Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Charles Alexandre de Calonne (1734-1802), 1784. Royal Collection Trust.
Join our Study Evening with Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen’s Pictures at the Royal Collection Trust until 2020, for an exploration of the relationship between Britain and France, their monarchies, their art and their taste. The French paintings in the British Royal Collection are perhaps not as important or plentiful as the Italian or Dutch; they may not tell a comprehensive story of French art, but they contain hidden gems and provide a special insight into cross-channel cultural exchange.
Study evening - includes two lectures, Q&A and a short break. Tickets £20
Part One:
Taking as a starting point the best French paintings and drawings from the 16th and 17th centuries in the Royal Collection, we explore first the sober and meditative aspects of French art which have consistently appealed to English collectors and scholars.
Includes works by Jean and François Clouet, Philippe de Champaigne, Georges de la Tour, Louis Le Nain, Claude Lorrain and Nicholas Poussin.
Part Two:
Beginning with the reign of Louis XIV, the talk will concentrate on more familiar French characteristics of elegance and magnificence. It will explore the British monarchy’s fascination for French styles, especially in portraiture and also with the decorative arts, which recurrent wars did nothing to diminish.
This affinity continued throughout the 19th century as relations became more cordial. However, other ruling elites throughout Europe had a very different idea of French art, generally failing to appreciate Gutave Courbet or the Impressionists, and instead patronised those we now call ‘Salon Painters’ — some of these works are absurd and some very powerful: either way, they certainly merit re-appraisal
Artists discussed include Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Jean Ernest Meissonier, Paul Delaroche, Gustave Doré and (with a single work) Claude Monet.
Proceeds from ARTscapades ticket sales benefit museums, galleries and other arts-based organisations and projects.
This is an online event hosted on Zoom which can be watched live, or on-demand for one month afterwards. You will receive your link to access the event in your email confirmation and the on-demand link after the event ends.