Lectures & Courses on Art History

 September 2019 Course: A Journey Through Art History

This starts on Wednesday, 25 September 2019 and it will be based on my personal view of recent exhibitions and four of my Tate Modern tours interspersed with subjects that have attracted my attention during the spring and summer of 2019. The exhibitions and topics covered are subject to change between now and September.
Held at: The White House, 45 The Avenue, Hampton TW12 3RN
(free parking, café on site)
Lecturer: Dr. Laurence Shafe
Dates:
  • Part 1: Wednesday 25 September 2019 – 20 November 2019 (eight classes with a half-term break on 30 October 2019)
  • Part 2: Wednesday 8 January 2020 – 4 March 2020 (eight classes with a half-term break on 19 February 2020)
Time: 10:45-12:45 (with a 15 min coffee break)
Fee: £60 for eight classes (paid by cheque at the first or second class). Note that I have reduced the price this year as I have reduced the number of talks each term from ten to eight as I found the course was taking to much time to prepare.
Description: Sixteen talks on a varied mix of artists and themes. Eleven of the talks are based on exhibitions held during 2019 and four of the talks are based on the tours I give at Tate Modern. Note that I do not aim to give an overview of each exhibition but to give a talk inspired by the theme of the exhibition so my talk might be about the life of the artist or the art of the period. I also alternate ‘old’ and ‘modern’ art, that is art before and after about 1850.

The talks are designed to be both informative and entertaining and my style is to lecture rather than run a discussion groups, although questions are welcome. No prior knowledge of art history is required and the level is similar to a BBC art history documentary although I try to squeeze in more anecdotes and background facts and I am never afraid to provide dates and names. I define all the technical terms I use and try to include two or three new technical terms during each talk. Expect information rather than opinion and art history rather than art appreciation.

I like to limit the class size to about twenty people so let me know in advance by emailing me on art@shafe.uk and I will reserve you a place. I email a more detailed course itinerary a month before the course starts to those who have attended the course in the past or who have expressed an interest.

Lecture Programme of Two Eight-week Terms

  1. Hieronymus Bosch
  2. Edvard Munch
  3. Elizabethan Miniatures
  4. Tate Modern: Artist & Society
  5. Charles II: Art & Power
  6. Pierre Bonnard
  7. The Golden Age of Venice
  8. Tate Modern: In the Studio
  9. The Genius of Art Forgery
  10. Velázquez & the Spanish Golden Age
  11. Sorolla Spanish Master of Light
  12. Tate Modern: Materials & Objects
  13. Parisian Life During the Revolution
  14. Nineteenth-Century American Art
  15. Tate Modern: Media Networks
  16. Britain’s Love of Rembrandt

The following slide presentation uses Google Slides. Click on full screen to see the presentation and click on Settings (or press ‘s’) to see the lecture notes.