2 S Audley St
Mayfair, London W1K 1HF
UK
Established in 1994, THE COURSE offers exciting and innovative lectures in Art History, Literature, Opera and Music.
This course will explore the rise of celebrity in the art world and how this change in status not only affected the output of artists but also their lives and in some cases the individuals depicted by them. It will show that the impact of these changes is still with us and continues to govern the way we appreciate and value art. We will start by looking at very early un-autographed works before moving on to look at iconic artists such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Vermeer and others. The themes will be the rise of the signature work, the rise of the individual and thus creation of the idea of the artist, fame, adulation, riches and the celebrity endorsement.
Dido Elizabeth Lindsay Belle, The most famous black woman in London and the Beginnings of the Abolition of Slavery
We continue with our 18th century theme, with an exploration of the life of Dido Elizabeth Lindsay Belle, a black woman, depicted in just one painting by Johann Zoffany. We will look at her birth and origins, explore her fame and notoriety and her ambiguous place in society at the time of the burgeoning anti-slavery movement.