William Blake by Thomas Phillips   The Tygers of Wrath are wiser than the Horses of Instruction William Blake: Poet, Painter and Philosopher; Rebel, Radical, and Revolutionary. Called a man without a mask by his friends, Blake was always less ahead of his time than outside it, creating his own mythology to tell the truths […]

  The work of S.J. Peploe and J.D. Fergusson was seen in Edinburgh and London in the decade leading up to World War 1, but Hunter and Cadell were less well known. All were bold pioneers in the field of rich colour and exuberant brushwork. The strong light and bright colour they discovered in France […]

The Huguenots came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century bringing a wide variety of skills - as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers, horticulturists etc. Names such as Paul de Lamerie, Samuel Courtauld and Jean Tijou spring to mind. In virtually all areas, they were innovators and more […]

Image by jokoPix from Pixabay One hundred years ago a group of American musicians docked in London, bringing with them for the very first time one of the twentieth century’s most important musical genres: jazz, a fascinating blend of rigorous structure, free-wheeling creativity, close-knit ensemble work and improvisation. Drawing on his practical experience both as […]

The Alhambra of Grenada, the Great Mosque of Cordoba and the Alcazar of Seville are the three most impressive monuments to the architectural creativity of the Moors in Spain, but there are many other examples worthy of mention too.  The classical origins that influenced the Moorish style are less well-known, but fascinating to explore, as […]

Marianela Núñez and Vadim Muntagirov in a Royal Ballet Production   The Nutcracker ballet has delighted audiences at Christmas for many decades yet it was deemed a failure at its initial performances. Based upon the current Royal Ballet production by Sir Peter Wright, this lecture takes a close look at how this well-loved ballet now […]

Hans Holbein the Younger, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons   Hans Holbein brought with him from mainland Europe to England both sophistication and skill, with far reaching consequences for this island's artistic development. His Ambassadors is one of the National Gallery of London’s greatest treasures, dating from a tradition in the arts when no object […]

  In Greek legend, Pandora was created with the express purpose of causing trouble to men which, by opening her box, she achieved. This lecture looks at the original sources for the story, draws parallels with both Eve in Genesis and Galatea in Ovid before showing how ballets, operas and plays from Coppelia to My […]