Presentations by Brian Armstrong

ART HISTORY & APPRECIATION PRESENTATIONS 

Brian Armstrong, a retired Royal Air Force dentist and a resident of Berwick is giving a series of presentations and lectures to the village in the Reading Room on The History of Art, the study of which has been a hobby of his for many years.  He started with a series of four lectures  between September '17 and the end of the year to assess the level of interest.   These were;

 

Monday 18th Sep:.    An Introduction to the Art of Painting: The Renaissance to the Baroque.

        (In the introductory presentation, he discusses with the assistance of images the fundamentals of painting and demonstrate how with the availability of new materials and the discovery of revolutionary techniques, the full flowering of the Renaissance first transformed the painted image, to that of the Baroque Caravaggio and Vermeer, where the illusion is complete. )

 

Monday 16th Oct '17:         Landscape into Art Part I, from Pompeii and the Art of Symbols to Claude Lorrain & Nicolas Poussin

     Monday 13th Nov '17:         Landscape into Art Part II, The Landscape of the Dutch Golden Age to the Romantics and the Art of the Sublime

    Monday 11th Dec '17:         Landscape into Art Part III, The Barbizon School to Impressionism.

He has then continued with further monthly art history and appreciation seminars & presentations commencing January 2018, covering topics as diverse as,    

•  The Apollo Belvedere to Renaissance David – An Introduction to the History of Sculpture, 
• Caravaggio & The Caravaggisti, 
• Genre & Still Life Art of the Dutch Golden Age, 
• Maritime Art, 
• The History of Portraiture, 
• Vincent – Life and Work, 
• The Birth of Modern Art 
• The Avant-Garde, 
• The Glasgow Boys, etc.

 

As previously advised in the parish magazine , these evenings are interactive and are fun for everyone, no matter what  level of knowledge.

 

The venue for the meetings will be the Reading Room, with doors open at 7pm and each presentation commencing at 7.15, to finish 8.30. The cost inclusive of wine and refreshments will be £5, payable on the evening, with all proceeds donated to the Reading Room Fund.

Art History & Appreciation Meetings in Berwick-St James, Jan-March 2018

The meetings continue to be reasonably well attended, but I do hope that I can tempt even more of you to attend the series of meetings planned for the first three months of next year. As before, my intention is to provide a varied and interesting programme of topics, across the ages up to and including the 19th century, hopefully with something for every taste. No previous knowledge is required, just an inquisitive mind.

Monday 29th January: The Birth of the Avant-Garde and Modernism – Gericault & Delacroix to Courbet & Manet. In this presentation we will discuss how French painting underwent the revolutionary change that reflected the turbulent social and cultural environment of early 19th century France. From the masters and their paintings that challenged the political and Academic artistic establishments, to those that caused society scandal and outrage.

Monday 26th February: Genre painting in the Dutch Golden Age – from Home to Tavern. In this presentation we will discover how the Dutch 17th century masters represented everyday life, from the well ordered domesticity of the Leiden Fijnschilders and the Delft masters, to the thoroughly disorderly school and tavern scenes of Jan Steen, Adriaen van Ostade and Adriaen Brower, full of good natured humour and moralistic finger wagging.

Monday 26th March: A Brief History of Sculpture from the Greeks to Neoclassicism. Here we will examine how the rediscovery of Greek and Greco-Roman sculpture in the Renaissance led to the production of many of the most iconic images of Art, thereafter influencing both the Baroque and Neoclassical masters; included of course will be works by Donatello, Michelangelo, Bernini and Canova. Depending on interest, there may then be a follow-up presentation on Pierre Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel in April.

Doors of the Reading Room open at 7pm, with each meeting commencing 7.15pm. The cost/person, inclusive of wine and other beverages is £5, payable on the evening, with all proceeds donated to Reading Room Funds.

Enquiries for further information and to discuss opportunities to learn more about and enjoy Fine Art first hand, are always welcome: Brian Armstrong on 790647, or brianarm100@hotmail.com