When we look at a painting, or study a statue, or contemplate an architectural feature, what do we really see? Do we understand the creator’s intent? Might anything escape our comprehension, something that might enhance our appreciation or depreciation of the object under observation. This series of lectures will offer some ways to read art of all sorts.
Instructor: Simon Sibelman
Wednesday, 10-11:30 am
Six classes: February 15, (no class Feb. 22) March 1, 8, 15, 22, & 29
2/15 WAYS TO APPROACH ART
How should we use observation and our imagination to intensify our ability to understand a work of art, be it a painting, a statue, or a structure. This first lecture will present some possible approaches.
3/1 DEALING WITH DETAILS
Paintings frequently have small details that convey a multiplicity of significances. Where the previous lecture dealt with a macro sense, this lecture will focus on those small details that enable a viewer to better enjoy or even to dislike a work of art.
3/8 EYRE HALL HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH JANE EYRE
In the mid-17th century, the Eyre family arrived in colonial Virginia and subsequently acquired a large swath of land on the Eastern Shore where they established a plantation. This lecture will deal with Eyre Hall, its décor and its history.
3/15 ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN MOTHER, ENJOYED VISITING
When not spending her holidays in Scotland, the Queen Mother would often visit friends whose company and surroundings she found restful allowing her to recharge. One such venue was the Château de Haroué, home of the Princes de Beauvau-Craon. Constructed in the 18th century, this building reflects the era in which it was built as well as being a family home.
3/22 THÉODORE GÉRICAULT AND THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA
Géricault was considered one of the first young artists of the Romantic era, though he has sadly been overshadowed by Eugene Delacroix. This lecture will focus on Géricault’s work and style and then focus on perhaps his most important painting: The Raft of the Medusa.
3/29 CAN ART DEAL WITH THE REALITIES OF THE HOLOCAUST?
Often it has been said there is no way for art to represent the horrors of the Holocaust. This concluding lecture will explore how individuals – artists and ordinary people – created images, some quite frightening, to offer images to witness to what people – Jewish and others – had suffered.
