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Established in 1994, THE COURSE offers innovative and exciting lectures in Art History, Literature, Music and Opera.
In INSIDE, OUTSIDE, The World of the Art, Nicole Mezey will look at how creativity reflects the personal and professional experience of the artist. This series focuses on a different artist each week, looking first at the life behind their creations – the mental asylum in which Richard Dadd produced some of his greatest works, the pressure of eight children on the output of Frans Hals – before moving on to explore their work and the way it reflects that experience.
Jean-Baptiste Chardin (1699 – 1779), A Plain Man
In an age of flamboyance, the intimacy of Chardin was striking. Despite eventually becoming “First Painter to the King” his work remained true to his roots as the son of a cabinetmaker, mixing with servants, seeking the modest backstage life of the 18th century and capturing, with a touch unparalleled by any other artist, the simplicity of form and texture which created the finest still-lifes.