Magdalene; a highly suitable topic for Holy Week.  Having first dismissed as highly fanciful Dan Brown’s concept that the somewhat female looking figure sitting next to Christ in the Last supper is Mary Magdalene, Dr. Oosterwijk went on to explain she is a conflation of four female characters. These come not only from the Bible but also from such writings as the Gospel of Philip, omitted from the official compilation, as well as the highly popular stories from the Golden Legend. Artists took all these as their inspiration in a variety of ways including painting, stained glass, psalters, tapestries and statues.  

It is confusing that Mary is the name of more than one person in the Biblical narrative, quite apart from the Virgin Mary herself. There is Mary the sister of Martha, and the Mary who features prominently in the resurrection story. Then there are two unnamed women. One who interrupts Christ at dinner, weeping and washing his feet with her tears before drying them with her hair and anointing them with expensive perfume and also there is the women exorcised of her seven demons.  All aspects of these stories appear in the artistic narrative.

Crivelli depicts Mary as beautifully dressed with lovely blonde hair holding a little jar with a knowing look in her eye. A similar image comes from the 19th century artist Hugues Merle where, apart from the small crucifix, she looks like a Hollywood star. By contrast Mary was also seen as a personification of the seven deadly sins with horns on her head when she appears in the temptations of St. Antony in the desert. While she is often shown splendidly dressed there is also the repentant Mary nearly naked having rejected her clothes and jewels. In another, Virtue is chasing the deadly sins away. In Vermeer’s painting of the house in Bethany, Mary is seated listening attentively to Christ, while her sister Martha works in the kitchen. A similar interpretation comes from Velasquez and here Mary is far too smartly dressed to be busy with chores. While the woman weeping at Christ’s feet is also beautifully dressed, it is the kneeling image while touching his feet which is continued into many crucifixions such as that by Rogier Van de Weyden. It is the Biblical narrative around the resurrection which gives us the most information about Mary. Here she is clearly a member of the disciples and the first person to whom He appears. Initially she mistakes him for a gardener and if he looked like either of the two images we were shown I’m not surprised!  Dr. Oosterwijk explained that the Latin phrase, Noli me tangere should be more properly translated from the Greek as Do not cling to me. Thus Mary’s instinctive human response is rejected by the resurrected Christ. She is then given the responsibility of passing on the good news to the disciples. This is beautifully illustrated in a 12th century psalter at St. Albans where she stands, finger raised, teaching a bunch of distinctly cowed disciples.

Although it is mainly through painting Mary’s story is told, she may also be found with her long blonde hair and jar in the Pre-Raphaelite stained glass windows of Bradford Cathedral, in tapestries, psalters and statues.  Amongst the statues, that of Donatello stands out. It is a powerful life sized image in painted wood showing a skeletal Mary with rotting teeth and sunken eyes covered by her long hair. While Mary may be shown as naked or splendidly dressed, holding a skull or a jar, it is the long hair which remains a constant in the depiction of the enigma which is Mary Magdalene.

Report by Jenny Thorpe

Sophie is a researcher and lecturer with degrees in Art History, Mediaeval Studies and English Literature. She is an expert on the Middle Ages, Netherlandish and Dutch art, with a special interest in portraiture, death and commemoration. She has taught at the universities of Leicester, Manchester and St Andrews, and regularly lectures at Cambridge. She is a former editor of the journal Church Monuments and has published widely, including edited volumes on fourteenth-century sculpture and on the late-mediaeval Dance of Death. 

The Wallace and Frick Collections hold benchmark collections of late eighteenth, early nineteenth century French art, including porcelain, enamels, furniture, paintings and sculpture. In addition, both are rich in Flemish, Dutch and Italian masterpieces. The Wallace Collection is housed at Hertford House, London and the Frick Collection is in Manhattan, New York.

The first four Marquises of Hertford, but in particular the 3rd and 4th, were leading collectors of art in the 18th and 19th centuries. The collection was kept at their London townhouse, Hertford House. Richard Wallace was the illegitimate son of the 4th Marquis. Although he took his mother’s surname, he was raised by his paternal grandmother in Paris and grew up to be a Francophile and philanthropist. Following the death of his father, the 4th Marquis in 1870, Wallace inherited everything and then continued to add to the collection with the help of his new private secretary, Sir John Murray Scott, a fluent French speaker and a lifelong partnership began. Scott was an extraordinary character with great charisma. He was the son of a doctor, a cousin of Sir Walter Scott and a barrister.

The ruthless, but aesthetic Henry Clay Frick (1849 – 1919) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, first came to the Wallace Collection when it had been bequeathed to the nation in 1897 by Lady Wallace, Richard Wallace’s widow. In the first three years after her death, Scott encouraged visitors to come, although the Collection was not fully open to the public. Frick, desiring something similar for himself and realising that John Murray Scott was now out of a job, asked Scott to become his advisor to help acquire art works such as those he had seen at the Wallace Collection. Consequently, the collections have many parallels.

Looking at some of the Wallace exhibits; the 4th Marquis bought a Secretaire writing desk, originally made for Marie Antoinette in 1780 by Reisener. Made in marquetry and guilt bronze, it has ‘che de tria’ on the underside, indicating that it belonged at Versailles. Many such items were probably removed during the French Revolution. Some that went on the open market, were found by dealers working for Frick, ended up in the Frick Collection.

Also in the Wallace Collection, porcelain from the Manufacture de Sèvres, such as the Pot Pourri à Vaiseau, commissioned by Louis 15th. Sèvres was also bought by newly affluent Americans and also Baron Ferdinand de Rothschild of Waddesdon Manor, where another fabulous collection of late 18th and early 19th century objects in housed.

Wallace exhibits mid-16th century French enamel dishes and boxes, such as the Martial Courteys’ Apollo and the Muses enamel on copper; a large 1580s dish from Limòges. The Collection reflects the cyclical developments in French art, from the painting by Claude Lorrain (Gellée) Landscape with Apollo and Mercury and then onto Rococo; there are two massive paintings over the staircase by Francois Boucher, The Rising of the Sun and The Setting of the Sun. Also very prominent is Les Hasards Heureux de L’escarpolette / The Swing, by Fragonard from 1767 and a very rare work from a 26 year old Frans Hals - The Laughing Cavalier, 1624. The 3rd and 4th Marquises both bought Dutch masters such as the pair painted by Rembrandt in 1632 – Jean Pellicorne and Son, Caspar and Susanna van Collen, wife of Jean and Daughter, Anna. Susanna is wearing a humble black, but very beautifully embroidered dress, with a spectacular millstone ruff, hence the term a millstone around your neck.

Henry Clay Frick was a wealthy industrialist, manufacturing coke for the steel industry. He commissioned the building of Frick Mansion in Manhattan, which even had a lawn, an incredible symbol of wealth in America at the time. In the French style, with an amazing central atrium and fountain, and using English oak furniture, the gallery contained statues, paintings from JMW Turner and Rembrandt to name just a few.

As a business man, Frick was most fortunate to have been in the right place at the right time, but as an avid collector, he was also lucky because he was able to hire two of the most influential and well informed art dealers – Joseph Duveen and Bernard Berenson. These men were instrumental in creating some of the phenomenal collections of the 20th century, including the mediaeval manuscripts, coins and medal collection of one, J. Pierpont Morgan.

The Frick Collection contains a rare and refined group of art including St. Francis in the Desert, by Bellini, 1480 and Van Eyck’s Virgin and Child with Saints and Donor, with Bruges in the background, the foreground boasting blue and white floor tiles with a geometric design, possibly Arabic – indicating that Bruges was a centre of great trade. Also, two paintings of men facing each other by Hans Holbein of Sir Thomas Moore – immaculately painted, and Thomas Cromwell – not half so grand, from 1532. There are three Vermeer masterpieces; Frans Hals and a self-portrait by Rembrandt 1658.

Frick toured many English houses around 1900 and managed to acquire eleven Van Dyck paintings. Also in his amazing collection of French, Italian, Spanish and Netherlandish art are Goya, Duque de Osuna, 1790s; Claude Lorrain’s Sermon on the Mount, 1656; dining room panels by Fragonard which Frick bought from JP Morgan when he died; by Igres, Comtesse d’Haussonville, a beautiful and more clean portrait of a lady, possibly a newlywed, 1845 and then some impressionism, Le Promenade by Renoir 1875. Many British works ended up in the USA, Frick alone obtained eleven paintings by Turner, including Harbour at Dieppe, 1826.

Both the Wallace and Frick Collections contain contemporary and historic pieces, the key time being 18th century. Amazingly, the connoisseurship which led to the sumptuous collections at the Wallace Collection in London and the Frick in New York, is connected by John Murray Scott. He remained at Hertford House with Lady Wallace until her death in 1897, when he continued to take private groups around the Collection. Although Lady Wallace bequeathed the Collection to the nation, she left everything else to Scott.  During this time, not only did he became an advisor to Frick, but on 27th March 1897, he met Victoria Sackville-West of Knole in Kent. Scott never married, but Victoria, who was married to the unfaithful Lord Sackville, became the love of his life. When John Murray Scott died in 1912, he left his massive private fortune to Victoria, which in turn helped Victoria’s daughter Vita to set up the Sissinghurst Castle Gardens in Kent.

Hilary is the Art History Education officer at the British Museum.  Her lectures range from Bernini’s Sculpture to the Golden Age of Dutch Art or the Frick Collection of New York.

https://www.wallacecollection.org

Kenneth Grahame’s beautiful prose is widely acknowledged, what is less known is that it has been illustrated by more than 90 artists, making it the most widely illustrated book in the English language. It deserves recognition as a novel which has not just humour and entertainment but also wisdom and meaning. 

The Wind in the Willows, written by Kenneth Grahame, was first published in 1908. It is the one and only success of Kenneth Grahame, a hugely popular book with over 90 illustrators.

John told us that he was first introduced to The Wind in the Willows when he was six years old. Since then, he has re-read it many times. He suggested that the book is really aimed at adults, citing some of his favourite lines from one of the main characters, the Water Rat extolling the virtues of boating:  ‘Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats. Simply messing,’ he went on dreamily: ‘messing-about-in-boats …’

The four main characters could perhaps be construed as the different parts of Grahame’s personality: Ratty who wrote poetry; Mole was inventive and loyal; Toad was naïve and Badger was solitary and serious. Indeed, after Arthur Ransome reviewed the book when it was first published, he questioned who the book was really aimed at.

The story is concerned with adult themes such as loyalty and friendship; generosity and humility; the human condition; fear of radical change in social and economic power; class and class struggle and of course food! Ratty prepares a picnic for the Sea Rat, consisting of a yard of French bread, garlic sausage, cheese and a bottle of sunshine (wine), while the Sea Rat describes his journeys around the world. These are not concepts that children would readily understand.

The many illustrations of Ratty’s house in the river bank are quite sophisticated, lavish and almost human-like. Mole End is more rural. At the beginning of the book, Mole is spring cleaning and white washing. Illustrations show pictures on the wall of The Infant Samuel and Queen Victoria. He seems rather ashamed at the humbleness of his abode. By contrast, Toad Hall is a grand place; ‘an eligible self-contained gentleman’s residence.’ It is said that the House may be based on Maple Durham, but more likely Hardwick House, where Grahame had been a guest to the then owner Charles Rose. Incidentally, Rose liked fast cars as did Toad. Toad Hall must have had servants, there is evidence of wealth everywhere. Ratty and Mole stumbled across Badger’s house by tripping over the doorscraper and deducing that there must be a front door. Badger’s house is rustic and rural. ‘The ruddy brick floor smiled up at the smoky ceiling; the oaken settles, shiny with long wear, exchanged cheerful glances with each other; plates on the dresser grinned at pots on the shelf, and the merry firelight flickered and played over everything without distinction.’

Grahame was born in 1859 in Edinburgh. Following a move to Inveraray, his mother died of scarlet fever and his father could no longer cope, so he was sent to Cookham Dene to live with his grandparents. He was to remain in the Thames Valley from then on. After school in Oxford, he was sent to the university, but his Grandfather refused to pay, so he became a clerk at the Bank of England, eventually rising to Secretary. He lived first in Blewbury and then Pangbourne and the inspiration for The Wind in the Willows is believed to have come from this area.

The book began as a series of bedtime stories for his son, Alastair, whose nickname was Mouse and then Grahame continued with letters whilst Mouse was away at school. When combining these later in preparation for the book, the original notebooks show many edits which Grahame may have made with a more adult audience in mind.

Mouse was born blind in one eye and with a squint in the other. His parents treated him as an adult and he became quite socially inept. Having spent unhappy terms at Rugby then Eton, he was educated by a tutor who then got him a place at Christ Church. Again, he didn’t settle and during the second term, he walked across Port Meadow in Oxford and his decapitated body was found near the railway. A devastated Grahame never wrote anything of significance again.

The Wind in the Willows has been illustrated by more than 90 artists. First published in 1908 with no illustrations apart from the cover, spine and frontispiece. In 1913, Paul Bransom, the first illustrator depicted the animals with no clothes. By 1922, Nancy Barnhart drew Badger, Ratty and Mole in smart country wear and Toad as an upper class gentleman, then in 1927 Wyndham Payne’s famous ink on paper and yellow colourwash appeared. The most remembered however was E. H. Shepherd who worked for Punch, where the assistant editor was A. A. Milne. A. A. Milne knew Grahame and suggested Shepherd as an illustrator for The Wind in the Willows. Shepherd knew he could improve on the existing illustrations and so started sketching in the Thames Valley meadows.

The many illustrators had much to consider: Were the book’s characters really animals or people? What about the relative size of a badger next to a mole? How did a toad drive a car or the caravan? Toad changes as the story progresses, he is small in jail but much bigger as a washer woman.

John Ericson finished with a vast array of illustrations as he told the story, beginning in Ratty’s rowing boat and the fat, wicker luncheon-basket – ‘There’s cold chicken inside it, cold tongue cold ham cold beef pickled gherkins salad French rolls cress sandwiches potted meat ginger beer, lemonade sodawater –‘

John was formerly a lecturer at the University of Bath where he was Director of Studies in the School of Education with responsibility for the professional development of teachers. He has worked extensively overseas as an educational consultant and this has given him the opportunity to give lectures and presentations at conferences all over the world. His eclectic portfolio of talks include Pub Signs, Children’s Book Illustrations and the Shakers of North America.

Arts Society members were treated to a riveting exploration of the rivalry between two giants of the Italian Renaissance: Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo.  Dr. James Lindlow developed his thesis that though the two artists were very different in personality and background, (and Leonardo was 23 years older than Michelangelo), they both responded to each other’s creativity and skills while competing with each other with varying degrees of contempt and animosity.  Both artists began their careers in Florence where the powerful Guilds had established a tradition of successful artists competing with each other to win artistic commissions that brought fame and potential wealth. Dr Lindlow cited the famous occasion when 7 finalists submitted designs on the theme of “The Sacrifice of Isaac” for the Baptistry door.  It was a surprise that of the 2 finalists, the younger and less well-known Ghiberti was awarded the commission instead of Brunelleschi (who later made his name as architect of the magnificent cupola of the Duomo).  Such pitting of one artist against another was common in mercantile Florence, where the Guilds were determined to get value for money!  So the stage was set.

Leonardo was from Vinci, near Florence, illegitimate and of humble origins, while Michelangelo Buonarroti Simoni was the second son of an ancient Florentine noble family. It seems their temperaments were very different too.  Commentators on the great artists such as Giovio and Vasari praised the talents of both men, but noted the generosity, sweetness and affability of Leonardo while criticising the volatility of Michelangelo and the fact that he was slovenly, wild and professionally secretive.  Dr Lindlow showed how the 2 artists had proved themselves in such works as Michelangelo’s painting of “The Entombment” (NGL) and his sculptures, especially the tender “Pieta” (1498, in St Peter’s) and his powerful and exquisite “David” (1501-4, also in the Vatican); and in Leonardo’s case, his accomplishment in sculpture in such works as the maquette of a rearing horse (Budapest) and in painting in his dramatic “Last Supper” (1495/8) and the poetry of “Leda and the Swan” (1504).  So in 1504 they were both commissioned to paint a separate massive mural illustrating successful battles of the past.  This was art as propaganda for the Soderini family, the rising power in Florence as the Medici power waned. Sadly the original paintings no longer survive, but fortunately later copies do, as well as numerous associated preparatory drawings by Michelangelo and Leonardo, and in considering these, Dr Lindlow sensitively revealed just how much the two artists had affected each other’s practice and noted their differences too. He highlighted the superb observation of the human form displayed by both artists, particularly the musculature of the naked human forms in Michelangelo’s painting, and the revolutionary nature of the interlocking horses’ heads in Leonardo’s. The startling and immediate difference was that while Leonardo’s painting surely fulfilled the commission criteria, Michelangelo’s revelled in displaying the day before battle when the soldiers stripped naked to swim in the Arno!  This artist would always “do his own thing”! 

The lecturer went on to show how the work from around that time by both artists seemed to have been influenced by the rival.  He suggested that Leonardo’s “The Virgin and Child with St Anne and John the Baptist” seems to be responding to the more sculptural forms of Michelangelo; and the latter artist produced some delicate Tondi and his Bruges “Madonna” (1504) that showed the tenderness always seen in Leonardo’s paintings.  Dr Lindlow commented that in later life, though Leonardo expressed his skill as a sculptor, he was essentially a painter, and Michelangelo though creating the most moving sculptures, became more famous for his paintings in the Sistine Chapel.  Leonardo, engaging in the academic debate about the relative values of painting and sculpture, wrote that Sculpture was “the more mechanical art” which made the artist sweaty and messy and led to a disorderly household, whereas the painter could practise his art in elegant clothes and maintain domestic harmony!  Perhaps the lowly born artist was stressing how the artist is more than an artisan, as well as suggesting the source of Michelangelo’s personal squalor.  If so it seems that Michelangelo was to have the last word as referring to Leonardo’s point of view, he wrote that “my serving girl could have written better.”

Unsurprisingly the lecture was very well received as Dr Lindlow had vividly dramatized the rivalry and differences between the two artists while showing the wonder and power of their artistic achievements.

Written by Kate Siebert

James was the first Renaissance PhD from the Royal College of Art and the V&A. He has convened and presented at international conferences, lectures widely in the UK and overseas and is currently the fine art underwriter in the City.   He has written articles on diverse aspects of the Renaissance and his book entitled “The Renaissance Palace in Florence – Magnificence and Splendour in fifteenth century Italy” was published by Ashgate Press in 2007 to widespread critical acclaim. 

David Phillips began his very entertaining lecture by quoting George Bernard Shaw’s views on the subject:  “Christmas is forced on a reluctant and disgusted nation by the shopkeepers and the press: on its own merits it would wither and shrivel in the fiery breath of universal hatred; and anyone who looked back to it would be turned into a pillar of greasy sausages.” Phillips described a history of images used at Christmas time from paintings in the thirteenth century to our own commercial age of the Coca Cola version of Father Christmas and garish plastic nativity figures picked up at garden centres.

It is well know that early Christians adopted existing midwinter festivals into the celebration of the birth of Jesus, incorporating traditions such at the role reversal of servants and their masters at Twelfth Night during the Roman Feast of Saturnalia. A mosaic floor from the first century depicts claws, bones and other discarded remnants of a feast where guests gorged until they were sick.

The first nativity scene, or ‘presepio’, was created by St Francis of Assisi at Greccio in 1223. The idea was quickly taken up by other churches and painters such as Giotto and included realistic models of local characters. Some excellent examples can be seen at Palma Museum in Majorca.

Art reflects changing traditions and moral standards with artists taking opportunities to teach the public; a woodcut shows dancers forced to dance forever in Hell after dancing on Christmas day; or the shivering poor in the background of a merry snowball fight. Struwwelpeter (1845) by Heinrich Hoffmann inflicts brutal punishments for naughty children in the famous rhymes and illustrations.

Children were only depicted as having their own interests in the early 19th century after the Napoleonic Wars when economies expanded, cities burgeoned and modern consumerism was born. At the same time Christmas images became more secular. Cruikshank cartoons show the domestic chaos of Christmas with children playing or squabbling over piles of toys. The first commercially produced Christmas card, designed by John Callcott Horsley 1843, was criticised for showing a child drinking wine. Heath Robinson produced Christmas images and publications, like The Illustrated London News and The New Yorker, which satirised art and society at Christmas with comic scenes.

Father Christmas was first named in 1658 in a pamphlet by John King when the Puritans were trying to suppress Christmas celebrations altogether. Santa Claus, originated in the United States with the Dutch version Sinterklaas based on the Turkish saint, St Nicholas, who rescued three small boys from famine. Thomas Nast developed the theme in his poem The Night before Christmas (1822) and presents were given to soldiers during the American Civil war.  Santa’s red coat appeared as he was incorporated into pantomime and Pollock’s Toy Theatres in 1880s. Inevitably, advertisers seized on the influence of Christmas by advertising Eno’s Fruit Salts and Coca Cola’s chubby red version of Santa was born in 1931.

Poor taste or ‘Kitschmas’ emerged in the 20th century as images originally made through observation become metaphors and then visual clichés from over use.  Tony Sarg’s pictures of anthropomorphic animals facing slaughter inspired Walt Disney to make cartoons. Phillips illustrated this in the lecture with pictures of cottages from the genuine functional farmhouses of Breughel the Elder, to Samuel Palmer’s moonlit cottages to the exaggerated brilliantly lit snowy cottages of Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas scenes.

The lecture ended more seriously with Christmas photographs taken by a German electrical engineer, Richard Wagner, showing him with his wife, their tree and presents displayed each year from 1915 to 1952, a fascinating portrayal of the couple’s changing fortunes over time.

 Written by Jane Blandy

David Phillips studied History at Oxford, has worked for Nottingham Castle Museum and from 1982-98 lectured in Museum Studies and Art History at Manchester University.

 Geri took us through the ups and downs of the remarkable Russell family augmented by portraits, enchanting miniatures and some saucy Gillray cartoons! The portraits illustrated changing fashion while the cartoons the 18th century satire. The first member to rise to fame and fortune was John Russell, a wine merchant. His facility for languages enabled him to provide invaluable assistance to Joan of Castile and her husband Philip of Austria when they were shipwrecked en route to the English Court.  On arrival, his talents were immediately recognised by Henry V11. He would go on to hold high office under every Tudor monarch except Elizabeth 1. Following the dissolution of the monasteries he was granted vast lands in London, the Fens and of course Woburn Abbey and its estates, as well as being created Earl of Bedford. His comment, made on losing an eye in 1520, remains the family motto today: Que sera, sera.

His grandson Edward, the third Earl and his feisty wife Lucy became a golden couple in the Elizabethan Court and would go on to be firm favourites of James and his wife Anne of Denmark. Lucy was a patron of Inigo Jones and thoroughly enjoyed the decadent Stuart Court even, it said dancing topless during a masque! Although her husband retired from Court, Lucy continued to enjoy the high life amassing huge debts in the process; a recurring Russell problem. With no surviving children these were passed to cousin Francis, forth Earl. He was the first to live at Woburn, moving to escape the plague. He employed Inigo Jones to extend Woburn and build Covent Garden, the piazza and St Paul’s Church. He also headed the work to drain the Cambridgeshire Fens – known as the Bedford Levels to this day. During the turbulent civil war, William, the son of the following Earl and a convinced Protestant, was implicated – probably unjustly - in the Rye House Plot of 1683 to assassinate Charles 11 and his Popish brother in order to prevent James from succeeding. It failed and William was beheaded. Jack Ketch, the incompetent executioner took four blows to complete the task. Following the Glorious Revolution, his father, the aged Earl was created a Duke. During the 18th century gambling debts balanced by clever marriages which brought money and lands ensured the family’s survival. The Gillray cartoon of the young Duke Francis as a bull being chased by the Gordon mother and daughter illustrates the importance of such arrangements. Sadly he never married and died after a game of tennis at 36. Before that in 1797, when Pitt put a tax on hair powder to help finance the wars, Francis had his hair cut short in protest – Beau Brummell followed suit and powdered hair was soon out of fashion. The new style was known as the Bedford Level.

His brother John succeeded, but by the time of his death in 1839 his building projects, coupled with his lavish hospitality, landed the family in serious debt once more. Fortunately his successor was able to restore the situation due to the discovery of copper on the estate. It is to his wife Anna Maria – a miniature painter in her own right - that we owe the joys of afternoon tea. Feeling hungry between lunch and dinner she ordered tea, scones, and cakes to fill the gap and, since after 1840 tea became much cheaper, it soon became a favourite habit.

Written by Jenny Thorpe

Geri is a former Fleet Street journalist and film publicist. She has a first class honours degree in History and Theology, a Masters in History of Art from the Courtauld Institute and a Theology doctorate from Roehampton University in London. She has been lecturing for the past eleven years both in the UK and internationally. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at Roehampton University and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. 

The Arts Society Farnham lecture in October was given by Pamela Campbell Johnston. She spoke about Celebrating the Royal Academy of Arts: 250th Anniversary 1768 – 2018.

As an art historian, Pamela worked at the Royal Academy for twelve years, before becoming an art consultant and lecturer. She began by saying that 2018 was an important year for the Royal Academy. Founded in 1768 by 40 artists and architects, this august institution has never merged, been taken over or unduly suffered financially, which is quite an achievement over 250 years. Crucially, over this period, the Institution has always adapted to its modern audience to promote the arts through exhibitions, study and debate.

The Royal Academy has held its Summer Exhibition every year, including through the Blitz, since 1769. It has one of the oldest post graduate fine arts schools in the UK and also houses one of the oldest libraries. As well as its permanent exhibits, the temporary loan exhibitions began in 1870. This unique organisation is the only one that is entirely privately funded and as such can operate independently.

Initially, the Royal Academy was in Pall Mall, but the first floor galleries were too cramped. An 1808 aquatint by Richard Earlom of the very crowded Exhibition room with a top-lit gallery shows the paintings were hung in order of merit right up to the highest point on the walls. At the time, there were very few galleries in which to exhibit, so being accepted by the Royal Academy was key and many artists would submit their work for the Summer Exhibition to the Hanging Committee. Even so, only those paintings hung below about ten feet could be viewed properly and so it became of prime importance where a painting was hung – above or below this hanging line.

In search of more space, the Institution moved first to the old, then the new Somerset House until the 1830s when it moved to a third premises on the north side of Trafalgar Square. Unfortunately, this was too close to the competing National Gallery and 35 years later; 100 years after it was founded, the Royal Academy moved to its current location at Burlington House in Piccadilly. Under the guidance of architect, Sir Sidney Smirke RA, the galleries were connected, top lit and gilded and today lend themselves to the presentation of art ranging from Ai Weiwei to Rembrandt, sculpture to textiles.

A 1931 sculpture of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the first president of the Academy, stands in the front courtyard, as if behind an unseen canvas, welcoming visitors. The building façade is draped with the red flag of the Institution, and matching red carpets line the corridors inside. During the Summer Exhibition the colour scheme was changed to green, however, in 1997, the carpets were removed completely during the ‘Sensation’ exhibition and not re-laid, giving James Lambie in 2015 the opportunity to cover the staircase with a psychedelic design of vinyl adhesive tape to mirror the architectural layout of the building.

There have been 26 presidents of the Royal Academy, the current incumbent being Christopher Brun. The board consists of 80 Academicians or RAs, each curating a gallery and sitting on the selection board for the Summer Exhibition. In 1769, 139 exhibits were shown, whereas for the 250th show, coordinated by Grayson Perry, 14000 pieces were on display. On Sanctioning Day, the Summer Exhibition is ready to open to the public and members alike, to see if their work has been placed above or below the hanging line.

The first temporary loan exhibition was held in 1870, to coincide with the move to Burlington House. It was an impressive show of old masters including Gainsborough, Rembrandt, Laurence and Titian to name a few. Since then, the temporary loan exhibitions at the Royal Academy have become renowned for their diversity. The 1935 display was Chinese Art; 3000 works of jade, ceramics, textiles and a colossal marble statue of Buddha. For the Aztec exhibition in 2002, the weight of the statues had to be carefully calculated so as not to fall through the floor. The 1996 Living Bridges charted the history of inhabitable bridges. Architectural models were built over water flowing through the galleries.

A priceless collection of Russian icons from 1400 to 1660 was displayed in the Sackler Wing in 1991. David Hockney’s A Bigger Picture in 2012 showcased his vibrant East Yorkshire landscapes designed on his iPad. The Sensation exhibition – YBA from the Saatchi Collection, mentioned earlier when the carpet disappeared, embraced modern Young British Art.

The public came in droves to the Turner exhibition in 1952, but the most popular exhibition was Monet in 1999. 79 works of art were shown, visitors averaged almost 9000 daily for three months and for the first time, the gallery opened for 24 hours one Saturday in April.

There is also a vast permanent collection ranging from a self-portrait of Sir Joshua Reynolds, Constable’s Leaping Horse and even a Michelangelo sculpture Taddei Tondo from 1504/5.

The Academy was first to establish a Friend membership scheme in 1977 and also first to secure corporate sponsorship. At its core it is an institution which adapts to its modern audience. For the 250th celebrations this year, banners proclaiming a celebration of all art flew outside the Academy, designed by Grayson Perry.

The Arts Society Farnham opened its 2018/9 season with an examination of The Amadeus Myth; Mozart and his World – Culture and Society in Eighteenth-Century Vienna. The speaker was Sandy Burnett, a well-known musician, writer and broadcaster who has been the musical director of the National Theatre, and the Royal Shakespeare Company. The Great Hall of Farnham Maltings was packed for the talk, indicating that the widening of the former NADFAS to include all the arts is a popular move.

Visual interest was included by basing the lecture around contemporary portraits of Mozart at different stages in his short life. Each portrait was accompanied by a musical excerpt which he had composed at the time of the portrait and the story of his biography was interspersed with musical analysis of the extracts. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born to Leopold Mozart, a court musician in the employ of the Archbishop of Salzburg, and his wife Anna Maria in 1756, the last of their seven children. The boy showed his genius from the age of three when he insisted on muscling in on his sister Nannerl's harpsichord lessons. By four he was playing well, by five composing, at six he and Nannerl performed at the Bavarian court and at seven to the Empress Maria Theresa at Schönbrunn. Eight saw the composition of his Symphony No.1, an astonishingly accomplished piece, with good tunes and impeccable development of its themes. He was possibly influenced by his friendship with the much older Johann Christian Bach, whom he met when they were both living in London. The London trip was part of a three year journey by the family round the courts of Europe. The children were a great hit but three visits to Italy failed to produce the well-paid post as Kapellmeister to a large court which Leopold sought. His demanding personality alienated people and eventually he had to return to Salzburg. Wolfgang continued to compose, including operas, and became a very popular piano teacher, particularly of young ladies.

 Musical style was changing from the 1770s on, to the 'Classical' style, marked by clarity, beauty, balance and accessibility. Having offended his employer, the Archbishop, the young man became freelance. As a result he met Joseph Haydn, who influenced his style, and lodged in Vienna with the Family Weber, whose daughter Constanza he married. She sang in the great operas he created with his librettist and impresario Lorenzo da Ponte and Wolfgang carried on creating the major symphonies and all his other works. But the times were changing.  Important patrons like Joseph II were dead by 1790 and the new emperor was uninterested. Mozart was out of fashion and in debt. In 1791 his health began to fail, not helped by a strange anonymous commission for a Requiem Mass. Mozart wore himself out trying to finish this and the Magic Flute, but he had completed only about half of the Requiem when he called his friends together, to have a sing-through so far. In the middle of the sublime Lacrimosa, he burst into tears, was helped to bed and died eleven hours later. The myth centres round who commissioned the Requiem and whether Antonio Salieri murdered him, as Constanza alleged. There seems no justification for the allegation and the commissioner was a Count Walsegg, who wanted to have the Requiem performed on the anniversary of his wife's death and pretend he had composed it himself. Hence the secrecy.

By Jan Herbert

Sandy is one of the UK’s most authoritative broadcasters in the field of classical music. His varied career has seen him as author, bassist, conductor, broadcaster and presenter, sharing his passion for music.

After studying music at St Catharine’s College in Cambridge, Sandy worked as music director for the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company and in London’s West End.

Following this Sandy became a regular presenter on BBC Radio 3, where he stayed for more than a decade. Sandy is the author of the Idler Guide to Classical Music, and presenter of a related online course covering a thousand years of classical music from the medieval to modern eras. He also devises and leads cultural lecture holidays.

MRS GHISLAINE HOWARD

A painter of national reputation named as a Woman of The Year 2008 for her contribution to art and society. She has published and exhibited widely, has had work in the Royal Collection and has had solo exhibitions at many prestigious venues including Manchester Art Gallery, Canterbury Cathedral and Imperial War Museum North.  An associate lecturer at Manchester Metropolitan University, she has lectured to a broad spectrum of people at her studio gallery or at more public venues such as cathedrals, art galleries and other institutions.

The June lecture, entitled ‘The Art of Cuisine and the Cuisine of Art’ was delivered by Ghislaine Howard, a painter of national reputation who has published and exhibited widely at many prestigious venues. Her major passions are art and cooking and she sees a similarity between making a meal and painting a still life in that both provide nourishment of one sort or another. An artist painting the delights of the table can preserve the joy of food in line, colour and texture whereas a cook’s creation is gone in a moment.

We were shown images involving food from the caves of Lascaux, with the timeless elegance and grace of the animals, to the present day such as Warhol’s tin of Campbell’s soup. In ‘Les Trois Riches Heures du Duc de Berry’ the picture of a feast shows power and wealth, contrasting with Fra Angelica’s ‘Saint Lawrence distributes Food to the Poor’ which illustrates charity and compassion for others. Ghislaine herself has painted images of food and drink being distributed, for example from food banks, in ‘Give Food to the Hungry’.

The most famous painting in the world is Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘The Last Supper’ where Jesus shares food with the Apostles although Judas spills the salt. The coming together to share food is a universal experience.

Many paintings such as Bosch’s ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights’ are sumptuous, with rich colours and textures. Breugel’s ‘The Land of Cockayne’ depicts a mythical place where there is no need to work, food and drink being so abundant that one only had to open one’s mouth to get what was desired.

Vermeer painted ordinary scenes such as ‘The Milkmaid’ but he dignified them and the pouring of the milk is a moment held for ever. Reynolds relegated still life to the lowest rank as being a genre only suitable for women and less talented male artists. However, views changed later in the 19th century and Delacroix argued that painting should be a feast for the eye. Manet, in 1863, painted ‘Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe’ depicting a sensual and somewhat daring picnic. He painted fruit and flowers in great detail but with a lovely delicacy and colour.

Renoir’s ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ features friends gathered round a table with food the vehicle for socializing. His wife chose his models and insisted that they could cook so he introduced his Parisian friends to Mediterranean cooking.

Monet’s ‘After the Luncheon’ shows the remains of food after a good meal. Food was very important to him and he loved entertaining friends round his 12-seater table to share the joys of eating. He grew his own vegetables and collected recipes. His paintings are the epitome of light and colour.

Cezanne had simple tastes and loved strong peasant food which he depicted. Likewise, Van Gogh, in ‘The Potato Eaters’, 1885, shows a simple, humble meal. He was living with a poor family at the time and showed the poverty-stricken life of the poor and the harshness of their lives in dark colours. Later, when his situation improved, he used vivid Mediterranean colours as in ‘Still Life with Mackerel and Lemons’.

Toulouse-Lautrec died at 36 but gathered many recipes and published them in ‘The Art of Cuisine’. Besides copious quantities of alcohol, he loved classic French cooking with big flavours and rich sauces. His work frequently illustrates scenes involving food and drink.

Gauguin’s sensual paintings from Tahiti show a tropical paradise where one could live on fish and fruit. Like Matisse, he wanted to make colours vibrate such as blue against orange but to keep shapes simple.

Food was important to Picasso who painted what he saw around him in a strong way. His ‘The frugal Repast’ shows thin people and an empty plate.

One of the last pictures shown was that of David Hockney’s dog’s empty bowl on which is painted ‘Food and Love’. The two cannot be separated.

The audience was reminded that it only takes a few pieces of fruit and a pretty bowl to create a gastronomic and visual delight in the home.

Ada Roberts

On Tuesday May 15th 2018 the Arts Society enjoyed a fascinating journey through the history, economics and culture of silver-working craftmanship in the Balkans with Elisabeth Gowing, teacher, writer and broadcaster. She opened with a brief, lucid exposition of the troubled history of Kosovo, which is about the size of Devon lying between Serbia and Albania at the centre of the trade-route between Vienna and Istanbul.

Before the Ottoman occupation its chief silver-smelting town was bigger than contemporary Paris, its mines mentioned by Dante, but the Ottomans closed down the mines in the early fifteenth century and production did not resume until after the First World War, with much British involvement. Before the Balkan Wars of the 1990s Kosova had the third largest silver-smelting plant in the world, which is partly why its possession was so bitterly contested.

We saw many examples of the 'smooth, bright stream' of filigree and of the many ways in which it is used, obviously as jewellery, but also in flags, wall-hangings, portraiture and textiles, particularly in wedding-dresses which the bride then wears for every family wedding. The name comes from the Latin filum granum, thread blob, and we were shown how it is produced by elongating silver rods into pieces of wire, from 30 to 60cms. in length, of varying thicknesses, some as thin as human hair. The thicker wires and blobs form a framework into which thinner patterns are inserted, usually of spirals in the Balkans area. This is thought to be inspired by the snakes which were sacred to the ancient Albanians. Even today they may feel obliged to ask a snake politely, three times, to go away before they kill it. The line-dancing, especially at weddings, which is characteristic of this region, is also thought to relate back to the snake-cult.

Ms Gowing was inspired by her links with Kosovo to explore silver filigree in nearby areas and was shocked to discover that it has almost died out. In Albania they use copper wire, not silver, and Istanbul and even the ancient centre of Mardin in Eastern Turkey have no silver filigree workers. This makes Kosovo even more important but to survive they need customers and also goods that are light and cheap enough for tourists to transport. There is now a scheme whereby tiny silver pendants are fastened to birthday cards. On receipt the pendants can be detached and worn as jewellery. The makers are local women who are given the materials free by a British charity, provided they commit to sending their children to school – a win-win situation. They also import the filigree for jewellers in Cornwall to combine with their own work. The aim is to increase tourism to this lovely country and help to preserve this ancient and beautiful craft. 

Jan Herbert

MS ELIZABETH GOWING

Studied at Magdalen College Oxford before training as a teacher and working in Lambeth, Hackney and Islington. Moved to Kosovo in 2006 and there worked with the Ethnological Museum in Prishtina and co-founded ‘The Ideas Partnership’, a charity working on education and cultural heritage projects. Speaks fluent Albanian and has translated two books (the unauthorized biography of Yugoslavia’s longest-held political prisoner, Adem Demaci, and the memoirs of one of the leaders of the 1912 uprising). Also the author of four books about Kosovo – Travels in Blood and Honey; becoming a beekeeper in Kosovo (2011), Edith and I; on the trail of an Edwardian traveller in Kosovo (2013); The Rubbish-Picker’s Wife; an unlikely friendship in Kosovo (2015) and The Silver Thread; a journey through Balkan craftmanship (2017). Regular contributor to Radio 4 (Saturday Live, Excess Baggage, From Our Own Correspondent) and the BBC World Service.

Members of the Farnham branch of the Arts Society heard Alexandra Drysdale talk at their April lecture on painting and light.  Alexandra spoke both about developments in the science of light, together with the ways in which painters were influenced by them, and about how painters represented light in their pictures.  

The painters of Greece were the first to develop a style of painting showing shadows, which gave a degree of depth to their representations.  Their style can be seen in Roman houses, such as those excavated at Pompeii.  These paintings are frescos, murals painted directly on to the plaster of the buildings, which have to be executed quickly on the still-wet surface before it sets.  The technique makes it difficult to show tones within colour, or to develop depth in it, so the effect is of flat expanses of block colour.  The art of Byzantium, the eastern Roman empire, developed from the early Roman style; a depiction by Theophanes the Greek of the ‘Transfiguration of Jesus’ showed the Saviour in a gold sky radiating white light – light being a metaphor for divinity in the Christian as in other faiths.  In the western tradition, Giotto was the first to make pictures in a realistic manner; he used a fixed light point, and showed shading and spacing.

In the Netherlands in the fifteenth century the technique of painting using oils as a base was developed, and this advance meant that new styles of painting became possible.  Oil-based paints dry slowly, making it practicable to add gradations of lighter or darker tones to a base colour, and so enable the artist to show the effect of light and shade on - for example - draped clothing.  Also, oils allow more-or-less transparent glazes to be mixed, and these can be used to give depth of colour to an image.  The ability to reproduce the effect of shade meant that artists could now show readily where the light was coming from in their images, and so bring new drama and dynamism into their work.  Jan van Eyck was one of the first to use oils, and his ‘Arnolfini Wedding’ of 1434 demonstrated these new possibilities.  Oils also allowed the most intricate detail to be presented, and van Eyck shows an elaborate candelabrum in perspective, along with a convex mirror at the back of the room depicting a minute reflection of the scene with the artist himself at work.

These two details led Alexandra to consider the methods by which the images were produced.  David Hockney had studied the painting and had concluded that the filigree circular candelabrum in perspective would have been almost impossible to draw freehand, and that some technical aid must have been used, most probably a concave mirror that could project an image onto a canvas as a basis for a tracing of an outline.  The science of optics and the production of mirrors and lenses was developing rapidly in the Netherlands at the time, and Hockney felt it would be natural for this knowledge to be made use of by artists.

Following the Flemish artists, Leonardo da Vinci developed a softer style of both contour and colour through the use of slightly pigmented final glazes.  While western art developed in the direction of greater naturalism, there were some exceptions, such as El Greco’s ‘Agony in the Garden’ of 1590, showing Christ lit by a cool white light from a full moon in deep chiaroscuro, surrounded by strange shapes derived from the artist’s training as a painter of icons.  Caravaggio’s work is marked by intense lighting effects; ‘The Taking of Christ’ (1602) shows a scene in deep shadow, with figures theatrically lit by what Hockney was to call ‘Hollywood lighting’.  There are no surviving preparatory drawings for any of Caravaggio’s paintings, but it is known that he owned a large mirror that he might well have used in preparing his works.  Vermeer’s style is characterised by his depiction of interior scenes, usually illuminated by a window to the left, with a soft light picking out every detail of his subjects.  Rembrandt was obsessed with the use of light, restricting his use of colour in favour of contrast between light and dark in golds and browns.  Photographers talk of ‘Rembrandt lighting’ the face of a sitter, designed to capture the contours of the face in the form of an inverted triangle. 

In 1766 Joseph Wright of Derby produced ‘A Philosopher Lecturing on the Orrery’, a painting set in a darkened room with only a single candle to illuminate the scientific instrument and faces of the absorbed audience.  The most significant British contribution in the eighteenth century to the understanding of light had however come not from a painter, but from a scientist; in 1704 Isaac Newton put forward his theory of light as a spectrum of seven colours, each with its own refractivity.

The nineteenth century saw the frequent use of moonlight, which became the essence of Romanticism and solitude, exemplified in the work of the German Caspar David Friedrich.  His counterpart in Britain might have been Samuel Palmer, who painted scenes set in the country just outside London, lit by golden harvest moons.  His loose style of brushwork pre-dated the work of the French Impressionists, who also used a freer style in their landscapes.  Two technical developments influenced their approach; firstly, photography meant that painters no longer had a monopoly on the production of accurate images, and turned increasingly to interpretative art; and secondly, the development of ready-to-use oil paints in tubes meant that painting in the open air became a practical proposition.  The Impressionists were fascinated with painting changes in light over the day, and throughout the seasons; Monet introduced the idea of a series of paintings showing one subject in a range of lighting conditions.

In contemporary painting, Alexandra drew her audience’s attention to the work of Hockney, with his delight in exploring the way light travels through the water of Californian swimming pools, and to the art of the abstract artist Bridget Riley, all of whose work is, she says, produced in response to light in nature. ‘I don’t paint light. I present a colour situation which releases light as you look at it’ she is quoted as saying – an apt conclusion to our talk on the Art and Science of Light in Painting.

Chris Thomas    

MS ALEXANDRA DRYSDALE

An art historian and a professional artist specialising in painting, sculpture and performance. Her lectures combine art historical knowledge with personal expertise in aesthetics and artistic techniques. Art from all periods, including examples of her own work, is examined from an artist's point of view. This entails a perceptive analysis of a painting's structure, its meaning, and its relationship to the history of art. She puts a particular emphasis on studying the symbolic language of the imagination. BA (Hons) Fine Art from Chelsea School of Art and an MFA from Cambridge School of Art.

Painting - The Matchmaker Gerard-van-honthorst. 1625

Richard Box delivered an entertaining and well illustrated talk on ‘Children as Artists’ inspired by his conviction that children’s art is vital to their creative, emotional and spiritual development. He began his lecture by explaining the central ideas of 20th century art educators and reformers, went on to illustrate these ideas with many examples of children art work and concluded with a call to reinstate the arts at the centre of the national curriculum.

Georges- Henri Lucquet identified similarities between prehistoric cave paintings and those of young children in conceptualised pictures of horses and bulls and the overlapping, or stacking, of images. Both early artists and children were more concerned with the process of painting than the finished result. 

 Franz Cizek was the first to recognise children’s art as intrinsically beautiful and precious, the first and purest source of artistic creation. In 1897 he began to teach art classes to children where imagination and free expression were encouraged without any dictatorial teaching. The Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider) art movement of the early 20th century declared in their manifesto that to create form is to live. 

As a young art teacher in the 1920s, Marion Richardson noticed that children used their imaginations to ‘perceive visually an image from a verbal description’, that is a story read aloud to them. This revolutionary idea at the time recognised the emotional expression of their art work. She achieved recognition in setting up exhibitions of children’s art through Roger Fry’s influence.

From 1948 to 1981, the psychologist, Rhoda Kellogg collected several million drawings made by children, from the ages of two to six, as they taught themselves to draw, from early scribbles to organised structures and patterns. Kellogg’s thesis was that universal patterns and stages of development can be found in a study of the art of all children. She identified the mandala, a pattern consisting of a square and circle, as common to both children’s art and Muslim designs. While it is used in Islam to aid contemplation, prayer and meditation, she explained it as the child’s effort to connect with the world and the universe. This theory connects with Gestalt Theory of understanding the world as a unified whole and Jung’s collective unconscious. In other words, she recognised artistic creativity as an essential part of child development

Viktor Lowenfeld developed a theory of four stages in children’s artistic development. The stages began with Scribbles, then controlled and circular scribbling and naming the drawn image, revealing the first signs of imaginative thinking in pictures. From the age of four, the Pre Schematic stage is represented by a conceptual drawing of a person, as the child’s observation develops, with physical features appearing but enlarged in relation to the subject of the picture. At this stage adult influence may teach children to copy symbols and imitate art works but they will also play with baseline, horizons, orientation and viewpoints or use an x-ray effect to depict the inside of a building or container. All of these techniques have been used in great art from the prehistory to modern times.   At about eight our nine, the child enters Dawning Realism with a realistic horizon and sky and perspective through overlays and distinctive shapes.This is followed by Pseudo-realism with the use of geometric perspectives, light and shadow and more learned artistic techniques. The Period of decision or crisis reflects the use of artistic techniques and influences such as popular arts forms and the use of varied and mixed media. 

Richard Box illustrated these theories with examples for his art therapy work with children, including those who were autistic and disabled or troubled. He showed us enormous textile panels, drawings made by Stephen Wiltshire aged nine, and emotional and distressing images produced by children experiencing bereavement, divorce and war. He concluded this informative  lecture by reminding us that art has an essential role to play in survival, recovery and celebration of life’s experiences and is especially important in the poorest communities of the world. 

Jane Blandy

MR RICHARD BOX

Freelance artist (drawing, painting and embroidery), lecturer, teacher and author since 1985. Previously Head of Art at Avery Hill College of Education. He has taught in schools from nursery to secondary. He presently teaches and lectures to adults at Education Centres and to independent organisations. He exhibits his work regularly at various galleries throughout the country.

Lawrence of Arabia, Uncovering a Legend by Dr Neil Faulkner

Dr Faulkner spent nine years in Jordan on archealogical expeditions to uncover the facts about the exploits described in T. E. Lawrence’s book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. He  began his lecture by promising to tell us his opinion of the great man by the end. In 1919 the U.S. journalist Lowell Thomas put together a show entitled With Allenby in Palestine. However, it soon became apparent that the public were far more interested in a photograph of the young man, Lawrence, on a camel. The show was seen by millions and despite Thomas’s biography being almost entirely fiction, a legend was born whose image is immediately recognisable today. The first two editions of Seven Pillars of Wisdom were published privately in 1922 and 1926 and a third under the title Revolt in the Desert in 1927. The complete version was only available after his death in 1935. In 1955 the tide turned when Richard Aldington’s vicious biography accused Lawrence of being a fraud and serial liar. Terence Rattigan’s play Ross centred on him as a man broken by events in Dera when he was tortured and raped by the Turks. However, the film directed by David Lean in 1962 brought back his popularity. Indeed the biographies still keep coming including Lawrence of Arabia’s War by Dr. Faulkner himself which members flocked to purchase afterwards.

Lawrence’s childhood undoubtedly influenced his life. His father, who was from the Anglo Irish gentry, had run off with the family’s nanny. Denied a divorce they never married and, with five sons, had to maintain a Victorian middle class façade. Deeply conscious of the stigma of illegitimacy and feeling uncertain of his own identity Lawrence retreated into the romantic world of the Middle Ages. Following employment on the Hittite site of Carchemish (19011-1914) he became fluent in Arabic and he found a medieval world among the Bedouin tribes. In 1916 he joined a mission to explore how the British could support the Arab revolt against the Turks. He met Prince Faisal and, having struck an immediate rapport with him, became the permanent liaison officer. Now began “the hinge of his life.” Dr. Faulkner pointed out that, but for the war, Lawrence would probably have led an eccentric academic life and we should never have heard of him.

Dr Faulkner’s excavations explored the sites of Lawrence’s  exploits as he attempted to disrupt the Hijaz railway and its 77 stations which ran from Damascus to Medina. The Turks had to defend it as it was their only means of transport. This serious threat tied up troops who never knew when the men on the camels might emerge “like vapour”; the essence of guerrilla warfare.  Archaeological evidence illustrates the Turkish defence and rum jars and condensed milk tins prove the presence of the British. At Wuheida even the almost invisible traces of the tribal Arab army can be detected. The blowing up of the train at Hallat Ammar described by Lawrence and so graphically depicted in the film can now be confidentially seen as accurate. So why not other incidents? Lawrence was no serial liar, but he was a broken man at the end. Possibly in part due to events at Dera or more likely by his feelings of guilt and betrayal. Lawrence always knew the Sykes Picot Agreement had already carved up the Ottoman territory without any consideration for the Arabs. While he and Faisal attended the Peace meetings their brave contribution remained unrewarded.

Dr Faulkner concluded that T E Lawrence was justifiably a hero and the packed audience at Farnham Maltings thoroughly enjoyed his fascinating lecture.    

Jenny Thorpe

DR NEIL FAULKNER

Educated at King's College Cambridge and Institute of Archaeology UCL. Works as lecturer, writer, archaeologist and occasional broadcaster. Research Fellow, University of Bristol. Editor, Military History Monthly. Director, Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project. Director, Great Arab Revolt Project. Author of The Decline and Fall of Roman Britain, Apocalypse, Hidden Treasure, Rome: Empire of the Eagles, and The Ancient Greek Olympics: a visitor's guide. Author of forthcoming Lawrence of Arabia's War. Major TV appearances include Channel 4's Time Team, BBC2's Timewatch, Channel Five's Boudica Revealed and Sky Atlantic's The British.

MR CHARLES HARRIS

Focusing on the role of posters and poster artists in the history of advertising, this global-award winning Creative Director of international advertising agencies has lectured extensively on design, illustration and photographic styles as they have influenced the building of brands. He has himself created posters for major brands including British Airways, Nestlé, Sony, General Motors and Shell. His travel writing and photography has appeared in various airline magazines as well as Time. He has also written and produced several hundred TV and Radio commercials and corporate video programmes. A member of Winchester DFAS.

Members of the Farnham branch of the Arts Society heard Charles Harris talk at their January lecture on British railway posters.  Charles contended that the posters produced by the railways of Britain were amongst the finest examples of the form in history, combining art and craft to produce a powerful impact, and he produced convincing evidence to support that view.

The railway network of Britain was virtually complete by the end of the nineteenth century.  Early railway posters were mostly based on text, but by the early twentieth century, the London and North Western Railway used a painting by Norman Wilkinson as an advertisement for its Irish ferry service, while in 1908 the Great Northern Railway commissioned the famous ‘Jolly Fisherman’ poster with the slogan ‘Skegness is so bracing’.  (Charles, a former advertising man, entertained his audience with an imagining of how the commissioning process for the poster might have gone, given that the subject was a resort with a wide expanse of windy beach holding no particular reputation for sunshine.)

In 1923, the railways of Britain were consolidated into four large companies with broadly self-contained areas of operation, and it was this development that marked the beginning of a golden age in poster design.  Each of the four companies had their own approach, but Charles was clear that the LNER (London and North Eastern Railway) led the way in graphic design and produced some of the most dramatic advertising of the age.  Under its publicity manager, William Teasdale, the LNER commissioned five leading artists to work exclusively for the company.  Tom Purvis was perhaps the star of the group, with his use of large areas of flat colour in frugal images, which involved the viewer’s imagination; such images were as it happened also more economical to produce than the more painterly work of artists such as Frank Brangwyn, another of the company’s retained artists.  The LNER develop a concept of ‘cultural regionalism’, using images of features specific to its eastern territory - windmills in East Anglia, Bamburgh Castle and so on – to develop a strong individual identity.  Towards the end of the 1930s, the LNER developed ever-faster and more luxurious services to Scotland and the north, and used stylish posters emphasising their elegance to publicise them.  Charles explained the ‘science of the block’ – the idea that we see shapes before we see words, and that simple shapes are easier to grasp that more complex images; that colour matters when attracting attention, with yellow being the easiest to grasp at speed.  

Of the other three companies, the GWR (Great Western Railway) took the most conservative approach, with an emphasis on the engineering excellence that it felt it embodied.  Locomotives were often shown in preference to the interesting destinations that they served.  Some work commissioned from Edward McKnight Kauffer was daringly abstract, but for the most part the GWR published workaday views of resorts that lacked the impact of the LNER’s ‘progressive school’.  The Southern Railway, under its advertising manager John Elliot, promoted the idea that the resorts it served enjoyed more sunshine than those further north; Charles showed one of the Southern’s most famous posters, in which a small boy is seen addressing a kindly engine driver leaning out of his cab with the words: ‘I'm Taking an Early Holiday cos I know Summer Comes Soonest in the South’.  As well as selling its holiday destinations, the Southern advertised its services to the continent with glamourous images of the Golden Arrow.  Its newly electrified services were marketed with eye-catching - if strident – images featuring a spark motif.  Commuters were encouraged to move out of London with slogans such as ‘Live in Surrey, free from worry.’

The largest of the pre-war companies was the London Midland and Scottish Railway.  Norman Wilkinson, who as mentioned earlier had worked for one of the largest constituents of the LMS, suggested that a group of Royal Academicians be engaged to work for the company.  These tended to follow a painterly approach, depicting scenes in a naturalistic way.  As well as picturesque destinations, views of heavy industries served by the LMS were also used as posters.  

Charles explained that the railway poster would be among the few images available to the general public in colour in the inter-war period – films were in black-and-white, and colour was not widely used in print media.  Print runs for posters were not large, perhaps of the orders of 2000 or so, and the costs were high.  The LMS and the LNER co-operated in producing posters for attractions served by both companies, partly to spread the costs.

The outbreak of war saw an immediate end of the need to promote railway travel.  Instead, worthy posters exhorted people not to travel, or to at least avoid the busy times of day.  At the end of the war there were only a few months before the nationalisation of the system in 1948, although the LNER published a print of locomotives being brought back into tip-top condition, while the Southern celebrated the peace with a pair of pictures, one showing Waterloo in wartime, the pendant showing the same station, the same people, and the same perspectives but now in civilian mode – a complex image by the artist Helen McKie.  

The nationalised railway continued the poster traditions of the pre-war era, perhaps with less verve; the poster never regained the place it had created for itself in the inter-war period, when it served as an art form accessible to the public and made a valuable contribution to the appreciation of the work of artists and designers.

Chris Thomas

THE ARTS SOCIETY FARNHAM  

Picturing the Nativity: Painting by Numbers

On Tuesday December 17th a full house in the Maltings Great Hall heard Shirley Smith,   lecturer in Art History, give an erudite and amusing explanation of the development of the story of Christ's Nativity, from the simple accounts in the Gospels of Mark and Luke to the richly-layered, symbolic paintings of fifteenth-century Italian and Northern Renaissance artists. We learned which elements had been added and where they had come from.

The early church celebrated the feasts of Christ's birth, epiphany and baptism together on the 6th of January but in the fourth century the Emperor Constantine, after his conversion to Christianity, combined the birth with the Feast of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun, on December 25th and so it has remained in the West. Through the centuries elements from apocryphal, that is, rather unreliable, gospels such as those of James and Pseudo-Matthew and from writings by mystics, particularly St. Bridget of Sweden, added new details. A thirteenth-century collection of tales from the oral tradition, the Golden Legend by Jacopo da Voragine, was a fruitful source. St Francis's use of a live baby and crib in Greccio (hence creche) and the sometimes comic, sometimes touching elaborations in the mystery plays all played their part by the time we reach the masterpieces of Memling, Hugo van der Goes, or Rogier van der Weyden. Most of the additions carried symbolic significance.

We saw how the birthplace, not specified by St. Luke apart from the manger, is first pictured realistically for the Middle East as a cave, as it still is in Eastern Orthodox icons. Based on a passage in Pseudo-Matthew it gradually becomes more and more of a western wooden stable complete with ox and ass and very realistically shown in Flemish painting. Later the child was often shown born in a ruined Gothic church which symbolised the old order which had passed away. Classical pillars represented the new dispensation, especially in Italy where the influence of classical antiquity on the Renaissance was so strong. In the North landscapes, glimpsed through doors and windows, became wonderfully realistic and the Italians followed suit. Lovely domestic details such as Jesus's baby-walker or Joseph cutting up his socks to wrap the child were incorporated, all intended to humanise the story and enable the viewers to relate it to their own lives.

Just as the landscapes became more recognisable, so did the people. The idealised early figures were replaced in van der Goes's work, for example, by shepherds who had obviously just come in from the fields. The northern use of oil rather than egg tempera enabled more depth and effects such as chiaroscuro to be depicted. So in all these ways, landscape, portraiture and painting medium, the influence was from north to south, facilitated by the contacts set up in the low countries by the Florentine banks, especially that of the Medici. By the use of numerous images and a clear and entertaining exposition, Shirley Smith provided a rich and stimulating pre-Christmas feast.

Jan Herbert

MR JOHN IDDON

Lecturer and Guide at both Tate Britain and Tate Modern. Ran an MA course in Heritage Interpretation at St Mary's University College. Has lectured freelance to numerous art societies, to the National Trust and the Peggy Guggenheim Gallery in Venice. Lectures on art for cruises. In 2012, he wrote the new guidebook to the newly opened Strawberry Hill.

The November lecture, entitled ‘David Hockney at 70’, was delivered by John Iddon, a lecturer and guide at both Tate Modern and Tate Britain. His images were interspersed with witty anecdotes and quotations resulting in a most entertaining talk.

Hockney was born in Bradford in 1937 to educated working-class parents who encouraged their son in his ambition to be an artist. He attended Bradford Grammar School, Bradford College of Art and then the Royal College of Art from 1959-1962. He was experimental from an early age and when at the RCA featured in an exhibition that announced the arrival of British Pop Art to which he was an important contributor.

Ever rebellious and openly gay, he explored the nature of homosexual love in his portraits such as ‘We Two Boys Clinging Together’ and that of his lover, Peter Shlesinger, in ‘Peter Getting Out of Nick’s Pool’. It should be remembered that these were painted before the Sexual Offences Act of 1967 decriminalised homosexuality in England.

A move to California inspired him to create a series of scenes of American leisure capturing the Californian sunshine around swimming pools in vibrant colours whilst making use of the new acrylic medium. An example of this is ‘A Bigger Splash’.

He is perhaps best known for his double portraits such as ‘Mr and Mrs Ossie Clark and Percy’ and ‘My Parents’ in which he succeeded in subtly conveying the relationship between his sitters. He repeatedly returns to the same subjects.

In the 1980s he began to produce photo collages which he called ‘joiners’ using a patchwork of prints to make a composite image somewhat akin to Cubism and inspired by his love of Picasso’s work. These allowed him to study movement and the mechanics of vision as in ‘Pearlblossom Highway’. He wanted the viewer to be a participant not just a voyeur.

 Hockney returned frequently to Yorkshire in the 1990s where his friend, Jonathan Silver, encouraged him to capture the local surroundings. He set up residence in a studio in Bridlington where he created huge oil paintings of multiple canvasses placed together. ‘Going up Garrowby Hill’ conveys in bright colours a tremendous sense of speed and vertigo. 

Restlessly inventive and technically ambitious, since 2009 he has painted using I-phone and I-pad applications and in 2012 the RA presented ‘A Bigger Picture’ , an exhibition dedicated to landscapes inspired by Hockney’s native Yorkshire, especially trees and tree tunnels throughout the seasons.

A series of personal disasters including a mild heart attack, increasing deafness and the death of his assistant, Dominic Elliot, persuaded a depressed Hockney to return to California in 2013 after eight productive years in England. This move proved to be cathartic and he returned to his use of bold acrylic paints as in ‘Garden with Blue Terrace’ and his Matisse-like ‘Pots on the Terrace’.

David Hockney is renowned the world over as one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century and remains a boisterous, cantankerous and irrepressible spirit who ends his letters ‘Love Life’.

Ada Roberts

In this detailed and beautifully illustrated lecture, Anthea Streeter placed the story of the Bauhaus in political and historical context and described its influence on almost all modern architecture and design that we take for granted today. The Bauhaus or ‘Building House’  lasted from 1919 to 1933 until it was closed by the Nazis.

Founded by Walter Gropius, an architect and member of Deutche Verkbund, it aimed to represent German art and industry internationally. Gropius employed the most progressive artists of the early 20th century, including Lyonel Meininger and Johanne Itten but, with money in short supply, art works had to be made with whatever materials could be found. Classical painting was analysed for its structure and life drawing focused on its expressive qualities.

Paul Klee and Wassily Kandinsky explored the emotional intensity of relationships between colour, shapes and patterns, resulting in Kandinsky’s design for a cradle constructed of wood and metal in basic shapes and primary colours. Many students had come from fighting in the First World War with new ideals of international cooperation and standard were very high. 

Anthea Streeter described the work of three of the twelve departments at the Bauhaus: pottery, weaving and metal. She showed examples of practical pieces made for domestic use using modular shapes. These well designed, handmade pieces were intended for mass production. The weaving department broke with traditional figurative and representational designs with its abstract patterns in bold colours. The de Stijl movement from Amsterdam influenced the design of modern, streamlined vessels and furniture in the metal workshop when Johannes Itten was replaced by Laszlo Maholy-Nagy. 

A successful exhibition in Weimar in 1923 displayed the work of the the Bauhaus from posters to an experimental house using, for the first time, pure straight lines in glass, concrete and steel and including the first fitted furniture in the kitchen, living room and bedroom. A table lamp, the prototype of most of those we use today and suitable for mass production, appeared. 

However, when the Nationalist Party came into power in Weimar 1924, the Bauhaus was forced to move to Dessau to a new building designed by Walter Gropius. It was the first large modernist building, using clean straight lines and right angles, made in concrete and metal with a huge wall of glass and representing a democratic, egalitarian architecture in the face of rising Fascism. Marcel Bauer created the Wassily chair, the B5 and B32 chairs, all very familiar to us today.

Gropius also designed minimalist houses for the teaching staff using wide wrap-around windows, large balconies, fitted furniture, blinds instead of curtains, strip lighting and the first mixer taps. The aim was efficiency, light and space. Hannes Meyer started the architecture department with a design for the Dessau-Torten Estate in 1928, a housing scheme for 300 families, using the first modular system assembled in factories. He aimed to produce well designed, functional homes that took advantage of natural light. However, as communist, he had to be replaced in 1930 by Mies Van Der Rohe who developed a more luxurious modern house using chrome and glass. 

By 1932 the Bauhaus was regarded as ‘too cosmopolitan’ by the growing Nazi Party and, after a final short move to Berlin and starved of financial support, it closed and the staff fled to the USA. Today the original building in Weimar is Bauhaus University, The Gropius building in Dessau was used, ironically, by the Nationalist Party and has been reconstructed as the Bauhaus Design Foundation. We can see its influence on design all around us every day. 

Jane Blandy

ANTHEA STREETER

Studied the Fine and Decorative Arts in London and continued her studies at Harvard University. It was while at Harvard, where there was great enthusiasm for American design, that she became interested herself in 20th century architecture. Since returning from America she has taught on courses in Oxford and London, lectured on the Country House course in Sussex, and for several private groups around the country. Special interest in the architecture and design of 20th century.

Photo Creative Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

As Farnham's greatest political son, it can be assumed most of the audience already have some knowledge of William Cobbett’s life and achievements. However his link with the celebrated cartoonist James Gillray provides a new and interesting insight. The men were contemporaries although Cobbett outlived Gillray by 20 years. Their historical context was one of great turbulence as a result of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, a period lasting from 1789 - 1815.  Gillray died just as peace was declared, but Cobbett's final years were far from peaceful. He experienced the famine of 1816 and agricultural hardship rick burning combined with town riots such Peterloo in 1819, when 19 peaceful civilians were killed. It was a time of much harshness. There were 200 hanging offences including one for impersonating a Chelsea Pensioner! However Cobbett saw the first tentative steps towards electoral reform in 1832, becoming an MP and dying in 1835. Having been born in Farnham, his body was returned and buried at St. Andrew's. It is notable that 8,000 people attended, twice the population of the town. 

Throughout his life Cobbett angrily exposed corruption where ever he saw it, whether in the army, in America or at home. His fearless and aggressive approach in his speeches and writings were never tempered by threats or bribes. While this annoyed the government they were pleased with his anti-French stance. Both his and Gillray's work were useful propaganda tools. Even the illiterate could not fail to grasp the significance of a bound man on the guillotine with blood pouring out. However, constantly riled by Cobbett, the government sought to denigrate him and employed Gillray for the task. He was paid £200 to produce nine such drawings. But, although they made Cobbett look foolish, they were never cruel. This may be explained by the fact that both men mocked the establishment and exposed its greed, but as Gillray commented, "The Whigs buy my paints." Everyone enjoys a scandal and Gillray's etchings were popular, selling for 2/6 - £250 today;  not a bad return. Etchings are drawn on a copper plate then incised with acid. Many would then be coloured by the staff in Mrs. Humphrey's shop. She and Gillray lived together and she cared for him in his last days of ill health. Cobbett too enjoyed life in old age on his farm at Botley

Two of Gillray’s cartoons deserve a special mention for they are instantly recognisable today. The Carve Up shows tall thin Pitt and tiny Napoleon dividing the Christmas pudding, representing the globe, between them with Pitt keeping the ships and Napoleon gaining most of Europe as he desired. This famous image has been  copied countless times, including in 2016 a large Cameron facing a tiny Nicola Sturgeon as they carve up Great Britain. Another entitled Fashionable Contrasts shows the huge legs and feet of the Duke of York entangled with those of his bride Frederica of Prussia who was known for her dainty feet. A modern image showed Theresa Maya's kitten leopard spotted shoes entangled with President Trump’s. As Dr. Thomas frequently pointed out - not much as really changed! 

Jenny Thorpe

Following a well-attended AGM, the June meeting of The Arts Society, Farnham was treated to a lively and amusing lecture on The Interiors of Jane Austen's Heroines by Diana Lloyd, a freelance lecturer and expert on the subject. We saw many illustrations of furnishing styles dating from the mid-eighteenth century to the Regency period and some of the light, bright décor looked pleasingly refreshing on a really hot day.

Jane Austen's earliest adult written work dates from the mid-1790s, so the styles she would have in mind as the settings for her early novels represent the neo-classicism of the Georgians, typified by the work of Robert Adam. He promoted a unified style of architecture and interior artefacts incorporating design ideas from Ancient Greece and Rome. Wallpaper made of fabric, often blue and white, chair-coverings and carpets would all match and china would often co-ordinate. Oval and circular shapes were popular and furniture made in light woods was pleasing to look at. The overall effect was uncluttered. Photographs of Saltram House and Jane Austen's brother's mansion at Godmersham illustrated the atmosphere of classical simplicity, elegance and symmetry.

By the turn of the century the mood was changing. Adam was seen as too pernickety and fashion adopted a more masculine style with more definite colours, white, gold and red, and the use of darker woods, even picking out highlights in ebony. The Prince Regent's Carlton House was a good example and possibly also Lady Catherine de Burgh's 'new-build' at Rosings. Elizabeth Bennet tellingly preferred Pemberley, which had less splendour – more real elegance.

That remark is an example of the way Jane Austen can use the household settings of her stories to cast light on her characters and to imply her moral opinions. In general she disapproves of excess and her favoured characters either already have excellent taste and manners or they have to learn them, as Emma needs to. The development of the dining-room offered society more scope for petty snobberies. As entertaining outside the family became more widespread, larger rooms specially designated for dining had to be provided. In Emma the upwardly mobile Cole family have added a dining-room to their house. At first they only invite men to dine, generally the less snobbish sex. Then they ask the gentry, except Emma, who they know won't come. She would like to turn them down, so they would be 'taught that it was not for them to arrange the terms on which superior families would visit.' In the end she does go. Perhaps common sense has triumphed? Not quite. The less worthy females were to come in the evening. So the essential cruelty of this society is pilloried in a casual ironic comment on dining habits.

This fascinating combination of literary analysis and detailed explanation and illustration of the interiors of the time proved a most enjoyable hour. 

Jan Herbert

The May lecture was delivered by Denise Heywood, an author, lecturer, photographer and journalist who specialises in Southeast Asia.

Laos, a landlocked country in the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula of Mainland Southeast Asia, is bordered by Myanmar, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand and cut through by the mighty Mekong River. It became a French protectorate in 1893 but was granted autonomy in 1953. In 1970 it was drawn into the Vietnam War and became the most heavily bombed nation on earth. After the Communist takeover in 1975 it was closed to the public, only re-opening cautiously in the 1990s to reveal a way of life hardly touched by the modern world. Although a Buddhist country, there is a great deal of animism and ancestor worship mixed in.

Henri Mouhot, a French explorer, arrived in 1861 and described Laos as ‘A Little Paradise’. At its heart lies Luang Prabang, the royal capital until 1975 and designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. It is a treasure-trove of Laos’s artistic and cultural heritage. There are 35 gilded temples, the most spectacular of which is Wat Xieng Thong created in 1560. It has unique cascading vertical roofs and a stunning ‘tree of life’ mosaic depicting both the mundane and the transcendent. Golden stencils of lotus flowers, wheels, animistic spirits and dancers shimmer on the main wall. The temple contains rare Buddhist deities and a 12-metre high funeral carriage. Nearby are several stupas and chapel halls housing a standing Buddha and a rare reclining Buddha. The religious buildings are regularly maintained with monks teaching younger monks restoration techniques.

There are also many examples of elegant buildings such as the Royal Palace erected during the French protectorate which evoke both traditional Lao and French beaux-arts styles. The 19 panels on the walls of the Reception Hall were painted by Alix de Fauterau and depict Luang Prabang as an idyllic place. The ensemble, a unique fusion of traditional and colonial architecture, creates a remarkably well-preserved townscape in perfect harmony with the natural environment. 

Upstream from Luang Prabang are the sacred Pak Ou Caves filled with thousands of gold-lacquered Buddhas left by pilgrims.

Alms giving takes place daily as the sun rises and is a revered ritual. At any time there are over 440 monks in Luang Prabang many of whom are novices since every boy must serve time and relinquish all possessions. Saffron-robed monks walk through the kneeling crowds who offer gifts, usually of food, in return for blessings.

There are many ethnic minorities in Laos with the dominant Lao people in the lowlands and indigenous hill tribes such as the Hmong in the mountains. Each has its own traditions of weaving and the women are often adorned with silver head-dresses and beautiful silk costumes laboriously woven by hand. Silk weaving is sacred and the saviour of the living arts of Laos as it recovers from years of isolation. Raw silk is dyed with natural dyes and woven into complex patterns called Ikat. A skilled weaver is certain to find a husband at the annual marriage fair!

The speaker painted a fascinating picture of the people, places and culture of a unique country which she encouraged the audience to visit.

Ada Roberts

FROM MAUVE TO MUMBAI: THE HISTORY OF COLOUR IN TEXTILES FROM 1856 TO THE PRESENT.

On April 18th Dr. Susan Kay-Williams treated the members of Farnham DFAS to a lucid exposition of how chemical dyes changed the nature and possibilities of using colour in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Before that time the use of only natural dyes, such as madder and indigo, limited the range of shades possible. There are traditionally seven colours in the rainbow. By using scientific techniques Michel Chevreux, head dyer at the Gobelin factory in France, identified seventy-two variants of these, then by adding black or white, extended the possible shades to fourteen thousand.

A major advance occurred in England in 1856 when an 18-year-old chemistry student, William Perkins, failed to create the synthetic quinine he wanted but was left with a sediment which he mixed with water. He inserted a cloth, which turned a satisfying shade of purple. So mauve was born and could be cheaply manufactured, unlike expensive purple, although the fact that Queen Victoria possibly wore it at her daughter's wedding was a factor in its popularity. By 1860 the French had discovered the secret and Empress Eugenie's patronage had the same effect. Similar techniques led to the manufacture of Turkey or Adrinople red, much brighter than the old madder-based dyes. These colours had great advantages; they could be produced in quantity, and they were  consistently the same shade, even when transferred to cotton. Manchester (Cottonopolis) and Glasgow became worldwide centres of production, as did Brno and Lodz. The same was true of Ahmadabad but in general Indian manufactories were individual producers with small outputs and much madras cotton was printed and them re-exported to India. The working-conditions in the factories were terrible and became even worse when arsenic-based products were used to manufacture a new shade of green. Socks were often made using arsenic and when navvies' feet grew sweaty inside their boots, the resulting compound was severely damaging to them.

The use of chrome to replace alum as a fixative led to more colours but the chemical effect was again damaging. By now the Germans were leading the way in research and found a safe way to fix madder, but the French had a big boost when Levi-Strauss patented his ultra-durable work-trousers for the gold rush prospectors. The jeans are still with us, of course. By the 1880s William Morris was striking back in favour of the old natural colours and the Boer and twentieth-century wars shifted mass production towards duller colours, especially khaki. The 30s saw green without arsenic and the 60s a huge explosion of often lurid colours. In this brief review it is impossible to give more than a sample of the fascinating material Dr. Williams provided in this informative and entertaining talk.

Jan Herbert

POP GOES THE ARTIST: 

From Warhol to Dylan 

Farnham Decorative & Fine Arts Society members heard Dr Suzanne Fagence Cooper talk at their March lecture on the art of Andy Warhol, the best-known Pop Artist, and its echoes in the work of Bob Dylan, whose own art has been the subject of recent exhibitions.

In 1965 Warhol asked Dylan to visit his studio, the Factory, for a screen test.  Dylan fidgeted and behaved irritably during the filming, but his attention had been caught by one of Warhol’s giant multiple images, of Elvis Presley in the role of a cowboy aiming a pistol at the viewer, and at the end of the session he took it away, mounting it precariously on the roof of his car.  

The Presley image, two overlapping monochrome silkscreen prints on a silver background, was typical of Warhol’s work, in using a ready-made image of a figure from popular culture who needed no interpretation for the audience.  Warhol’s work explored the relationship between the consumer, celebrity and capitalism.  Landscapes, marine scenes, conventional still lives – none of these were subjects for the Pop Art movement.  Multiple images of cans of soup or of celebrities took their place, in a reflection of an urban society completely cut off from nature.

The multiple image was a Warhol trademark.  He talked of himself as being a machine; ‘Repetition builds reputation’ was one of his sayings.  He used ready-made images, reproduced in a way that demands the viewer’s attention.  The familiar pictures of Marilyn Monroe made after her death, printed variously in a range of lurid colours, can be seen as an attempt to strip down our ideas of beauty and colour, treating her face as a ‘brand’.  The inspiration for his technique can be found in his background.  Warhol trained as a graphic designer – a commercial artist – working in the fashion trade, where he acquired his first celebrity as an illustrator of shoes for fashion magazines.  He went on to design dress fabrics, using repeated motifs in various colourways in the characteristic style of the 1950s.  His use of soup tins as subjects draws attention to the fact that everything around us is designed; that there is a whole tier of design which is not high art, while playing at the same time with the idea of what good art actually is.  Warhol wanted art for the many; he wanted art to be accessible.  Effect, not technique, was what mattered to him.  He said ‘I’m still a commercial artist, I always was a commercial artist’.

Dylan’s relationship with Warhol did not continue after the screen test.  But Dr Fagence Cooper drew parallels with the two artists’ work in their different fields.  Dylan too was interested in recycling familiar motifs, in his case from earlier folksongs and nineteenth century ballads, and indeed his own assumed name, which references Dylan Thomas.  He had always been interested in art – an early girlfriend was an art student – and in later life he has taken up painting and sculpture.  Like Warhol, he has experimented with treating identical images in different colourings, although unlike Warhol he does not use screen printing.  His imagery shows self-awareness, with references to artists such as Van Gogh.  Latterly he has turned to welding found elements such as sprocket wheels, spanners, and springs into panels.

By the end of her lecture, Dr Fagence Cooper had demonstrated to her audience that there might indeed be more parallels than they had previously realised in the artistic careers of these two figures.

Chris Thomas                                        

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society lecture on 21st February was delivered by Dr Tobias Capwell. In addition to his academic work, he trains war horses, often wears armour himself and participates in jousts. He explained that most of our concept of  knights is derived from writers in the late 17th century. We need to empathise with the real knights, a task made more difficult by the dehumanising effect of armour. Funerary monuments of knights start appearing in the 12th century which give us an accurate image of the armour that was worn and also some hint of the person himself.

The best monuments in England and Wales were made from alabaster which was mined on the Derbyshire/Staffordshire border. It was particularly fine so was also exported to Europe in the 15th century. Alabaster has the peculiar property of being water soluble when dry (so should never be touched when you are viewing a monument) but comes from the ground saturated with water. At that stage it is soft and easy to carve which enables very fine detailing; when dry it is extremely hard and easily polishes to a fine surface. As it is expensive to transport, it is noticeable that the further away from the stone source the monument is found the more likely it is to belong to a rich person with very fine armour.

Although 14th century art depicts knights in armour, the images are not detailed. To see the laces, decorative buckles and straps you need to look at funerary monuments. There is quite a lot of documentary evidence for the commissioning of these monuments but often if the paperwork exists the monument no longer does, or vice versa. Ralph Greene (died 1417) is a rare instance where we have both. The commission gives some details but not a lot which means that the carving of the armour details and the man himself must have been done under instruction from people who knew him in life.

In England Italian armour was not popular but it is mostly Italian armour which survives in European museums. The funerary monuments are remarkable for recording details of rivets and hinges which we see on actual suites of Italian armour. The English detailing like pendant strip ending rings is different but the mechanics are the same. More fascinating is where a monument may have rivets or hinges where one is not matching; the obvious explanation is that they did originally match but were damaged in battle so had to be repaired with whatever was to hand. The fact that this is seen in the monument reinforces the idea that this is a real person in the real armour in which he fought. Perfectly matched armour was obviously never used in battle!

The monuments cost more that the armour itself and frequently more than a knight’s annual income. The reason so much was spent was to remind all who attended the church to pray for the soul of the dead knight and thereby shorten his stay in purgatory.

Anne Young

The January lecture was delivered by Brian Stater who has lectured at UCL since 1997. His subject was ‘When Britain clicked: fab photographs from the Swinging Sixties’. 

 The Sixties saw great changes in British society. Harold Wilson famously said that ‘The day of the dynasty and the era of nepotism are over’. It was a time of great excitement and optimism after the gloom of the post-war years and brought an end to elitism, a revival of optimism, of flair and design. Ordinary people, especially the younger generation, were acquiring more social confidence and assertiveness.

Three fashion photographers who recorded this change were named by Norman Parkinson as ‘The Black Trinity’. They were David Bailey, Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy and were the giants of the profession at that time.

Bailey defied the established order of men like John French and brought simplicity and movement to his work for Vogue. A good rapport with his models was crucial to Bailey whose most famous collaboration was with Jean Shrimpton. He eschewed conventional backdrops preferring the mean streets of Harlem when working on his first foreign assignment in America. New York had great influence over fashion at the time so it was both brave and dangerous of him to break new ground. 

Bailey’s portraits of the famous such as Mick Jagger, the Beatles and Michael Caine were shot against a blank screen which allowed their personalities to shine through. He relished danger and was himself photographed with the notorious Kray twins six weeks before their arrest.

Terence Donovan wanted to create a working class chic and Twiggy, with her child-like innocence and androgynous appearance, proved to be the ideal model. He liked to shoot in the somewhat dystopian settings of a concrete underpass or road tunnel. His belief in a style he named ‘verity’ led him to do men’s fashion shoots in tough, urban sites such as a gasworks or row of terraced houses where he showed men stepping out with confidence into a new world.

Brian Duffy was a difficult man known for his ruthless professionalism. His photos show strong, assured women whose style and grace he admired. They appear as equal to men at a time when strong barriers to women still existed.  Another powerful symbol of the Sixties was the E-type Jaguar which Duffy shot with confident young men driving off into a bright future with equally confident women at their sides.

 Tony Ray-Jones was very different from the Black Trinity. Instead of high fashion, he documented the idiosyncrasies of British society depicting a wealthy couple in evening dress enjoying a picnic in a field of cows, a beauty contest at Southport where an elderly man is more interested in his tea than in the girls and a group of friends enjoying a May Day tea party in the pouring rain.

The last photographer dealt with was Jane Bown who worked for the Observer newspaper. She possessed the ability to put her subjects at their ease which resulted in very truthful pictures of famous people such as a laughing Mick Jagger, a self-confident John Lennon and a troubled Rudolf Nureyev.

Brian Stater’s talk was both entertaining and informative leaving the audience with a vivid reminder of the Sixties as seen through the lenses of his five chosen photographers.

Ada Roberts

V&A exhibition Records and Rebels 1966-70

https://www.vam.ac.uk/exhibitions/you-say-you-want-a-revolution-records-and-rebels-1966-70#objects

Farnham DFAS lecture Tuesday 20th December in Farnham Maltings - Singe We Yule by Sarah Deere-Jones

In this enchanting lecture, Sing We Yule given by Sarah Deere-Jones Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society learned about midwinter and Christmas traditions in Medieval times, viewed a beautiful selection of illustrated manuscripts and other images and were entertained to a range of songs and music played by Sarah Deere-Jones on her collection of medieval instruments.

She described the essential midwinter break of twelve days for peasants when very little outdoor work was possible. Early Christians deliberately chose a date for their religious festival near the winter solstice which was already celebrated which explains why many of the traditions we associate with Christmas are far older. Bringing greenery indoors symbolises life and light at this very harsh time of year. Hanging mistletoe invokes fertility and ivy was thought to have healing properties for drunkenness. Our audience listened to the song Miri It Is (1255), celebrating the changing seasons, which was played on a psalter, a small harp often seen on illustrated manuscripts and church carvings.

Henry III was renowned for his lavish Christmas feasts, as in 1237 and 1241, for which thousands of birds and animals were slaughtered to feed vast numbers of lords, commoners and the poor in Westminster Hall. Music accompanied these twelve course meals which started in daylight but went on long after the early darkness fell. The wealthy could then show off their expensive beeswax candles while the poor normally burned offensive smelling tallow candles made of animal fat, inadequate rush lights or went without.  

John Russell’s ‘Book of Nurture’ written in the 15th century while he was usher to the Duke of Gloucester guided its readers on contemporary manners and domestic management when required to attend formal occasions by their lords. Peasants were often included and participated in singing and playing music, just as the audience at this lecture were invited to join in a popular drinking song of the time. 

Hunting was a common winter sport that appealed to people of all classes. Guests drank ‘lambswool’, a kind of spicy apple punch, and were entertained by mummers, consisting of local unemployed agricultural workers. The tradition of hiding their identities by darkening their faces with ash or behind masks dates from this time. Each community had its own traditional play concerning the great themes of life, death and eternity with plenty of satire thrown in. Opinions differed as to their worth; William Langland, the poet, disapproved but Henry II employed Roland le Pattor as court buffoon to entertain him daily with ‘a leap, a whistle and a fart’.

Other outdoor pastimes included snowballing and skating on blades made of animal bones while indoor games such as dice, backgammon, cards and chess were popular. Less often seen today were stilt walking, shuttlecock and Blind Man’s Buff.  Sarah Deere-Jones played a dance tune on a hurdy gurdy, a boxlike mechanical string instrument with a small keyboard, which she described as an early synthesiser. 

Professional musicians announced a guest’s arrival with their own identifiable tune or woke them for the hunt with a searing bagpipe, while heralds communicated information on the battlefield with their trumpets. More delicate instruments were kept for indoor entertainment often by women who were expected to entertain with music and stories. Sarah Deere- Jones showed us a plucked psaltery, with its pig-nose shape, the partitive organ and the hammered dulcimer  a precursor of today’s piano.

Carols, originally circular folk dances, were performed all year round like those still in use today.  We listened to The Corpus Christi Carol of 1504 on a hammered dulcimer. Slow and stately dances like the pavane gave partners the opportunity for private conversation but were criticised by the Church. 

This superb lecture ended with a a performance of The Incident of the Bures Dragon (1405) from Sudbury, Suffolk which was traditionally played by travelling harpists who carried stories and ballads around the country.

Jane Blandy

The Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society lecture on 15th November was delivered by Joanna Mabbutt. 

The Thames was a vital means of transport for a 1000 years but it also became the backdrop for monarchs and the elite to demonstrate their power. In 1215 King John first allowed the Lord Mayor’s Show to take place on condition that it progressed as far upriver as Westminster in order to swear public allegiance to the King. The Livery Companies decorated their barges in the show with all manner of fabrics and surface decorations to display their craftsmanship.  The very word “float” which we use to describe moving displays derives from these original barges “floating” on the river.

In the 15th century the river was so important as a transport artery that all the great palaces of the king and nobility faced onto the river. In 1486 Henry VII was the first to make a river pageant part of his coronation ceremony. Later kings followed suit with the Stuarts making their coronation and wedding pageants the peak of this form of entertainment. By their time the pageants lasted for days and included firework shows launched from pontoons in the river. All of this was intended to demonstrate the power of the monarch.

By the 1690’s the pageants were less about royal power and more a demonstration of naval power and the influence of the city livery companies. Nelson’s funeral included a river procession with Churchill being the only other commoner who was granted this honour.

During the Little Ice Age (15th - early 19th centuries), when the Thames frequently froze solid, Frost Fairs were staged where stalls of various kinds sold their wares and boats, temporarily equipped with wheels, ferried the populace across the river. The Old London Bridge, with its many arches, slowed the water flow allowing the river to remain frozen for 3-6 weeks, even 2 months in 1789. 

The dissolution of the monasteries had started the mass availability of riverside land on which first the nobles and then lesser folk built great houses including many artists and writers – Reynolds, Pope, Walpole, Garrick. Johann Zoffany was famous for painting these riverside properties with Turner and Canaletto also joining in the riverside fashion.

Out of the jurisdiction of the City, in the 17th/18th century Southwark was first home to many theatres but when they moved back north of the river, this area became home to the famous/infamous pleasure gardens at Vauxhall where musical entertainments, eating and drinking, bear baiting and courting took place. In 1826 20,000 people attended in one night. In 1742 the Ranelagh Gardens were created north of the river for very similar activities, but the entrance charge ensured a better class of clientele.

In more recent times, the creation of the Boat Race, pleasure cruisers, the Festival of Britain, the Queens Jubilee and the opening of Tate Modern, the South Bank and the Millennium Dome are all descendants of the tradition that the Thames is a focal point for national pageantry and mass entertainment.

Anne Young

Farnham Decorative & Fine Arts Society members heard Lynne Gibson talk at their October lecture on the symbolism and hidden meanings to be found among the details of Dutch seventeenth-century art.

In 1648 the Netherlands gained their independence from Spain.  The nation became a great and prosperous trading power.  An affluent class of merchants arose, with money to spare for paintings that would not only decorate their homes, but also indicate their status and their cultural awareness.  Their taste was not for portraits of the nobility, nor for religious subjects, which had no appeal for the largely Calvinist Dutch.  They bought instead landscapes, still lives, and genre paintings – paintings of everyday life, showing different types of people.

Many people with an interest in art will be familiar with these scenes of everyday life, so characteristic of the Dutch art of the seventeenth century.  In well-ordered households young women play musical instruments in comfortable rooms adorned with paintings, servants go about their duties, and work proceeds in the kitchen.  Serene domesticity and modest prosperity are on display in what look like naturalistic representations of everyday life.  Lynne Gibson invited her audience to consider whether that was all there was to such paintings, or whether more detailed study would show that there were further layers of meaning to be found.  Taking work by Gerrit Dou, Nicolaes Maes, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen and others as examples, she introduced her audience to the symbolism incorporated in the works.

A Dou picture, ‘Maid at the Window,’ depicted a room seen from the street.  In the foreground a servant empties a ewer of water out of the window, while in the background a mother instructs her young son.  A pot plant stands on the window sill, while a birdcage hangs in the light.  Lynne Gibson pointed out how the maid’s charms were revealed by her low décolletage, that her frank gaze was directed at the viewer, and that her sleeves had been rolled up to the elbows, revealing more skin than would have been normal at the time.  Reinforcing this imagery was the symbolism elsewhere in the work: the pot-bellied vessel the maid was emptying was often employed as a symbol of female fertility, and its open mouth facing the viewer serves to strengthen the metaphor.  The fruiting plant on the window was associated with temptation, love, and marriage, and the bird in the cage was a love emblem.  

How can we know that the Dutch would have seen a caged bird as a love emblem?  Lynne Gibson introduced her audience to emblem books, a simple form of literature popular in the seventeenth century.  An example of the form showed a woodcut illustration of an emblem – such as a caged bird threatened by a cat –  accompanied by a motto and explained by a text, explaining that while a woman might be caged in marriage, she was protected from danger, presumably from other men.  A birdcage featured in another picture by Dou, ‘A Young Woman at her Toilet’ but in this case the door was open and the bird had flown, the symbolic message being that the woman’s virtue had done the same.  The young woman here was wearing pearls, a symbol sometimes associated with the Virgin Mary, but here signifying Venus and love – Venus in myth having been borne ashore on a seashell.  

Pictures by Maes showed a kitchen maid diverted from her duties by the attentions of a soldier who has left his cloak and sword – a common phallic symbol – in the hall in full view.  A cat was shown helping itself to the cooked chicken – cats in Dutch slang being associated with promiscuity, and chickens and birds being metaphors for women.  Other symbols included the wearing of a red dress, a racy colour associated with prostitution, and an empty glass, a reference to merry-making.

Sexual references in works by Vermeer were much more discreet, but were to be found nonetheless.  Lynne Gibson pointed out to us a particularly Dutch item, a foot warmer, in Vermeer’s ‘The Milkmaid’.  The Netherlands being cool in winter, a footwarmer - a wooden box containing a bowl of burning charcoal - was popular with women.  As it was used under long skirts, it employed used in paintings to suggest that it was not only the woman’ s feet that were being kept warm.  Footwarmer motifs came up in other pictures by Jan Steen, as did the sale and consumption of oysters, which were thought to be aphrodisiac.  Young women playing lutes and virginals might be practising their gentle accomplishments, but were also taking advantage of opportunities to display themselves to good advantage while hoping for love.   By the end of Lynne Gibson’s lecture, her audience was unable to look at even a depiction of a wheelbarrow of carrots without being aware that its painter might be suggesting something more than the benefits of a wholesome diet.

Pot-bellied jugs, birdcages with or without occupants, foot and other warmers, cats, chickens, pearls, seashells, oysters (and the rest of them), are all details that are easy to overlook, but which are keys to understanding the morals that the seventeenth century Dutch artists were surreptitiously incorporating into their works.  Lynne Gibson’s lecture was an encouragement to all of us to look hard at the morals and moralising of Dutch genre paintings, as well as enjoying the surface of their representations.

Further Reading 

Matilde Battistini - Symbols and Allegories in Art. The JP Getty Museum. Los Angleles 2005

Sarah Carr-Gomm - The Secret Language of Art: The Illustrated Decoder of Symbols and Figures in Western Painting. Ducan Baird Publishers 2001

Wayne Franits, Dutch Seventeenth Century Genre Painting. Yale University Press 2004

James Hall. Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, 2nd Edition. Westview press 2008

Dr. Steve Kershaw, an indirect member of the Elgin family - and classical lecturer at the Oxford Department for Continuing Education - delighted his audience with his expert narrative of the history of the Parthenon, his slides illustrating the amazing sculptural skills of Phidias, concluding with the debate, which continues to this day, as to whether the marbles should be returned to Greece.

Following the final defeat of the Persians in 479, the burned wooden temples on the Acropolis remained as a reminder of the past, until Pericles appropriated funds provided by her allies in order to rebuild the site in splendour. The Parthenon (built 447-32) was the work of Ictinus and Callicrates adorned by sculptures.  Facing us are 92 square metopes set between the columns. These depict Greeks in fighting mode. The figures are in high relief so only a tiny portion of their bodies is attached to the stone back - feet stick forward freely and the tension of the fight is enhanced by the diagonal poses. Behind is the frieze including a cavalcade of lively horses which would once have had bridles of bronze and gilt. Leading them in procession are calm faced attendants, water carriers, sheep and cattle. Historians assume they were en route to a ritual sacrifice. In the centre stood the statue of Athena, the patron goddess of the city, over 14 metres tall and covered in gold and ivory.  Although the statue is lost we have a description from Pausanias a 2thC traveller.  Most of the sculptures from the pediments are lost to us, but some valuable drawings remain. Another innovative feature of the sculptures is the natural movement of air through the thin draperies so the headless limbless marble torso of Iris seems almost to float. The temple would also have been painted - not the honey colour of today.

Greece became part of the Roman Empire and when the Empire became officially Christian (4thC) the Parthenon became a church with the addition of an apse: from Athena to the Virgin Mary. Thus the building survived despite various vicissitudes including fire and the ravages of the 4th Crusade of 1204. In 1453 Constantinople fell to the Turks and 5 years later the Parthenon became a mosque with a high level of vandalism, comparable with Daesh today. Under Turkish rule the building decayed, but by the 17thC European interest revived particularly among the French who were ready to pay large sums for the right to gain access to the military citadel.  The next French ambassador was equally ambitious and when, following an accident when a cannon ball hit an explosive store and 28 columns fell, he instructed his agents to "pillage what you can." Enter the British ambassador Thomas Bruce the 7th Earl of Elgin with an equal interest in antiquities. He gained permission to employ an artist to draw the buildings, but without the use of scaffolding. Luckily for him the war in Europe went England's way and he was able to gain many necessary permits; one vital one stating that he was "not to be hindered in taking away pieces." Unfortunately we only have this in an Italian translation - the original being lost. Thus Elgin began to crate up as much as possible and in May 1811 he opened his London house for them to be inspected. However many described the marbles as Roman copies and overrated!! Nonetheless  in 1816 Parliament decided the legal title was sound and offered the Earl £35,000 which he had no option but to take. They were then given to the British Museum where they have been ever since and seen free of charge. 

From 1829 when Greece gained her independence to this day there have been calls for the marbles to be returned to Greece. Elgin undoubtedly rescued them from further vandalism and air pollution, but they remain an emotional and potent national symbol. However the Museum regards a return not only as a disastrous precedent but believes they are better appreciated within the context of the art history of the world. 

Mary Beard -,The Parthenon, Harvard University Press 2003

I. Jenkins -The Parthenon Sculptures in the British Museum. BM Press 2007

Steve Kershaw - A Brief Gudie to Classical Civilization.  Constable and Robinson 2010

PUNCH AND JUDY

A subversive symbol from Commedia dell‘Arte to the present day

Farnham Decorative & Fine Arts Society members heard Bertie Pearce talk at their June lecture on Mr Punch, the Lord of Misrule, the most famous puppet character of all time – and Bertie’s skills as an entertainer were easily the match for his subject.

The first record of Punch comes in the diary of Samuel Pepys, who while walking across the square in Covent Garden in May 1662 encountered a puppet show, performed by the Italian Pietro Gimonde from Bologna.  We do not know which characters Pepys saw, but we do know that they would have been based on the types used in the Italian Commedia dell‘Arte performances.  Commedia dell‘Arte (originally Commedia all'improvviso) was a style of improvised drama, performed by travelling players using a repertoire of stock characters and a small range of standard plots.  These basic plots were adapted for each performance to suit the times and places of their production.  The stock types would include Arlecchino (Harlequin), and Pulcinella – Mr Punch in England.  Their characters always maintained their attributes – Harlequin was a servant, often serving two masters; he was a cheeky chappie, ever hungry, with clothes that always needed patching (the basis of his eventual patchwork costume).  Pulcinella was a miller from Naples, of dubious character, rude, vigorous and disgusting.  He was the universal clown, a lover of ease, food, and drink; he had a dirty sense of humour, a raucous voice and a delight in the pursuit of women.  His anarchic energy made him very popular in England.  The type has a history in drama that goes back to the Greeks and the Romans; Shakespearean characters such as Bottom and Dogberry were variations on the theme.  Most of the performers in Commedia dell‘Arte wore masks for ease of recognition.  Pulcinella masks had long faces with hooked noses, and the character was usually played as a hunchback.

It was this tradition that was used by Italian puppeteers when they brought their trade to London.  Originally the marionettes would have been operated by strings, from above, but in 1760 the first glove puppet was recorded.  Such a puppet could be operated by one person alone and there was undoubtedly an economic advantage in the change, but a glove puppet was also capable of jerky, direct and aggressive movement that suited the character well.  The modern format of the show began to take shape, with Punch as an everyman character who would submit to no authority.  He acted out the resentment that the mass of the population felt against the rule of law, the constraints of marriage and the oppression of the ruling classes.  Typically, Punch and his wife – originally Joan – have a baby, which is left in Punch’s charge; Punch throws the baby down the stairs, the baby dies and Punch is tried and condemned to death by hanging, but tricks the hangman into showing him how to put his head into the noose, and so hangs his would-be executioner in his place.  In the nineteenth century, a pompous beadle was introduced to the characters, later replaced by a policeman, always portrayed as someone to be outwitted.  Later still, a crocodile joined the cast (and inspired J. M. Barrie to incorporate one in Peter Pan).  

The classic Punch show features sound effects.  Punch always carries a baton, which he bangs about noisily – his weapon is split at the business end, causing an exaggerated snapping sound when beaten as the two halves clap against each other – a slapstick, in fact.  Most characteristically, Punch has a raucous voice, produced by the performer using a special instrument, a ‘swazzle’ in his mouth.  A swazzle is a small reed set in a short tube which fits on the back of the tongue, through which the performer speaks – the result is both a rasping voice and an increase in volume, and a loss of comprehensibility.  

Bertie’s lecture was in itself a virtuoso performance, embellished appropriately with asides on local concerns and foibles, that kept us highly entertained while educating us about what we might have thought was nothing more than an inexpensive seaside diversion - but which is in reality a significant link in the development of the art of drama, with a long and honourable tradition.

Chris Thomas

May 2016 JMW TURNER AND THE DAY PARLIAMENT BURNED DOWN                 

Caroline Shenton's excellent talk narrated the cataclysmic event of October 16th 1834 which largely destroyed the Old Palace of Westminster. She felt its significance had been on  the whole ignored due to the dominant image of our current Houses of Parliament. She recalled that the Old Palace had been on the site for nearly 800 years, having been a royal residence until the seventeenth century and hence the centre of power. The Law Courts were permanently settled there after 1215 before moving to more spacious accommodation in the 1820s. Westminster Hall was the oldest building (whose roof timbers came from Farnham) and it was here that such famous trials as that of Thomas More and Charles 1 were held. Other Government departments including the Exchequer provided a cluster of higgledy medieval buildings. A stone curtain designed by James Wyatt provided a facade for the House of Lords. The House of Commons met in the Gothic style St. Stephen's chapel from 1548 following the Reformation. Wren made several modifications to the chapel including a lower ceiling. Many historic debates took place here for example those concerning the abolition of Slavery and the Great Reform act of 1832. Women were not permitted entry but after a "payment" could peep down from the attic.

A  major factor leading to the outbreak of the fire was the collection of wooden tally sticks. These recorded the taxes brought by the sheriff to the Exchequer and, on being divided into two, provided a receipt for both parties. While this system was abolished in the 1780s 2 rooms of sticks remained in storage until the 16th of October when it had been decided they should be burned on the coal furnaces under the House of Lords. With the abolition of children chimney sweeps the flues leading from the furnaces to the roof had become clogged and thus it was that at 4 p.m. when visitors were being shown Black Rod's seat they felt their boots begin to steam due to the heat. 2 hours later flickering flames could be seen until a massive fire ball erupted which could be seen by the King and Queen at Windsor some 26 miles away. Charles Barry was alleged to have commented, "What a chance for an architect!" Indeed together with Pugin he was to design our current Houses of Parliament. Helped by the wind the fire soon engulfed the building as contemporary artists showed. Turner painted a stunning powerful water colour and William Heath illustrated the scene which included the firemen and volunteers manning the pumps in a desperate attempt to salvage as much as possible. Heath even added the firemens' mascot Chance the dog! Heroic efforts by the firemen ensured Westminster Hall was saved and, after climbing 4 floors, so was the mace made for Charles 11;  this rests to this day on the table during Prime Minster's Question Time. However inevitably vast quantities of valuable archive material was lost together with large parts of the building. When the roof of the House of Commons collapsed and all the interior furnishing destroyed the Gothic medieval chapel, which had largely been forgotten, was exposed. This would prove the influence behind any future design.  

The fire was truly terrifying and a crowd of spectators gathered including Turner who noted, "I never miss an accident!" He hired a boat rowing up and down the Thames soaking in the scene. Apart from the water colour which now hangs in the Print Room of Tate Britain he also painted two stunning oils. Art historians have surmised he used his own earlier work on the Old Palace as a model and then added the fire in one, and in a second repeated the process taking his painting of Westminster bridge and adding in the foreground a tug boat pulling the floating engine which was designed to pump river water. Sadly due to low tide this was only able to come into action after midnight. These two paintings now hang in the United States which may in part account for the event being so widely forgotten in our country. His note books which contain sketches of a fire also in Tate Britain are now thought to refer to a fire at the Tower of London in 1838. As a result of the fire the Public Records Office was established in 1838 as well as a public - as opposed to a private - fire brigade. There is no doubt the bravery of the firemen played a vital role in what was saved.

Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society listened to a superb lecture by Brian MacDonald which managed to combine seamlessly an account of his travels, an exploration of woven textiles of Iran and Afghanistan and a description of the nomadic life of tribes in these countries. From 1972-1977 he lived and worked in Iran, and spent time with two tribal groups, the Afshar of Kerman province and the Qashqa’i of Fars. He has travelled extensively in Iran, Afghanistan and Turkey, is the author of Tribal Rugs – Treasures of the Black Tent and has dealt in antique and old tribal rugs, weavings and carpets from the Near East and Central Asia since 1979. A selection of his rugs were displayed for the audience to examine.

The shamanistic nomadic tribes of Iran, who date from pre-Islamic times, migrate twice a year between winter and summer pastures of about 8,000 feet above sea-level with their fat-tailed sheep and goats. Women and girls spin on hand spindles as they walk the 30-40 days’ journey between pastures. They use wool to weave functional and decorative textiles whose traditional symbols and emblems enable us to examine their culture and heritage. These include the shaman horned creature who mediates between the physical and spiritual world, peacocks, dragons, trees of life and the abstract symbols related to the familiar curved symbol of Paisley designs. These tribes live in black goatskin tents, sleeping on carpets which are rolled up each morning. Since bread, salt and water are the most essential ingredients to survival, beautiful woven kelim cloths, called sofrehs, depicting lakes and mountains are made for rolling bread dough and woven rectangular salt bags with fringed narrow necks are also used, some with the famous eye motif to ward off the evil eye. A 19th century Afshar rug with chickens woven into an indigo background is especially beautiful. There are small vanity bags, which are now extremely rare and valuable, used to hold jewellery, coins, mirrors and fullers earth. Bedding bags woven by the Baktiari tribe are tied to camels. Their tribal rugs, called Gabbeh, which cover the floors of the tents are also used to wrap around children on cold nights.Women and girls, from the age of five, sing traditional weaving songs as they work under the awnings of their tents using simple looms that can be folded for transportation. 

Brian Macdonald travelled throughout Iran and Afghanistan, working on archaeological digs and sometimes enduring arrests on suspicion of spying or importing weapons. In his twenties while running a college he travelled by bus and camel for four days into south west Afghanistan to stay with a nomadic tribe and was hidden in a pile of carpets during an attack by bandits. He visited the ancient city of Bam before it was destroyed in an earthquake in 2003. When he returned to the Qashqa’i tribes north of Shiraz he saw a wedding dance performed by girls in layered skirts. He showed us a rug with a design of water, fish and scorpions where two fish around waterlily symbolise happiness.

The Baloch people of southeast Iran wove pillow bags of wool, which were filled with cotton, and small payer rugs of natural camel hair in lozenge patterns of red and blue. 

We saw a Caucasus rug of bright blue with stars, birds’ heads and lozenges, and an aubergine coloured rug from the Qaralqalpac Tribe. High demand from the West and the introduction of chemical dyes early in the 20th century led to rising prices and poorer quality. Some of the most collectable pieces were made by the Teke Turkmen tribes of the mid-19th Century. The Shahsevan Tribe produce textiles called Verneh, vanity bags, long bags for carrying shears and half saddle bags. 

Despite financial inducements by the Shah of Iran and his successors to induce the nomads to settle, the people continue their nomadic life, quoting the mid-19th century Dadal Oghlee: “The king has given us a decree to disperse. Indeed, he is entitled to decrees, as we are entitled to the mountains.”

Jane Blandy

FARNHAM DECORATIVE AND FINE ARTS SOCIETY

The World of Carl Faberge by Peter Darty.

The March lecture was delivered by Peter Darty, a founder member of NADFAS and former Head of Design at KLC in London. His subject was ‘The World of Carl Fabergé’.

Originally from France, the Huguenot Fabergés fled after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, first to Germany and then to St. Petersburg where Carl’s father owned a jewellery business.

In 1864, Carl embarked upon a Grand Tour of Europe where he received tuition in design and craftsmanship from expert goldsmiths. In addition, he viewed objects in the galleries of Europe’s leading museums which were to influence his later work. He returned in 1872 and was mentored by Hiskias Pendin, his father’s trusted workmaster, at a time when the company was involved in repairing and restoring objects in the Hermitage Collection where he found inspiration for developing his unique style. On Pendin’s death, Carl assumed sole responsibility for running the company. Specialist workers, mainly from Finland, were employed in workshops throughout St. Petersburg where the goldsmith’s art was raised to a new, higher level as Fabergé experimented with design and the use of semi-precious stones.

His work came to the attention of Tsar Alexander III who commissioned an Easter egg for his wife, the Empress Maria, a stipulation being that the egg should contain a surprise. Thus the first Imperial Easter egg was created in enamelled gold and studded with jewels. The surprise was that it contained a copy of the Imperial coach inside which was a ruby ring. The Tsar was so pleased that he issued an order for an annual egg for his wife. On Alexander’s death, his son, Nicholas, ordered eggs to be made for his mother and his wife, Alexandra, a tradition which continued until the October Revolution.

Although the House of Fabergé is famed for its Easter eggs, it produced many other objects of great beauty and intricacy. The audience was shown examples of miniature animals, clocks, boxes, desk objects, jewellery, miniature furniture and picture frames using different enamelling techniques such as guilloché and pique-à-jour. Inspiration came from many sources such as the netsukes worn on kimonos in Japan.

Queen Alexandra and King Edward VII were fascinated by Fabergé’s work, hence the many objects in the Sandringham Collection. Queen Mary was also an admirer of his work and introduced it to the late Queen Mother who kept one of his flowers on her desk.

After the October Revolution, the business was taken over by the employees and nationalised in 1918, all stock being confiscated. The Antikvariat oversaw the distribution of the stock some of which went to an American in return for tractors. The House of Fabergé, synonymous with beauty, craftsmanship and sumptuous excess was no more. Carl fled to Switzerland where he died aged 74 in 1920. Today much of his work is in private collections but some can be seen in Baden-Baden and Lugano.

The next FDFAS lecture, Wandering amongst the Nomadic Tribes of Iran and Afghanistan: Searching for the Woven Art and Symbolism of the Nomad by Brian MacDonald will take place at 10.30 a.m. on Tuesday , 15th March in the Maltings, Farnham GU9 7QR. Non members are warmly invited to attend. Phone the membership secretary on 07918883515 to book your ticket for £5 or, for more information, consult the website, www.farnhamdfas.org.uk

At their February lecture, Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society members heard Alan Read talk about the Royal National Theatre and its architect, Denys Lasdun.  

The idea that there was a need for a national theatre developed during the nineteenth century.  In 1907 the author Harley Granville Barker published a plan for such a National Theatre, which he saw as a ‘visibly and unmistakably a popular institution, making a large appeal to the whole community.’  Support and donations came from wealthy patrons, but the outbreak of the First World War put a stop to developments.  After the war, the proposal was taken up again and in 1937 a site opposite the Victoria and Albert Museum was acquired; Sir Edward Lutyens prepared preliminary plans, but once more the outbreak of war meant that the scheme was deferred.  In 1948 the London County Council offered a site on the South Bank of the Thames close to County Hall, and various architects put forward ideas for the new building.  A foundation stone was laid by the Queen Mother in 1951, only for the offer of the site to be withdrawn a year later.  During the 1950s the idea grew that there was a need for a new national opera as well as a theatre. In 1962 a Board was established to build the two theatres on the South Bank.  Twenty architects were invited to submit a written statement of their attitude to theatre – but without any form of plans – to the Board, and from these submissions a short-list was drawn up of architects who were then invited to make presentations.  Laurence Olivier reported that ‘The thing was most of the architects came in groups with their partners and we were another group on the committee, but Denys Lasdun arrived... entirely alone. Very theatrical.’  Lasdun talked off-the-cuff about his approach, and the need to spend time talking to all those involved in the project before even starting to prepare his proposals.  His unconventional tactic paid off, and in 1963 the Board was unanimous in awarding him the commission.

Lasdun was born in 1914 in Kensington, to parents of Russian Jewish origin.  After school at Rugby, he studied at the Architectural Association.  His heroes were Nicholas Hawksmoor and the modernist Swiss architect Le Corbusier; Lasdun felt himself born in the tradition of the Modern Movement.  He started his working life with Wells Coates, the architects who were one of the pioneers of Modernism in Britain, and subsequently became a partner at the Tecton practice.  His early work included public housing and schools in London; he also designed a block of luxury flats in St. James’ Place, next to Spencer House.  As his reputation grew he took on commissions for educational buildings, including Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, and the Royal College of Physicians in Regent's Park, now Grade 1 listed.  He prepared extensive designs for the University of East Anglia.  

In 1966, after Lasdun had presented his initial plans, the idea of building a National Opera was abandoned.  The site of the theatre now moved, again –this time to the north-eastern side of Waterloo Bridge, where the LCC offered a muddy patch of land known as Princes Meadow.  The final designs for the build were agreed in November 1967; building began in 1969 and the opening night of the first production (in a still-incomplete theatre) took place in October 1976.

The appearance of the National, Alan Read accepted, divides opinion.  Some surveys place it in the list of the most beautiful buildings of London; other polls list it as one of the most hated.  Prince Charles compared it to a nuclear power station; John Betjeman wrote to Lasdun congratulating him on his triumph.  The building is of concrete throughout, and is sometimes referred to as an example of ‘Brutalist’ architecture.  Concrete has unique properties, in particular allowing the use of thin columns to support large uninterrupted floors, and Lasdun exploited them in his design.  The vertical surfaces of the building are textured with the grain of the wood that was used to make the formwork into which the concrete was poured.  Externally, the building does not have a façade; instead a series of terraces, diminishing in size towards the top, give the effect of layers of rock strata, inspired by natural geological forms.  Inside, the theatre is revolutionary.  Most theatres offer minimal public space, and theatregoers dash in at the last possible moment to take their seats; the National has cafes, bars and restaurants, offering a welcoming atmosphere to all, including visitors not planning to see a performance.  There are three stages: the Olivier, with an open stage and a complex ‘drum revolve’ that allows rapid changes of set; the Lyttleton, which has a proscenium arch design, and the Cottesloe (now Dorfman) which is a studio space for experimental work.  (The Cottesloe was a late addition to the National, not designed by Lasdun, which is the reason for its challenging location, puzzlingly inaccessible from the foyer of the main building.)

There have been changes in the way the theatre is used since it was designed: it was originally surrounded by a car park on the assumption that most of the audience would drive to the theatre, and the original design paid no attention to the needs of the mobility-impaired.  A refurbishment in the 1990s took account of these changes, but in a manner which, Alan Read pointed out diplomatically, appeared to pay little respect to Lasdun’s principles.  A more recent refurbishment scheme might correct some of those errors, but might also bring new grounds for concern: a temporary theatre in front of the main building, constructed to stand in for the Cottesloe/Dorfman during its reconfiguration, shows no sign of being removed.  Alan Read reminded his audience that temporary structures have a habit of becoming permanent, citing the Eiffel Tower, the London Eye….

By the end of his lecture, Alan Read may not have infected all of his audience with his own passion for the building, but he will certainly have changed the minds of many, and even those who side with Prince Charles will have gained a clear understanding of how the building came to be as it is.  And those who loved the building anyway will now be anxious to protect it against ill-considered and insensitive alteration.

Chris Thomas                                        

VELASQUEZ, ‘THE GREAT MAGICIAN OF ART’

On 21st January Farnham Decorative and Fine Arts Society enjoyed a superb lecture by Douglas Skeggs on the Spanish artist Velasquez, described by his great compatriot Picasso as ’The Great Magician of Art’.

Velasquez was born in Seville in 1599 in humble circumstances to parents who were descended from the nobility but who had come down in the world, a fact which proved to be an important motivator for their otherwise modest son who aspired to restore himself to a place in court society: the way to achieve this was through his art.

One of his earliest known portraits is of his master Pacheco, himself an artist and writer, shown in Velasquez’ portrait as an aloof grandee. As in his later work the portrait is remarkable for its startling simplicity, extraordinary in the directness of his sitter’s commanding gaze and in the astonishing skill and assurance with brush and palette knife, the paint applied apparently effortlessly. Above all it is distinguished by the wonderful effectiveness and beauty of Velasquez’ use of light, focusing the viewer’s eye exactly where he wants attention to linger. The confidence and natural brilliance of the very young artist is astonishing and the portrait bears all the hallmarks of the mature artist.

During the 1620’s when Velasquez was establishing his reputation, Caravaggio was working in Naples, then ruled by Spain, and it is likely that the young artist saw Supper at Emmaus and was influenced by the way attention is drawn to the central figures and by Caravaggio’s ability to tell a story with striking immediacy. In Velasquez’s Tavern Scene the spectator is drawn into the picture to the extent that he almost becomes complicit in the narrative. The Water-carrier of Seville, ’acquired’ by the Duke of Wellington and now hanging in Apsley House, painted when Velasquez was only nineteen, is a masterpiece in terms of texture, rhythm and instinctive skill with oils and established him as an artist who positively relished painting scenes from real life. We are drawn to the faces which reveal not only what the characters look like but what their personalities are like. His subjects are real men and women.

In 1625 Velasquez moved to Madrid and painted a portrait of King Philip the Fourth which so pleased the king that he proclaimed that no other artist would ever be permitted to paint him. The king’s patronage was tremendously important: Velasquez had already achieved artistic recognition and was rapidly moving towards the social standing he craved. The king is portrayed dressed entirely in black, and black, with its subtle iridescences, became a characteristic of his work. Sitters tended to be shown to the world warts and all. No attempt was made to flatter the king, shown as the inbred, facially deformed Hapsburg he was but still presented as a majestic figure.

In 1628 Peter Paul Rubens suggested that Velasquez should travel to Italy and The Forge of Vulcan from this period shows at their very best his gifts for story-telling and painting light effects. Soon, however, he was summoned back to Madrid on the birth of the king’s son, Balthazar Carlos. Philip was painted in a flawless blaze of black and silver and famous portraits of the young prince soon followed together with remarkably informal portrayals of the royal family enjoying country pursuits while in The Surrender at Breda we see a chivalrous moment in an unchivalrous war and the spectator is drawn instantly into the narrative. In Douglas Skeggs’s words, the story is given to us.

Tragedy was to follow. When the prince was in his mid-teens and soon after the death of his mother, Balthazar Carlos also died leaving behind a devastated and heir-less king. Eventually the elderly Philip married a fourteen-year-old Austrian princess and the marriage produced an Infanta. In Las Meninas the child, her two attendants and dwarves and what has generally been assumed to be her parents reflected in a mirror is widely acknowledged to be the most uncharacteristically enigmatic and complex of all Velasquez’ works.

Every great painter has tried to understand the alchemy of Velasquez. His legacy is in the influence he had on later artists. He painted at great speed what he saw in front of him endowing all his sitters, however humble, with an aura of human dignity and he has never been surpassed in the wondrous effect of light he managed to create. His ambition to be recognised not only as a great artist but as a member of the nobility was met when the Pope, whose portrait he had recently painted, requested the king to elevate Velasquez.

The prolonged applause which greeted the end of the lecture testified to its brilliance and to the genius of Velasquez, ‘The Great Magician of Art’.  

Carole Barnes