Established in 1994, THE COURSE offers exciting and innovative lectures in the History of Art, Literature, Music and Opera.
In “Foreigners in London”, Leslie Primo will discuss why the aristocracy preferred foreign painters to native-born English ones? Why did foreigners come in the first place? What was their motivation and what was the impact of foreigners on English art and art practice? This course will trace foreign artists from the Tudors to the Neo-Classical looking at their origins and how they came to work in England. It will look at how these artists influenced the British School of painting and assess their legacy andl also examine the impact of the Italian and Northern Renaissance on British painting, the mania for portrait paintings, the rise of miniature paintings, the use of engravings and the painting requirements of both royalty and politics. Finally, it will asses the position of the painter in London’s political landscape.
HANS HOLBEIN AND HIS ANTECEDENTS
This lecture will look at the work in London of Hans Holbein. His involvement with Henry VIII, his paintings of the English aristocracy and the painting tradition from which the Holbein style emerged. It will also look at some of the lesser known artists, Susanna and Lucas Horenbout and Isaac Oliver, who came to London before Holbein, and explore their influence on English born artists such as Nicolas Hilliard.