A visit to Rome, in the paintings of Valenciennes, Turner, Paul Bril, Gérôme, and others, and a little history of landscape painting.
Gérôme
A collection of paintings with strange incongruities that can make them impossible to read, from Masaccio to Gérôme.
Transformations of Lycian peasants into frogs, Pygmalion’s statute into Galatea, the pregnant Myrrha, silkworm moths, and autumn.
Modern interpretations of this highly popular theme in Christian religious painting, from William Blake to Joseph Stella in 1929-33.
Views painted of Cairo and other parts of Egypt, including Thomas Seddon, Alberto Pasini, Jean-Léon Gérôme and the Australian Impressionist Arthur Streeton.
A little of the history of Egypt, from Books of the Dead in 1300 BCE, up to Napoleon’s campaign there between 1798-1801.
Before we masked up for Covid, covering the face had connotations. Here they’re explored, from the niqāb and widow’s veil to the aversion that makes us voyeur.
Clown figures including Harlequin, Pulcinella and Pierrot are derived from the commedia dell’arte, a favourite of Watteau and other painters.
Maternal love, Oedipus and the Sphinx, and a naked courtesan unveiled before a court of men, all demonstrate how important is gaze.
Rediscovering our iconology and visual tradition, starting with a Ship of Fools, Death and the Maiden, Truth coming out of her well, and the wings on angels.
The Eclectic Light Company 