CDFAS  LECTURE PROGRAMME  2009 - 2010

LECTURE PROGRAMME FOR 2010/2011

Notices and Lecture start at 11.00 am prompt at Cliff College, Calver, Derbyshire.

28^th SEPTEMBER 2010 
PEOPLE, PICTURES AND POSSESSIONS AT THE COURT OF THE SUN KING - John Travis
Louis XIV saw himself as a mortal god, the sun king at the centre of all things.  He presided over the most splendid and sumptuous court Europe has ever seen.  His reign was a golden age for the Arts and Sciences in France, with the King perceived as the driving force behind all endeavours.  His palace at Versailles became the symbol of an unprecedented opulence, which was copied throughout Europe.  This lecture examines aspects of Louis XIV’s life, his family, his loves and art collections, to present an informal portrait of the man himself, his times, taste and intrigues which encapsulated the Age of grandeur.

26^TH OCTOBER 2010
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE (2010 is the centenary of her death) - Karin Fernald
This illustrated lecture will focus largely on Florence Nightingale’s concerns before and after the Crimean war of 1854-6.  It will touch on her family background and relationships, her religious beliefs and her travels abroad.  Before the war she seeks to find purpose in her life, together with freedom from family obligations.  After the war she works for reform of the War Office, nursing reform, improved sanitation and the health of the army in India.  On meeting Miss Nightingale in 1853, Elizabeth Gaskell comments that “she has a great deal of fun, and is carried along by that, I think”.  This sense of fun shines through letters to family and friends.  Many of her family were amateur artists:  the lecture is accompanied by sketches by Nightingale’s Aunt Julia and by her cousin Hilary Bonham Carter among others, together with war artists William Simpson and Jerry Barratt.

 30^TH NOVEMBER 2010
EMMA, LADY HAMILTON:  SCANDAL, CELEBRITY AND ART IN 18^TH CENTURY BRITAIN
Dr Kate Williams
This richly illustrated talk tells the remarkable story of how Emma Hamilton ascended through the ranks of British society, beginning as a courtesan and a model to become wealthy and famous – an ambassadress, a fashion icon and mistress of Lord Nelson.  Her life was a true rags to riches story, but after Nelson’s death, she lost all her money and died in penury.  Dr Williams, author of England’s Mistress:  the Infamous Life of Emma Hamilton, explores her relations with artists such as Joshua Reynolds and George Romney, shows how she manipulated her image through portraiture – and reveals her impact on the visual culture of the time.  Drawing on her five years of research in archives across the world, she tells Emma’s astonishing story and explores how her 18^th century world was both glamorous and cruel. 

25^TH JANUARY 2011
SLEEPING BEAUTIES:  THE IRISH COUNTRY HOUSE - Tom Duncan
Ireland has a great wealth of country houses dating from the Mediaeval to the Victorian periods.  Their history is bou8nd up with the long historic, and at times tragic, links between Ireland and England.  The lecture will recreate these houses and their often eccentrically arranged lifestyles in an entertaining recreation of Ireland’s past.  The main part of the lecture will concentrate on the Georgian period when many of the great houses were created and decorated.  Built mostly in the Palladian style, ornamented with exceptional plasterwork, and filled with treasures brought back from the Grand Tour, together with fine furniture and decorative arts made in Ireland, the houses played host to a now vanished world.  Amongst the principal houses to be discussed will be Malahide Castle, Ballemont Forest, Castletown Conolly and Russborough.

22^ND FEBRUARY 2011
TIBET – THE ROOF OF THE WORLD - Zara Fleming
A general introduction to the history, art and culture of this extraordinary land, lying deep in the heart of Central Asia surrounded by some of the highest mountains in the world.  Despite its geographical inaccessibility, it developed a rich and vibrant Buddhist culture and artistic tradition.  Every aspect of Tibetan life is permeated by their Buddhist faith and their deep respect for the harsh mountainous environment in which they live.  This lecture gives an overview of Tibetan history from the time of the great Tibetan Empire (6^th-9^th century) up to the present day; explores their fascinating culture inspired by Buddhism, introduced from India in the 7^th century and gives an insight into the current situation.  Zara was the first guest lecturer on the first British tour to Tibet in 1981 and has travelled and led tours to this part of the world ever since.

 29^TH MARCH 2011
A MEDIEVAL MASTERPIECE; THE HOTEL-DIEU AT BEAUNE
Rt Revd. Dr Christopher Herbert (ex bishop of St Albans Abbey)
Nicholas Rolin was one of the most powerful men in Western Europe in the 15^th century and the creator of the Hotel-Dieu.  What lay behind the creation of this medieval hospice?  What was the purpose of Van Der Weyden painting in the main ward?  What can all of this tell us about the medieval mind?

 19^TH APRIL 2011
FREDERICK, LORD LEIGHTON 1830-18966: A RE-APPRAISAL OF A VICTORIAN PAINTER
Jane Kelsall
In 1996 the Royal Academy presented an exhibition of the paintings and sculpture of Lord Leighton to commemorate the centenary of his death.  This eminent Victorian’s career began well and then faltered as he sought to establish acceptance from a hostile Royal Academy.  When he was eventually made an Associate, and later President of the Royal Academy, he sought to promote the high ideals of the Aesthetic Movement – “Art for Art’s Sake” rather than the popular morality of narrative paintings.  His fine Greek classical pictures, superb sense of colour and his splendid portraits are re-assessed.

24^TH MAY 2011
TCHAIKOVSKY AND CHEKHOV - Rosamund Bartlett
Tchaikovsky was one of the first people to perceive Chekhov’s genius, and unusually took the step of becoming personally acquainted with the writer, despite his shy and retiring nature.  The admiration was mutual and the much younger Chekhov was proud to dedicate a story collection to the great composer.  This lecture explores why Tchaikovsky and Chekhov should have felt such admiration for each other’s work, and examines their lives and careers in the context of late 19^th century Russian culture, paying particular attention to the landscape paintings of Levitan, whose name is often mentioned in the same breath.