21 September 2019
Lecture by Michaela Jones: ‘Emerging from the Shadows: The Pre-Raphaelitism of Christiana Herringham’
Christiana Herringham (1852-1929) was a central figure in the British art world at the turn of the twentieth century and a leading proponent of Pre-Raphaelite values. She followed Ruskin’s directive to ‘go to Nature … rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing,’ creating life-size depictions of plants and wildflowers in their natural setting. Herringham was also a leading figure in the British Tempera Revival. By copying early Italian Renaissance paintings in their original medium of tempera, she not only promoted the artists before Raphael, but also called for a return to medieval methods. This talk will examine Herringham’s paintings – including recently rediscovered works – and discuss her contribution to the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
13 July 2019
Lecture by Adrian Barlow – ‘Kempe and the Pre-Raphaelites’
Charles Eamer Kempe has often been compared unfavourably – e.g. by critics such as Nikolaus Pevsner – with William Morris and the later Pre-Raphaelite stained glass artists. But little attention has been paid to the close personal and professional links between Kempe and Morris, particularly during the 1860-70s when both men were much indebted to the architect GF Bodley for encouragement, direction and commissions. This talk re-examined these close links in the light both of prevailing artistic currents such as the Aesthetic Movement and of Kempe’s own lifelong admiration for Morris. It explored some of the comparisons drawn between Morris and Kempe by critics in the immediate aftermath of Kempe’s death in 1907.
18 May 2019
Lecture by Colin Cruise – ‘Starting with Illumination: Rossetti, Burne-Jones and medieval painting’
This talk revisited the topic of medieval illumination as an inspiration for Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 1850s’ watercolours, examining some of the inspirations for his ground-breaking sequence of works, chiefly on Arthurian themes. Attention then turns to Burne-Jones’s first drawings and watercolours in which Rossetti’s generalised ‘aesthetic’ of illumination is transformed – rather than simply copied – by the younger artist. The paper compared and contrasted works from these phases of each artist’s career to analyse the significant differences that medieval illumination inspired in their imaginative practices.
13 April 2019
Lecture by Dr Ellie Pridgeon – ‘The Pre-Raphaelites and their Circle: The Influence of the Medieval World on Nineteenth-Century Mural Paintings’
This talk examined the impact of medieval art and architecture on the content and iconography of Pre-Raphaelite painting, focusing on 19th century murals such as Morris and Rossetti’s Morte d’Arthur paintings at the Oxford Union Library; recently-discovered paintings by Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Siddal, Brown and Morris at the Red House, Bexleyheath; and the Clayton and Bell murals at Freedland, Oxfordshire. The talk will also assess the influence of the medieval period on 19th century wall painting techniques, processes and pigments, and the significance of Thomas Gambier Parry’s ‘spirit fresco’ invention.
12 January 2019
Lecture by Kirsty Stonell Walker – ‘Gathering the Girl Gang:
How Women enhance the Pre-Raphaelite narrative’
Kirsty’s lecture focuses on how studying the women in the Pre-Raphaelite story helps us see the art from different angles. The models especially are often seen as inconsequential in the biographies of the Brotherhood, but their stories can both challenge and enhance our appreciation of the art and the stories around the paintings. Painters, writers, models, sculptors, wives and daughters all have a part to play in our understanding of the term ‘Pre-Raphaelite’ and their part should be celebrated.
Lecture by Michaela Jones: ‘Emerging from the Shadows: The Pre-Raphaelitism of Christiana Herringham’
Christiana Herringham (1852-1929) was a central figure in the British art world at the turn of the twentieth century and a leading proponent of Pre-Raphaelite values. She followed Ruskin’s directive to ‘go to Nature … rejecting nothing, selecting nothing, and scorning nothing,’ creating life-size depictions of plants and wildflowers in their natural setting. Herringham was also a leading figure in the British Tempera Revival. By copying early Italian Renaissance paintings in their original medium of tempera, she not only promoted the artists before Raphael, but also called for a return to medieval methods. This talk will examine Herringham’s paintings – including recently rediscovered works – and discuss her contribution to the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
13 July 2019
Lecture by Adrian Barlow – ‘Kempe and the Pre-Raphaelites’
Charles Eamer Kempe has often been compared unfavourably – e.g. by critics such as Nikolaus Pevsner – with William Morris and the later Pre-Raphaelite stained glass artists. But little attention has been paid to the close personal and professional links between Kempe and Morris, particularly during the 1860-70s when both men were much indebted to the architect GF Bodley for encouragement, direction and commissions. This talk re-examined these close links in the light both of prevailing artistic currents such as the Aesthetic Movement and of Kempe’s own lifelong admiration for Morris. It explored some of the comparisons drawn between Morris and Kempe by critics in the immediate aftermath of Kempe’s death in 1907.
18 May 2019
Lecture by Colin Cruise – ‘Starting with Illumination: Rossetti, Burne-Jones and medieval painting’
This talk revisited the topic of medieval illumination as an inspiration for Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s 1850s’ watercolours, examining some of the inspirations for his ground-breaking sequence of works, chiefly on Arthurian themes. Attention then turns to Burne-Jones’s first drawings and watercolours in which Rossetti’s generalised ‘aesthetic’ of illumination is transformed – rather than simply copied – by the younger artist. The paper compared and contrasted works from these phases of each artist’s career to analyse the significant differences that medieval illumination inspired in their imaginative practices.
13 April 2019
Lecture by Dr Ellie Pridgeon – ‘The Pre-Raphaelites and their Circle: The Influence of the Medieval World on Nineteenth-Century Mural Paintings’
This talk examined the impact of medieval art and architecture on the content and iconography of Pre-Raphaelite painting, focusing on 19th century murals such as Morris and Rossetti’s Morte d’Arthur paintings at the Oxford Union Library; recently-discovered paintings by Burne-Jones, Rossetti, Siddal, Brown and Morris at the Red House, Bexleyheath; and the Clayton and Bell murals at Freedland, Oxfordshire. The talk will also assess the influence of the medieval period on 19th century wall painting techniques, processes and pigments, and the significance of Thomas Gambier Parry’s ‘spirit fresco’ invention.
12 January 2019
Lecture by Kirsty Stonell Walker – ‘Gathering the Girl Gang:
How Women enhance the Pre-Raphaelite narrative’
Kirsty’s lecture focuses on how studying the women in the Pre-Raphaelite story helps us see the art from different angles. The models especially are often seen as inconsequential in the biographies of the Brotherhood, but their stories can both challenge and enhance our appreciation of the art and the stories around the paintings. Painters, writers, models, sculptors, wives and daughters all have a part to play in our understanding of the term ‘Pre-Raphaelite’ and their part should be celebrated.
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