El Camino de Santiago
For centuries pilgrims have followed the Camino de Santiago or in English the Way of St. James, leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Located in Galicia, in northwestern Spain, tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried there. As Pope Benedict XVI said, "It is a way sown with so many demonstrations of fervour, repentance, hospitality, art and culture which speak to us eloquently of the spiritual roots of the Old Continent." In this lecture, we will follow virtually the steps of many others ahead of us, discovering all the treasures on the way, and leading to the amazing cathedral, full of traditions and rites.
Looted Art - The unfinished story
Since the ancient Egyptian grave robbers, art and artefacts have been taken, stolen or plundered in times both of peace and conflict. It has been said that art is what makes us human, the expression of our beliefs, our emotions. It is because of its great value that it gives power. This was clear to Napoleon, who institutionalised looting after conquering, justifying his actions with the notion that France was the best place for such artworks. Hitler followed his own dream to build a museum in his natal city, and he did not stop at looting but also destroyed invaluable treasures of humanity. In this lecture we will look at the history of looting, discuss and enjoy a few of the artworks and their journeys, some of them with a happy ending.
Sorolla - The Master of Light
Joaquin Sorolla hated darkness. Claude Monet once said that painting in general did not have enough light in it. Sorolla could not agree more. Sorolla believed painters could never reproduce sunlight as it really is, and he could only “approach the truth of it”. Most of us when standing in front of one of his canvases would agree he was the master of light. He managed to capture like no other the light of the Mediterranean beaches he loved and the energy of Spanish life. He painted what he saw, quickly, to capture that precise moment. As he said "I could not paint at all if I had to paint slowly. Every effect is so transient, it must be rapidly painted.” In this lecture we will look at Sorolla’s life and art, from early education to success; having been almost forgotten to be rediscovered in the last few years.
Sorolla - Enlightens Manhattan
Joaquin Sorolla was an extremely successful Spanish artist at the turn of the 20th century. In 1911, he was commissioned to paint a series of canvases to decorate the Hispanic Society of America in New York. This ambitious project took over his life and even his health, and he was unfortunately unable to see his completed work installed in 1926. His ‘Vision of Spain’ is a love letter to Spanish traditions, to the diversity of the regions, to the people, the landscape and the monuments of a country that had lost its vast empire and was struggling to find its own modern identity. In this lecture we will look at Sorolla’s magnificent and not well-known masterpiece, comprised of fourteen panels which are the ‘Sistine Chapel’ of the Hispanic Society.
A Revolution in Art - Cubism
In the early 20th century Picasso and Braque rejected inherited concepts of traditional techniques of perspective and reduced and fractured objects into geometric forms to emphasize the two-dimensionality of the canvas. This movement was coined Cubism and it would change art forever. In this lecture we will look at the origins of Cubism and its far-reaching consequences.
Surviving Picasso
"Women are machines for suffering," Picasso told his mistress Françoise Gilot in 1943. "For me there are only two kinds of women, goddesses and doormats". Françoise survived him by leaving him, but not all of them could handle life without him. The story of Picasso’s art and life is intrinsically linked to the women he loved and desired. It is no secret that he had a complicated relationship with women who were clearly a vital part of his creative process and inspiration throughout his long career. In this lecture, we will explore Pablo Picasso’s six most prominent muses who shaped his artistic development: Fernande Olivier, Olga Khokhlova, Marie-Thérèse Walter, Dora Maar, Françoise Gilot and Jacqueline Roque.
Georgia O'Keefe - much more than flowers
Georgia O'Keeffe fought every tag, ‘female artist’, ‘flower painter’, ‘wife of’. She just wanted to be acknowledged for what she was: an artist. Her famous flowers were subject to sexual interpretations she rejected; they were just flowers enlarged so as to make ‘even busy New Yorkers take time to see them’. Her partnership with the photographer Alfred Stieglitz gave her a place to be, but she was much more than his creation. She experimented, developed a very personal approach to landscape and finally moved to New Mexico, where she lived in deep connection with nature and the spiritual forces of the desert. In this lecture, we will dive deep into the long and creative life of O’Keeffe, the Mother of American Modernism.
Nikki de Saint Phalle - Rebel with a cause
'Rebellious, complex, iconoclastic, collaborative, trailblazing’ – these are some of the adjectives one of the curators at MoMA used to describe Nikki de Saint Phalle. Nikki was born in the suburbs of Paris in 1930 and raised in New York City. She carved out a place for herself in the male-dominated art world of the early 1960s. Raised to become a housewife, she instead chose art, producing an exhilarating oeuvre that champions women and challenges social norms. In this lecture we will discover her works - colourful, bright, and bold - designed to take up space, from the halls of major museums to the magical Tarot Garden, her Tuscan sculpture park, which has been compared to the architecture of Antoni Gaudí.
Mirror Mirror on the wall
Mirror, mirror, on the wall…. Mirrors, and their reflections, have been used in art to reflect several meanings. They can show truth or illusion, beauty, vanity, shallowness, space and dimension… and some of them are artworks in their own right. In this lecture, we take a look at how artists have incorporated mirrors in art throughout history and how they have been interpreted.
Significant Others
Relationships between artists have resulted in explosions of creativity, passion and in some cases despair and destruction. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Gilbert Proesch and George Passmore, Alfred Stieglitz and Georgia O'Keeffe, Man Ray and Lee Miller, Marina Abramovic and Ulay, Charles and Ray Eames, Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg…. The list is long, and the stories are fascinating. In this lecture, we will look at a few of these creative partnerships. Although these relationships were fulfilling and a catalyst for creative dialogues, some were troubled or even tragic.
Hockney's ways of seeing and multiple viewpoints
Like the artist himself, David Hockney´s creations are playful, experimental, and filled with humanity. It is fascinating to see how he continues to work in different media, experimenting with the latest techniques and materials, and combining traditional and unconventional methods to create a unique vision whilst making us share with him his delight in the process of making artworks. Hockney's embrace of photography, and new technology throughout his prolific career illustrates his never-ending curiosity and open mind to new possibilities of making art and showing the people and world around us from a different, unexpected perspective. In this lecture, we will focus on his evolution as an artist and his experiments with depictions of time, motion and the position of the viewer.
