OUT OF THE DARKNESS 2/5

Founded in 1994, THE COURSE offers art history lectures, opera and literature courses, guided museum visits and London walks.

In this 5 part series, Nicole Mezey, looks at how symbolic, illuminating, awe inspiring – the mastery of light has been a vital tool of the western artist. The course looks at such forms as stained glass, the natural light of Constable, the brooding emotion of Rubens and the reflections of Impressionism in an attempt to understand the fascination of light and its immense possibilities for the artist.

CAPTURING THE SPARK 

The second lecture looks at different artistic media and how they present alternative possibilities for conveying the presence and the subtleties of light.  In particular, the movement of painters from tempera to oil paint from the C15^th creates the opportunity of rich glazes and a new radiance to give new dimension to the experienceand narrative of the world.