Sydney   (Paddington)

Thursday 18 May 2023
THE SUBLIME IN THE EVERYDAY: JOHANNES VERMEER 1632-1675 AND THE DELFT SCHOOL OF PAINTING
Presented by Leslie Primo
Time & Venue: 12:30pm and 6:00pm. Paddington-Woollahra RSL Club, 220–232 Oxford St, Paddington.

In this lecture Leslie will begin by tracing Vermeer’s origins, his early training and influences, and how he came to the genre of painting domestic interiors. The lecture will then look at his earliest known paintings and how he gradually migrated to the genre of domestic set-piece paintings we know him for today. Leslie will also take us on the ups and downs of his career right up to the present day.

Leslie Primo holds a BA in Art History and MA in Renaissance Studies from Birkbeck College, University of London. Leslie was Visiting Lecturer in Art History at the University of Reading in 2005 and 2007, and gives lectures and guided tours, plus special talks, at London’s National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery. He also lectures at the City Literary Institute, an adult education college, in central London. His book, “Foreigners that Invented British Art: From Renaissance to Enlightenment”, is to be published in 2023.

Friday 19 May 2023
INTEREST DAY: THREE LECTURES BY LESLIE PRIMO
Time: 9:45 for 10:00am to 3:00pm
Venue: Royal Sydney Golf Club, Kent Road, Rosebay
Cost: Includes morning tea/coffee & lunch
$120 per member
$135 per guest

1.From the Renaissance World to Baroque Splendour: The Rise and Struggle of Women in the World of Art

Across the centuries there have been numerous artists that have disappeared from the discipline of art history for a variety of reasons, the most common that of being unfashionable in whichever era we happen to be in.  But some have not only disappeared, but they also have deliberately excised form the historical record, and their crime? They are artists that just happened to be women.  But if we were to explore this rich seam, we would see that these artists not only flourished, but were commercially successful

2. Sofonisba Anguissola (c.1532-1625) A Renaissance Heroine, a Baroque Legend

We will explore how the painter Sofonisba Anguissola, from minor nobility was able to present herself and her work as an artist as compatible with her status. The lecture will also explore the relationship with her father and her family and why they became potent subjects for her art.  Early ambitions will be explored and her constant itineracy and ambition to succeed and even to surpass men in her profession.  I will look at her association with Michelangelo and recognition by Giorgio Vasari, indeed this long-lived artist would span the Renaissance through to the Baroque period and become a phenomenon. 

3. Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1654) A Life Less Ordinary – The Making of an Artist

In an era of violence, desperation, naked aggression and open and rampant misogyny, this lecture will explore the troubled life and ambition of Artemisia Gentileschi. Growing up in the shadow of Caravaggio and her artist father this lecture will begin with her early works and her constant struggles against the patriarchy that would eventually lead to her rape. The lecture will then explore the impact of this on her paintings before and after this harrowing event, popular themes in her work, her close association with the Caravaggisti style and her treatment of the female anatomy. Finally, this lecture will look at the recently acquired work by Artemisia in the National Gallery and her time in England. 

Thursday 17 August 2023
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF MEXICO, PAST AND PRESENT
Presented by Chloë Sayer
Time & Venue: 12:30pm and 6:00pm. Paddington-Woollahra RSL Club, 220–232 Oxford St, Paddington.

Before the Spanish Conquest of 1519, numerous civilisations rose and fell. The great cities of the Maya, Aztecs, Zapotec and Mixtec were peopled by muralists, sculptors in stone, ceramic artists, feather and gold workers, jewellers, weavers, and painters of sacred books. In the twentieth century, painters such as Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo set a new value on popular traditions. Mexican arts and crafts are a living force, the sense of design and dazzling colour are part of a national identity.

Independent scholar, author and curator and fluent in Spanish, Chloe Sayer has spent many years researching ancient traditions and contemporary craft skills. Given her long-standing commitment to Mexican culture, the Mexican Government in 2016 awarded her the prestigious Ohtli Medal.  Chloe has made collections and performed fieldwork in Mexico and Belize for the British Museum.  She recently co-curated an exhibition for the ROM: iViva México! Clothing and Culture (2015–2016) in addition to writing the accompanying book.  Chloe has also written several other books on Mexican textiles, arts and crafts, festival s and the Aztecs.

Friday 15 September 2023
INTEREST DAY: THREE LECTURES BY KATHY McLAUCHLAN
Time: 9:45 for 10:00am to 3:00pm
Venue: Royal Sydney Golf Club Kent Road, Rosebay
Cost: Includes morning tea/coffee & lunch
$120 per member
$135 per guest

Making a New World: Russian Art in an Age of Innovation, 1800-1900

At the start of the 19th century Russia was still a newcomer to Europe’s art scene, and its leading painters concentrated on emulating the achievements of western art.  By the late 19th century this situation was changing.  Russia’s first avant-garde, a group known as the Wanderers, had established a new and independent route for their art by portraying the realities of life in portraiture, landscape and everyday life.  Other artists, along with their patrons and critics, were starting to promote art that expressed and defined their country’s national identity. By the early 20th century Russia was home to some of Europe’s leading avant-garde painters who saw themselves as active protagonists in the shaping of their society.  This study concentrates on key stages in the development of Russian art from the follower to leader, concentrating on the work of key figures like Karl Bryullov, Ivan Shishkin, Isaak Levitan, Ilya Repin, Mikhail Vrubel and Leon Bakst.