Art History – June 2021

Jan van Eyck - Arnolfini portrait
Jan van Eyck – Arnolfini portrait

Our 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 number one was Jan van Eyck’s Arnofini Portrait, 1434 which you can see on the right.  In 2020, people were encouraged to recreate a painting at home.  Among those taking part were TV’s Ant and Dec, which the gallery think may have contributed to the popularity of this painting.

At our June meeting, on Zoom, we will look at artworks of ‘Famous Places’.  This could be an historic building, landmark, city scene or area of natural beauty.  Some locations have been painted numerous times, for example, Rouen Cathedral by Claude Monet in the 1890’s.  The paintings in the series capture the facade of the cathedral at different times of the day and year and show changes in its appearance under different lighting conditions.

Our meetings will continue on Zoom for the time being.

Angela Deane