News
Art History – May report & July’s meeting
Posted on 26th May 2022In May, group members selected paintings on the theme on Trees, Forests and Woods and each gave a short presentation on their choice. We viewed 11 works in all and this proved a popular way of learning about a variety of artists and styles of painting. The picture shown is ‘Forest’ by Paul Cezanne, painted … Read more
Art History
Posted on 22nd April 2022At our May meeting we look at a variety of paintings of trees, all chosen by members of the group. I will write more next time but I have included one of my favourites – Orchard with Flowering Trees by Camille Pissarro. Painted in 1877, it is on show at the Ashmolean Gallery in Oxford, … Read more
Art History – April 2022
Posted on 2nd April 2022Our next meeting is on 2nd May when we will look at a variety of paintings on the theme of ‘Trees, Woods and Forests’. Trees have inspired artists for centuries and I look forward to an interesting selection chosen by members of the group. Angela Deane. Olive Trees – Vincent van Gogh
Art History – March 2022
Posted on 14th March 2022Art History I am pleased that we are able to meet in person again and look forward to discovering some more great art. Take a look at the image on the left and you will see a portrait of the artist’s mother completed in 1871. However, the official title of the piece is ‘Arrangement in … Read more
Art History – February 2022
Posted on 30th January 2022The programme this year will use DVDs from the BBC series ‘The Private Life of a Masterpiece’ as well as contributions from the group on an agreed theme.Our ‘Masterpiece’ for February is ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ which is a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai. It was published sometime between 1829 and … Read more
Art History – August 2021
Posted on 7th August 2021In July, our Zoom meeting looked at ‘Still Life’ paintings but with the challenge to avoid those with apples and oranges! One again we had a fantastic selection of art works dating from 1648 to 2000’s and not an apple in sight! I chose a work called Pottery by Patrick Caulfield painted in oil on … Read more
Art History – July 2021
Posted on 6th July 2021Our Zoom meeting in June focused on the theme of ‘Famous Places’ with art works chosen by members of the group. We discovered that many famous places were also our favourite places. The area around Westminster was popular, with works by Canaletto and Monet and a quirky watercolour of a wonky Big Ben (Elizabeth Tower) … Read more
Art History – June 2021
Posted on 29th May 2021Our topic for the Zoom meeting in May was ‘Portraits’. Once again there was a good response and we were able to explore ten contributions from members of the group. These included works by Gainsborough, Hockney, Kahlo and Vermeer. The National Gallery recently revealed the top 20 paintings that were viewed online throughout lockdown. At … Read more
Art History – May 2021
Posted on 8th May 2021Art History On Easter Monday, with snow flurries outside, 13 members of the group settled into a Zoom meeting looking at paintings of ‘Gardens’. We soon became engrossed in the work of a variety of artists from the late 19th and early 20th century including, Pissarro, Van Gogh, Klimt and Sorolla. After a short break, … Read more
Art History – April 2021
Posted on 10th April 2021The theme for our Zoom meeting in March was ‘Night Paintings’ and once again the group found a variety of paintings to share. Some artworks used the quality of dim light to create a mysterious atmosphere, while others used the moon or an artificial light source to illuminate the scene. The use of wet pavements … Read more