Art Appreciation
| Leaders | Jenny |
| Meeting Pattern | 2nd Monday of each month at 2.00pm. |
| Venue | Denning Room, Union Street, Wells |
We meet on the second Monday of the month at 2.00pm, and will be returning to the Denning Room in Union Street after its refurbishment, once the Corvid-19 situation allows us to. The cost is £1.50, which includes tea or coffee during a break.
Last year we watched one of the Great Courses DVDs called "How to Look at and Understand Great Art". A synopsis of the "tools" the lecturer suggested for looking at works of art is available here on the website, and was circulated to members. Prior to that we looked at various examples of non-western art, and some of the images on this page reflect that.
We are now watching a series of DVDs borrowed from the U3A Resources Centre called The Private Life of a Masterpiece:
"This award-winning series reveals the full and fascinating stories behind famous works of art, not just how they came to be created, but also how they influenced others and came to have a life of their own in the modern world. The works of art featured here are both instantly familiar and profoundly mysterious. Revolutionary in their conception, and iconic years after their execution, they each have their own compelling stories. For behind the beautiful canvases and sculptures are tales of political revolution, wartime escapes, massive ego clashes, social scandal, financial wrangling and shocking violence."
So far we have looked at:
Sandro Botticelli: La Primavera
Paolo Uccello: The Battle of San Romano
Leonardo da Vinci: The Last Supper
Rembrandt van Rijn: The Night Watch
Johannes Vermeer: The Art of Painting
Diego Velázquez: The Rokeby Venus
Francisco Goya: The Third of May 1808
Eugène Delacroix: Liberty Leading the People
Katsushika Hokusai: The Great Wave
Edouard Manet: Le Déjeuner Sur L'Herbe
Future titles will include:
James McNeill Whistler: Portrait of the Artist's Mother
Edvard Munch: The Scream
Auguste Renoir: Dance at the Moulin de la Galette
Vincent Van Gogh: The Sunflowers
Georges Seurat: A Sunday on La Grande Jatte 1884
Pablo Picasso: Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Gustav Klimt: The Kiss.
While we have been unable to meet, some of us have enjoyed watching various BBC art programmes, (some still available through BBC iPlayer), and look at various YouTube videos. In addition, we have been able to go to the websites of many museums and art galleries and follow their virtual tours, and watch video lectures from the Arts Society. So we have not been too isolated from the art world!
Currently the group is full, but if you would like to go on the waiting list, you can contact me by clicking on the pigeon icon on this page to send a message.
Jenny
Click on a picture below to see it full-size with more details.
