Peter Scott stepped in at the last minute to give an overview of the Hogarth Exhibition at Tate Britain (7th February to 29th April 2007).

Peter presented an artist who was strikingly modern, confronting subjects and themes – the city, sexuality, manners, social integration, crime, political corruption, charity and patriotism – that continue to preoccupy us today. Peter made the case that Hogarth was in fact Britain’s first truly modern artist.

Peter is a guide at Tate Britain and recommends everyone to visit the exhibition between 7th February and 29 April, 2007. To book tickets click here.

William Hogarth
Marriage a la Mode: The Tete a Tete, c1743
Usually at The National Gallery, London but between
7 Feb and 29 April 2007 at the Hogarth Exhibition, Tate Britain

The lecture covers the extraordinary professional relationship between Mozart and the well-meaning, but infuriating, Austrian Emperor, Joseph II, who is meant to have said "too many notes my dear Mozart". The talk will include music from the comic opera, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute.

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) and Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564) are two of the most familiar figures in Italian Renaissance art. While their names are well known to all of us, the rivalry and indeed antipathy that existed between these two artistic giants remains a story without an author. The lecture throws light on these themes by construing select examples of Leonardo and Michelangelo’s works which, it is argued, hold the key to understanding the motivations for their animosity but ultimate respect for each other’s distinct artistic talents. Particular emphasis is given to the commission bestowed upon both artists to undertake frescoes for the great council chamber in Florence. Though unfinished, the surviving designs placed Leonardo and Michelangelo in direct competition with one another, as well as indicating their differing artistic approaches.

 Marcello Venusti,
 Portrait of Michelangelo at the Time of
 the Sistine Chapel. c.1504-1506

 Leonardo da Vinci, Self-Portrait, 1512
 (image reversed)

Horace Walpole's eighteenth century 'little Gothick castle' led to the Gothic Revival in the nineteenth century and influenced the design of such well known buildings as the Houses of Parliament, the Natural History Museum and the Law Courts in the Strand.

For more information on the building and to find out when you may visit click on  Strawberry Hill.

 Johann Heinrich Müntz,
 Strawberry Hill, ca. 1755-59

Jan Vermeer, right at the end of the Golden Age of Dutch Painting, perfected the art of the Dutch interior. On the one hand he painted perfect pictures imbued with the quiet harmony associated with music; on the other hand he distilled the essence of a moment in time that evokes total silence…a frozen instant of purity. Only 34 of his paintings are known: he painted with great care, taking about six months to complete a work.

 Johannes Vermeer,
 The Milkmaid, 1568-60

The story of John Betjeman’s life slanted towards his architectural writings that changed the way in which we collectively look at our built heritage.

 Sir John Betjeman is buried at
 St Enodoc Church

The beautiful city of Barcelona is a treasure-house for the art lover.  Not only are there wonderful displays in the Fundació Joan Miró and the Museu Picasso, which shows the early works of the 20^th century’s greatest artist, but there are also some other perhaps less well-known but equally fascinating museums.  The magnificent Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya houses superb examples of Romanesque and Gothic art, as well as masterpieces from the Thyssen-Bornemisza collection and 19^th and 20^th century art which was formerly housed in the Museu d’Art Modern.  Contemporary art features in the recently-opened MACBA (Museu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona).

Art can be seen not only in Barcelona’s wonderful museums but also in the open air, with outdoor works made, when the Olympic Games came to the city in 1992, by international artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Rebecca Horn and Juan Muñoz.

While the lecture is primarily about the works of art which can be seen in this ancient and beautiful city, no review of Barcelona would be complete without a mention of its most famous landmark, the Sagrada Familia cathedral, which was started in 1884 and is still unfinished.  Nor can one ignore the bizarre Park Güell and the other amazing works of Antoni Gaudí, which make this vibrant city even brighter.

 Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudí
 1882-present

The murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 provided the Cathedral with a powerful attraction to pilgrims and therefore the finance to rebuild the choir with its stained glass windows after they burned down in 1174. The twelve windows of the Trinity Chapel illustrate two accounts of Becket's life and the miracles that had taken place at his tomb between 1171 and 1173. This talk traces the continental origins of these beautiful windows and then takes a journey through the subsequent centuries.

This talk gives an account of developments in English painting (and the occasional sculpture) from the days of the Pre-Raphaelites to the aftermath of World War Two. This was a particularly fertile period in the history of art, and the talk pays particular attention to the way in which developments in Paris were received by the London art world; and how British artists contributed to the exciting exchange of new ideas.

 Augustus Egg,
 Travelling Companions, 1862

The 2008 programme...