2 Audley Square
Mayfair, London W1K
UK
Established in 1994, The Course offers exciting lectures in Art History, Literature and Music.
“Our classic, the classic of all Europe, is Virgil”, said T S Eliot in 1944. 75 years on, the UK is scheduled to leave the EU, but not European culture. What better moment could there be to retrace the journey Virgil created for Aeneas: escape from the Trojan inferno, voyage to Carthage, love for Dido, abandonment of her to found a new Troy at Rome, and pilgrimage to the Underworld, a golden bough as passport. Artists picture it all as if they travelled with him.
Out of the Burning Fiery Furnace of the City of his Birth (ii)
Cassandra is dragged away, the palace besieged, the Greeks are rampant, King Priam dies, and Venus prevents Aeneas from avenging Troy through killing Helen. Aeneas now knows that the time has come to flee: he carries his old father, leading his wife Creusa and son, Ascanius. But Creusa is lost. Barocci, Batoni, Bernini, Blondel, Claude, Genga, Nanteuil, Vouet and West picture it all.