2 Audley Square
Mayfair, London W1K
UK
Founded in 1994, THE COURSE offers art history lectures, opera and literature courses, guided museum visits and London walks.
This course will examine the changing face of the portrait from the 6th century to the present. It will look at how and why its meaning and function have mutated and why artists are still drawn to this medium despite the advent of photography. It will also explore whether a portrait has to convey an accurate likeness and how artists went about trying to convey “character”.
LEONARDO DA VINCI AND ART OF PORTRAITURE
Leonardo was fascinated with portraits and Madonnas, a subject he would return to time and again. The challenge of the compositional group held a particular interest and obsessive fascination for him. We will explore his early use of oil and drawing mediums, his association with noble families, the interaction between these families and the female portraiture which resulted through these associations.