An Art History course at the XVA Gallery with Rose Balston

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "An Art History course at the XVA Gallery with Rose Balston"

Edwin Briggs
5 years ago
Views:

An Art History course at the XVA Gallery with Rose Balston The Baroque: The Power of Art in the Seventeenth Century Rose Balston, Founding Director of Art History UK and Art History UAE, discussing

The Great Masterpiece Challenge alongside Giles Coren, which released in March 2017, and has commentated for BBC Breakfast, Sky News and Al-Jazeera.

1 An Art History course at the XVA Gallery with Rose Balston The Baroque: The Power of Art in the Seventeenth Century Rose Balston, Founding Director of Art History UK and Art History UAE, discussing the Louvre Abu Dhabi Rose Balston, the founding director of Art History UK and Art History UAE is based parttime in Dubai as a freelance lecturer, guide and art consultant. She co-presented Fake! The Great Masterpiece Challenge alongside Giles Coren, which released in March 2017, and has commentated for BBC Breakfast, Sky News and Al-Jazeera. With an MA in art history from Edinburgh University, Rose is Condé Nast Traveller London Art Expert. For a short film of Rose discussing Velazquez in the National Gallery, please follow the link. Beyond delivering courses, gallery visits and lectures in the UAE and wider Gulf, Rose designs and leads high-end European cultural trips. Her clients include the V&A, Norton Rose, Aon, Freshfields, Linklaters, the Bank of England, American Express, Citi, Montblanc, Young Presidents Organisation, a range of top private members clubs and Britain's leading schools, and guests of Claridge's, the Connaught, Dorchester, Savoy, Four Seasons, Goring and the Intercontinental.

Caravaggio: Saints and Sinners in the Counter Reformation Wednesday 21 February The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Caravaggio When Caravaggio arrived in Rome in 1592 the city was filled with brawling,

2 Caravaggio: Saints and Sinners in the Counter Reformation Wednesday 21 February The Crucifixion of Saint Peter, Caravaggio When Caravaggio arrived in Rome in 1592 the city was filled with brawling, bandits and dark passageways still reeking from the degradation of the Sack of Rome and insults to the Church from Martin Luther and Henry VIII. But as the early years of the 17 th century unfolded Rome started to look to a new type of power: that of art. Realising the potential of the dark and dramatic works by Caravaggio, the Church put out radical new messages to the world. Messages that would move and shock the people into submission through its sheer drama and emotive rigour. We ll contextualise this talk by looking at the chaos of the 16 th century in Europe, the Church s reaction and how the violent and enigmatic poster-boy Caravaggio took centre stage.

Wednesday 28 February Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Stone turned to Flesh Pluto and Persepone, Gian Lorenzo Bernini No artist defined 17 th century Rome more than Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

3 Wednesday 28 February Gian Lorenzo Bernini: Stone turned to Flesh Pluto and Persepone, Gian Lorenzo Bernini No artist defined 17 th century Rome more than Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Patronized by nine separate popes and a handful of kings, cardinals and aristocrats, the Eternal City is studded with his ground-breaking sculpture and architecture. From the dramatically divine Cathedra in Saints Peter s, the shocking image of Saint Teresa in orgasmic ecstasy and the spine-tingling mythological sculptures in the Borghese Gallery, we ll find Bernini thoroughly lived up to his reputation of turning stone into flesh. We ll also consider the strange relationship with the reclusive and neurotic Borromini, crucial for pushing Bernini to the extreme.

Wednesday 7 March The Secret Weapon of Kings: The Patronage of Charles I England Peace, Wisdom and War by Rubens In a 17 th century Europe where nations fought for land and power, art quickly became

4 Wednesday 7 March The Secret Weapon of Kings: The Patronage of Charles I England Peace, Wisdom and War by Rubens In a 17 th century Europe where nations fought for land and power, art quickly became a vital promotional weapon. At the heart of this struggle was Britain s King Charles I a political disaster yet the most culturally sophisticated of England s kings. In this talk we will learn how in the years before England descended into bloody civil war, the King, inspired by the relationship between Velazquez and Philip IV of Spain, used Rubens and Van Dyck to bolster his public image and cast a veil over the reality. We ll look at the Banqueting House of Whitehall and see how Charles I used the message of the Divine Right to bolster his image: but also how this was his downfall, eventually leading to his beheading in

Wednesday 14 March Diego Velazquez: The Power of Paint Las Meninas, Velazquez At every stroke of the brush Velazquez broke new ground, whether he was painting the king, the court, Christ or the

5 Wednesday 14 March Diego Velazquez: The Power of Paint Las Meninas, Velazquez At every stroke of the brush Velazquez broke new ground, whether he was painting the king, the court, Christ or the kitchen. Working almost exclusively for Philip IV of Spain, we ll see how Velazquez revolutionised the art of the Spanish court: his dazzlingly modern portraits, cryptic genre scenes, spiritually potent religious narratives and divinely painted nudes trumped everything that came before. Much of this talk will be spent on one of the most puzzled over works in the Western canon of art history: with a universe on the canvas and a dizzying display of artistic bravura we ll savour every mouthful of Las Meninas (pictured above) one of my favourite paintings of all time.. TWO WEEK BREAK FOR ART DUBAI AND EASTER

Wednesday 4 April Sex, Plague and Fire: The Restoration of Charles II of England The Great Fire of London, 1666 After the execution of his father in 1649, the young king Charles II of England was

6 Wednesday 4 April Sex, Plague and Fire: The Restoration of Charles II of England The Great Fire of London, 1666 After the execution of his father in 1649, the young king Charles II of England was forced to take refuge on the continent. 11 years later, he was asked back to rule England as King, but under the control of Parliament. The King returned to find a country dour and plain and he and his court set about bringing art and music back to the capital. We ll particularly focus on the way in which Charles s mistresses used art to vie for his attentions. Six years after the Restoration, a fire ravaged through the City of London. While the Great Fire of London destroyed much of the old medieval city, it heralded a unique chance to rebuild London as a grand European capital an incredible opportunity for Charles II. Architects Sir Christopher Wren and Nicholas Hawksmoor were the key players in this new kind of urban planning. By looking at the revolutionary English Baroque style of their City churches, we will learn about one of the most fascinating architectural visions in European history.

7 Wednesday 11 April Rembrandt: Journey to the Soul Self Portrait, Rembrandt Rembrandt is one of the Baroque world s most captivating artists. Perhaps only rivalled by Leonardo da Vinci, he was able to reveal the inner workings of man better than any other artist. We ll spend time looking at the portraits of his closest family circle, as well as his prolific output of self-portraits. These tell a harrowing story of a man haunted by tragedy. His narrative scenes also reveal emotionally poignant dramas with the humanity of man pulsing through their heart. Their messages endure through to this day and they are still shockingly modern. While much of the talk will consider his paintings we ll also look at a genre that he was even more famous for during his life time: that of etching. Entirely revolutionising the technique, Rembrandt s technical prowess and skills at innovation made him the greatest master of etching in art history.

Wednesday 18 April The Development of Landscape Art Het Steen, Rubens Before the 17 th century art typically illustrated historical, mythological, or religious narrative.

8 Wednesday 18 April The Development of Landscape Art Het Steen, Rubens Before the 17 th century art typically illustrated historical, mythological, or religious narrative. But slowly a new genre began to materialise landscape a genre full of expressive possibilities and freedoms. And this was not just landscape as backdrop to narrative, but a genre in its own right, where details of the land, sea and sky in all their beauty and complexities were revealed. Particularly in the North artists became fascinated in the movement of the world with its swirling colours, intense interaction between light and shadow and ceaseless energy. In this talk we ll consider works by Claude, Poussin, Rubens and Rembrandt to see how the genre flourished from something practical into one of pure passion and emotion..

Wednesday 25 April The Kings of the Sun: Art of the Ancien Régime in France The Swing, Fragonard This talk will journey in time through the art of the Ancien Régime in France.

9 Wednesday 25 April The Kings of the Sun: Art of the Ancien Régime in France The Swing, Fragonard This talk will journey in time through the art of the Ancien Régime in France. We ll start by considering the Baroque court Louis XIV inherited filled with paintings by Rubens and his contemporaries. This was an artistic centre to rival that of Charles II or Pope Urban VIII. From the rigorous etiquette of Louis XIV s Versailles, we ll move to the decadently saucy scenes of Madame de Pompadour s France that typified the reign of Louis XV and the new Rococo style. Here Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard executed works that responded to the light-hearted fripperies of court life works that still to this day can make you laugh out loud!

Daily Itinerary 10am Meet for arrival coffee, tea and biscuits 1030am First half of talk 11.30am short break 11.45am Second half of talk 12.30pm/12.45pm Finish Cost & Booking 262.

10 Daily Itinerary 10am Meet for arrival coffee, tea and biscuits 1030am First half of talk 11.30am short break 11.45am Second half of talk 12.30pm/12.45pm Finish Cost & Booking AED per session (250 AED + 5% VAT), or 1,680 AED if you purchase all eight in one payment (200AED per session + 5% VAT). This includes tea, coffee and biscuits supplied by the XVA Café at the beginning of the event. Should you stay for lunch after the talks, the XVA are offering a 10% discount. Please contact XVA Gallery on xva@xvagallery.com or to book. To confirm your booking, advanced payment must be made. There are a restricted number of places, so please book. Getting to the XVA Gallery The XVA Gallery is in the Al Fahidi district of Bur Dubai. It is a charming part of town that has been chosen deliberately to work with the themes of art history and cultural heritage. Please get a taxi to the XVA Gallery, or take the metro to Al Fahidi station. It can be extremely difficult to find parking spaces in the area. Click here to see the XVA Gallery in Google Maps or the map attached below. If you get lost on the day, please call the XVA on

Rococo. The Century of Louis XV

Rococo. The Century of Louis XV Rococo The Century of Louis XV 1700-1800 1 The Marquise de Pompadour became the mistress of Louis XV, king of France, in 1745. François Boucher painted this portrait, which hangs in the Louvre museum in