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Live and Recorded talks relating to:

France

  • Master Pieces: Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
    Master Pieces: Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
    Master Pieces: Napoleon I on his Imperial Throne, by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
    Not a public commission, but Ingres’ own invention, this painting is a reference to the cult of Napoleon and the use of every single piece of iconography available to show of his legitimacy as a ruler. Please join this talk on Napoleon, neo-classical art, propaganda, borrowing motifs & more!
  • The 50th anniversary of Picasso's death. Session 1: A brief review of PP life and oeuvre in relation to women.
    The 50th anniversary of Picasso's death. Session 1: A brief review of PP life and oeuvre in relation to women.
    Multiple Dates
    The 50th anniversary of Picasso's death. Session 1: A brief review of PP life and oeuvre in relation to women.
    Paul is dead, Picasso is eternal. We will analyse his oeuvre through the emotions that connected him to the women in his life. Some of them lived with Picasso, some of them lived for Picasso. The research was based on diaries and books written by his partners as well as by his descendants.
  • Versailles' Glory
    Versailles' Glory
    Versailles' Glory
    The elevation of LouisXIII hunting lodge outside Paris into the Palace of Versailles -the most magnificent of palaces- was done on the back of Nicholas Fouquet, Superintent of Finances, overstepping his position. See below for more on this talk covering who &what was involved in Versailles' creation
  • Berthe Morisot
    Berthe Morisot
    Berthe Morisot
    In this talk we will trace Berthe Morisot's biography, her influences and the development of her style, and discuss how Morisot was able to thrive within the most radical group of artists, The Impressionists, in 19th century Paris. More info below.
  • Fauvism & La Belle Epoque
    Fauvism & La Belle Epoque
    Fauvism & La Belle Epoque
    After Realism & Naturalism, Impressionism & Post-Impressionism, Henri Matisse will break all the rules by applying furious pure colours deserving the mote “fauve” (wild beast) given by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles. Please join us to learn what happened in Paris after 1905. more info below
  • The Birth of Cinema: first films, soap-operas and detective stories ever filmed
    The Birth of Cinema: first films, soap-operas and detective stories ever filmed
    The Birth of Cinema: first films, soap-operas and detective stories ever filmed
    The concept of “motion-pictures” later called “cinema” was born during la Belle Époque. In 1892, the first “cinématographe” camera was invented by Leon Bouly. It was able to record, develop & project motion pictures. We will enjoy the oeuvre of those great pioneers in this 1 hour talk more inf below
  • Les Ballets Russes: a Russian flavour in Paris
    Les Ballets Russes: a Russian flavour in Paris
    Les Ballets Russes: a Russian flavour in Paris
    Due to the political instability in Russia, many noblemen and aristocrats had to leave. Among them was the impresario Sergei Diaghilev who will become the father of Les Ballets Russes. A transformative force in music, dance and the visual arts, join Maria to explore! more info below
  • Greatest Female Patrons in History: Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764)
    Greatest Female Patrons in History: Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764)
    Greatest Female Patrons in History: Madame de Pompadour (1721–1764)
    Pompadour wasn't only a well-known patron of the arts but also the owner of a creative mind making various artworks & artifacts with her own hands. She helped usher in the creation of France's first encyclopedia, planned buildings & palaces and established a center for porcelain production at Sèvres
  • LA BELLE EPOQUE RHYTHMS: From waltz to tango
    LA BELLE EPOQUE RHYTHMS: From waltz to tango
    LA BELLE EPOQUE RHYTHMS: From waltz to tango
    Since the Middle Ages, Paris was a centre of music production: choral music, ballets & operas were premiered in Paris. La Belle Epoque will bring a different perspective. Cabarets & bistros, casinos & music halls were opened for those “nouveau riches” who wanted to have fun. more info below
  • Masters of Landscape Painting: Claude Lorraine
    Masters of Landscape Painting: Claude Lorraine
    Masters of Landscape Painting: Claude Lorraine
    Often named in the same sentence as his contemporary Poussin as they are both distinguished exponents of the French classical baroque style, it was Claude who focuses on the study of nature and the exploration of light while minimizing the role humans play in this. more info below
  • Northern High Renaissance and Mannerism
    Northern High Renaissance and Mannerism
    Northern High Renaissance and Mannerism
    North of the Alpes was very much affected by the Protestant Reformation. As Protestantism spread, artists turned away from overtly religious subjects and chose more secular imagery. Genre paintings and Landscape art make their appearance, and the court of Henry VIII introduces new displays of power!
  • Belle Epoque Literature: From Romanticism to Naturalism. the birth of the scientific novel
    Belle Epoque Literature: From Romanticism to Naturalism. the birth of the scientific novel
    Belle Epoque Literature: From Romanticism to Naturalism. the birth of the scientific novel
    Victor Hugo said: “Anyone who contemplates the depths of Paris feels invaded by vertigo. Nothing is more fantastic. Nothing is more tragic. Nothing is more sublime”. La Belle Epoque will produce writers as dissimilar as Colette & Marcel Proust, inaugurating de so called “modernism” in literature.
  • Futurism and the Belle Epoque
    Futurism and the Belle Epoque
    Futurism and the Belle Epoque
    Futurism is a movement with a manifesto written by poet & journalist Filippo Tommaso Marinetti who will be its engine, attracting many other Italian artists. In Britain, the Futurist movement became the Vorticist. Maria will introduce this often controversial movement. More info below
  • Cubism and the Belle Epoque
    Cubism and the Belle Epoque
    Cubism and the Belle Epoque
    We will go through the oeuvre of what Maria calls “The three great musketeers” of Cubism: Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque and Juan Gris. We shall also analyse the influence of Cubism in art and architecture. more info below
  • Tensions and Contradictions in Cezanne’s work
    Tensions and Contradictions in Cezanne’s work
    Tensions and Contradictions in Cezanne’s work
    Paul Cezanne- the father of modern art- a man who said he would astonish Paris with an apple and did just that. His still lives, landscapes & nudes broke the rulebooks on composition & form. He revolutionised the way we see, creating a new visual language which paved the way to Cubism & abstraction
  • La Belle Epoque: the Golden years of Paris before WWI
    La Belle Epoque: the Golden years of Paris before WWI
    La Belle Epoque: the Golden years of Paris before WWI
    A brief introduction to France at the end of the 19 th century: the Franco-Prussian War and the siege of Paris. The Second Industrial Revolution, its influence on the arts, crafts, sciences, industries. The birth of cabarets, bistros, music halls. New art, new music, new morals… new “nouveau riches”
  • Porcelain Mania
    Porcelain Mania
    Porcelain Mania
    Marco Polo bought the 1st tiny example of porcelain to Europe in the 13th century. This tiny exquisite object, so unlike European ceramics precipitated the pursuit of European-made porcelain which would pre-occupy powerful men, potters & scientists for centuries. more info below
  • Intro to Impressionism
    Intro to Impressionism
    Intro to Impressionism
    Capturing a fast changing modern life as it unfolded in a way that photography could never became the aim of a group of young artists in Paris. Instant snapshots, full of a new understanding of colours, with new possibilities in paint brought us the Impressionists.
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