How did the British view themselves and their subjects in the era of imperialism? How did imperial subjects view the British? This DoSI considers these questions by exploring a range of images, buildings, objects and art forms from across the British Empire. Beginning with a broad view of the empire and imperial art in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, we will go on to focus more closely on imperial India. We will consider the arts and architecture of the vibrant capital city of Calcutta, the ‘second city’ of the British Empire throughout the nineteenth century. We will then take a detailed look at the life and art of one of India’s cultural giants, Rabindranath Tagore.

 Dr John Stevens gained his PhD in history from UCL, before going on to teach at SOAS, University of London. He is a regular visitor to India and Bangladesh and has lectured at numerous Indian universities. He also works as a consultant on Indian affairs and teaches the Bengali language to private students. He has appeared many times in the Indian media and was a guest on BBC Radio Four’s In Our Time, discussing the poet and artist Rabindranath Tagore.

The day will start with coffee, tea and biscuits at 10:00am, with the first lecture starting at 10:30am. Please bring a packed lunch. The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £28 for members and £35 for non-members. 

Further information has been sent to members. Visitors are very welcome. If you'd like to join us, please email us at tasmendip.comm@gmail.com to book a place and for information as to how to pay. 

This Day of Special Interest will cover the early experiments into porcelain making in England in the middle years of the 18th century. We will look at the different pastes developed in an attempt to achieve both whiteness and strength, consider the influence of both silver and continental porcelain on shapes and decoration, and look back at Chinese and Japanese export wares as an enduring source of inspiration. In addition, we will discuss the ways in which porcelain was both displayed and used and explore the fashion for porcelain figures.

Jane has an MA in the History of Art from the University of London. She trained at the V&A and continues to lecture there. She was Senior Lecturer at Sotheby’s Institute of Art for 17 years, becoming a Deputy Director of Sotheby's, UK. She has also lectured for the National Trust, the Art Fund, London University, Buckingham University, l'Institut d'Etudes Superieures des Arts in Paris, a private women's college in Saudi Arabia, on cruise ships and at antiques fairs and interior design conferences in America.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.  

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. 

If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.  

We don’t send out tickets, but Gill will acknowledge your application. 

Virtuoso orchestras are now commonplace. But how did they develop and did they always sound as they do today? In fact, the history of the modern, virtuoso orchestra is long and fascinating, and is one that often represents the national cultures from which particular orchestras emerged. What was heard in Vienna might not be what was heard in Berlin, London, Paris or New York. Not only did the type, shape, and size of instruments and orchestras vary markedly from country to country, but the expectations and musical experiences of audiences also differed hugely from city to city. Using film clips, recorded sound examples and other performance artefacts, the day will chart the rise of the modern orchestra and will examine the cultural and social reforms that went hand in hand with its foundation and development. 

Born in Australia, Professor Raymond Holden studied at Sydney, Cologne and London and is both a critically acclaimed and a multi award-winning writer, conductor, broadcaster and lecturer. He has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Emilia Romagna and the New Symphony Orchestra of London. He is currently Emeritus Professor of Music at the Royal Academy of Music, London.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members (who are very welcome).  

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. 

If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.  

We don’t send out tickets, but Gill will acknowledge your application.    

The Florentine sculptor Pietro Torrigiano and portrait painters such as Hans Holbein, Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger and Sir Anthony van Dyck were pre-eminent among a succession of European artists who worked under royal and noble patronage during the Tudor and Stuart dynasties. Their art expressed the magnificence and sophistication of the English Court during a turbulent age of Reformation, Civil War and the Restoration. Artisans from Europe included skilled Flemish weavers, Huguenot silversmiths, French upholsterers and weavers of silks and tapestries. Others were clock makers, book binders, delftware potters and glass blowers. From Henry VII to Queen Anne, the spirit of this age of transition was expressed in art and interiors, in splendour and luxury.

Anne has been a lecturer and guide at the V&A for more than 20 years and has given regular gallery talks at the British Museum. She was a lecturer for the Royal Collection Trust for 14 years, including 10 years guiding private tours of the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace. She is a visiting lecturer for Sotheby's Institute and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. 

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.  

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. 

If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.  

We don’t send out tickets, but Gill will acknowledge your application.    

Croscombe Village Hall 

 This day of lectures will explore the distinctive artistic characters of three vibrant Nordic countries. We will range from the pathbreaking canvases of the Golden Age of Danish painting to the uniquely national sounds of Grieg and Sibelius, and the masterpieces of Danish, Norwegian and Finnish architecture and design.

 Rosamund is a writer, lecturer and translator whose work as a cultural historian ranges across the arts. She has written on art, music and literature for publications such as The Daily Telegraph and Apollo. Her lecturing work has taken her from the V&A and the National Theatre in London to the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney, and she contributes regularly to Proms events and opera broadcasts on the BBC.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm. 

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members. 

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. 

If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.  

We don’t send out tickets but Gill will acknowledge your application.    

On line lectures provided by The Arts Society, Wessex Area.

DISCOVER VERMEER - When you look at Vermeer's paintings, time stops.

Mon 25th Sept

Johannes Vermeer, Master of Delft: lecturer Hilary Williams.

Vermeer and Music; Art of Love and leisure : Lecturer Lydia Bauman

Wed 27th Sept

Johannes Vermeer The magic and the mystery: Lecturer Brian healey.

Johannes Vermeer and the absent subject: Lecturer Albert Godetzky.

Tickets £15 per day or £30 for both days. Buy tickets from https://www.tickettailor.com/events/theartssocietywessexarea.

For more information contact:

Maggie wessexconnectedevents@gmail.com

Alex westmerviaevents@gmail.com

It is often argued that Britain possesses the finest collection of ‘living’ stately homes in the world. It is harder to deny that they represent one of the country's greatest assets and its greatest contribution to the decorative arts worldwide. Anthony goes back in time to explain their origins in British history, the changing nature of society and the way country houses have evolved. This journey through their history illustrates the most magnificent examples in all their grandeur and beauty, while considering the impact they have had on society and its development. Consideration is given to changing roles and if they can still exert a powerful hold on society. How should we look on them today and how are they to survive and evolve in the future? 

Anthony is a cultural historian, writer and artist. He lectures widely internationally and has lectured for the Arts Society since 2010. He spent six years as a consultant advising on the furniture needs of prestigious buildings throughout Britain, including museums, palaces, and cathedrals and for many years he ran an outreach events programme and hosted visiting lecturers for the British Museum. Committed to the 'search for civilisation' he is the founder of The Chandos; supporting causes that promote understanding and cooperation. He is currently undertaking research for a new book on civilisation; what it is, whether we have it & how you get it.

(Photo by Einar H. Reynis on Unsplash)

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.     

We go back in time to learn about the art, people and daily life of the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. We will look at urban life – the bustling forum with its markets, temples and law courts, the noisy fun-filled (!) baths, the shops and bars theatres and the gladiatorial arena. We also look at the men and women who shaped and ran the cities, from the emperor and his local rulers to merchants, craftsmen, masters and slaves. We will explore the home - living and dining rooms, gardens kitchens and even the toilets! We see beautiful sculptures, stunning mosaics and wall paintings, silverware, jewellery, glass and even wooden furniture miraculously preserved and we come to the tragic end of the cities and their people - ordinary people just like us. 

In the afternoon we will focus on one particular aspect of Society – the Romans’ relationship to food and drink and celebrate the Roman love affair with food and wine. We visit the fertile vine-filled slopes of Vesuvius, then into the bustling city, past shops and bars, we enter the home, the gorgeous garden with flowers and fountains. We recline in the dining room, with exotic food and fine wine, surrounded by Greek-style luxury; fine silver, mosaics and frescoes. Then the kitchen. No fridge, no running water, no hygiene – but with a toilet, and cess pit below.

Dr Paul Roberts is Head of the Department of Antiquities at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. He studied Classics at the University of Cambridge, and Classical Archaeology at Sheffield and Oxford.  He then lived in Italy for several years, teaching, researching (and eating!). From 1994 to 2015 he was Senior Roman Curator in the Greek and Roman Department at the British Museum, where he curated the exhibition Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum (2013). He has been at the Ashmolean since 2015 and has been a lecturer with the Arts Society for over two decades.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.     

Illustrated with many wonderful works of art, this day tells the extraordinary story of the rise of the son of a lawyer in Ajaccio, Corsica, to become Emperor of the French before finally being defeated and sent into exile on the island of Saint Helena. It also attempts to explain the nature of his genius as an administrator and a military commander, assessing his achievements and his failures, his strengths and his weaknesses. Among the topics covered will be his marriage to Josephine de Beauharnais, his relationship with the Duke of Wellington, and his place within history. It is in some ways a very human story, but one which focuses on one of the most remarkable men who has ever lived. One talk will concentrate on the fascinating life and character of the Empress Josephine who, among other things, was one of the greatest art collectors and gardeners of her time.

Stephen was Educated at New College, Oxford, and formerly Senior Curator of the Wallace Collection where he had particular responsibility for exhibitions and nineteenth-century paintings. He has given countless tours of the Collection for visiting groups and many lectures on its art and other related subjects. His latest publication, The Discovery of Paris, is a book on early nineteenth-century watercolour views of Paris by major British artists.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm. Appropriate Covid safety measures will be in place.

Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.     

 Croscombe Village Hall at 10.00 for 10.30am. 

Vivaldi is the one Baroque composer whose music is a direct reflection of the city in which it was composed. Listen to a Vivaldi concerto and hey presto you are transported directly to the heart of 18th century Venice. The reasons for this are many – Vivaldi’s passion for colour, display and spectacle in his music; the unusual way in which Venice solved its problems with the poor and the homeless; Vivaldi’s health problems and his eccentricities as a man and a priest. Against the luxurious backdrop of 18th century Venice, and with live musical performances, this Day of Special Interest explores the amazing world of Vivaldi’s music - music that is as intrinsically Venetian as the canvasses of Canaletto. 

Peter is well known to our society, having lectured and played to us several times. He appears in the UK and abroad as a musician and scholar, giving recitals and delivering illustrated lectures on music and the arts. He studied singing and early keyboard instruments at the Royal College of Music and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm. Appropriate Covid safety measures will be in place.

 Places are £25 for members and £30 for non-members.

The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address if you have one.     

THE ARTS OF JAPAN

With Marie Conte-Helm

Thursday 25th March by Zoom at 10.30am

This Study Day on Japanese Art will feature Highlights of Japanese Art through the ages as well as more in-depth sessions on The Art of the Japanese Garden and the story of Japanese Art and the West. There will be opportunities for discussion throughout the day and for sharing experiences of Japan and Japanese art.

 Lecture 1 (10.30 – 11.30) Highlights of Japanese Art. An introduction to the arts of Japan through the ages, including painting, sculpture and the decorative arts and contrasting aristocratic and popular tastes.

 Lecture 2 (12.00 – 13.00) The Art of the Japanese Garden. A visual tour of some of Japan’s most famous gardens and an introduction to the history and aesthetic development of gardens in Japan.

 Lecture 3 (14.00 - 15.00) Japanese Art and the West. The story of the artistic relationship between Japan and the West, from the 16th century Namban screen paintings of Portuguese traders and missionaries in Nagasaki to ukiyo-e prints and the japonaiseries of the 19th century French Impressionists.

 The lecturer: Professor Marie Conte-Helm has a BA in History of Art and an MA in Asian Art and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. She was Director General of the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation from 1999-2011 and has held senior academic posts at various UK universities. She has most recently served as Executive Director of the UK-Japan 21st Century Group, and as a member of the Board of Governors of the University for the Creative Arts. She is widely published and has lectured throughout the UK and abroad. She was awarded an OBE in the 2011 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to UK-Japan educational and cultural relations and the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Government of Japan in 2019.

 The cost of the day is £15 per household. The preferred method of payment is online by direct transfer to:

Name: The Arts Society Mendip

Sort code: 30-99-29

Account number: 00848988

Reference: DOSI

Please also send an email to gill.stobart57@gmail.com telling us that you have paid online. If you wish to pay by cheque (payable to “The Arts Society Mendip”) please send it to Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD, together with a covering note including your email address.

 We will send the Zoom link to you nearer the time.

 THE ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS TUESDAY 9TH MARCH.

This event has been cancelled due to the Coronavirus epidemic. We shall be attempting to reschedule the event in the next season.

Focusing on the sumptuous society portraits of John Singer Sargent, Philip de Laszlo, Giovani Boldini and other artists and designers who defined the ‘look’ of the period, we will look at paintings, photographs, interiors and fashion designs to recreate the opulent lifestyle of the artists’ aristocratic and nouveaux riches international patrons. What were the main society events of the Edwardian London ‘season’? Who were the key players? What role did King Edward VII and the Marlborough House set play in changing the rules of the game? We’ll also explore important influences from America and the effects of female emancipation on social conventions and etiquette. Commentaries from Henry James, Edith Wharton, and Elinor Glyn bring the personalities to life.

 
Mary is a popular lecturer who has lectured to us several times. She has thirty years' experience as a lecturer both in the UK and abroad, with a BA in History and History of Art and a MA with distinction in History of Art from University College London. Experience includes public lectures in museums, tutoring for the Open University, visiting lecturer at Christie's Education in London, museum curator at Platt Hall, the Gallery of Costume, Manchester. Author of various articles on design and visual awareness issues, and an enthusiastic member of her local Arts Society.  
The day will start with coffee at 10:00am and the first lecture will begin at 10.30am.  Please bring a packed lunch.  The day will finish at approximately 3.30pm. 
 
Please complete and send the slip available from this link, together with your cheque, made out to The Arts Society Mendip and a stamped addressed envelope (“DL” type measuring 22 x 11cm) to: Gill Stobart, Church Farm, Church Lane, East Harptree, Bristol, BS40 6BD Tel: 01761 221505 Email: gill.stobart@btinternet.com