- This group meets on the 3rd Monday each month from 10.30 am – 12.00 pm. We are currently meeting in Brinsley Parish Hall meeting room. New members are welcome.
For more information contact Helen Baker tel.07535 785 061 or email helenbaker2@hotmail.com
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Future Meetings:
Art Appreciation – Programme for 2025
Month |
Topic |
Lead |
20th January
|
Planning |
All |
17th February
|
A Favourite Artist |
All |
17th March
|
Irish Art |
Helen |
21st April (Easter Monday)
|
NO MEETING |
|
19th May
|
Visit to Hardwick Hall to look at the portraiture |
Lisa |
16th June
|
To be decided |
Marianne |
21st July
|
Show and Tell |
All
|
18th August
|
Bloomsbury Group |
Margaret |
15th September
|
Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun |
Doris |
20th October
|
TBA |
|
17th November
|
Dante Gabriel Rossetti |
Janet |
15th December
|
Christmas card art |
All |
Past meetings and visits:
October 2024
Our topic this month was Pottery. It was a ‘show and tell’ session which we always enjoy as members’ stories behind their reasons for choosing to bring their items are always interesting and sometimes the most unexpected items turn up. There’s always a lively discussion.
‘Pottery’ was no less entertaining and just as wide ranging as previous similar meetings. We talked about why we collected items, whether we used them or if they were just displayed,and our emotional attachment to some pieces.
We looked at Royal Copenhagen and studio pottery from Lincoln and Wales with interesting glazes. There was a pot made by a member’s daughter, which was obviously dearly loved, and a Chinese cloisonné bowl. Two members bought items of Langley pottery which I think is the first time we’ve had a clash! Finally, we had a Hummel figure from an inherited collection.
We also welcomed three new members.
Helen
Group contact
June/July 2024
At our June meeting, Suzanne shared a selection of her vast collection of posters, prints and postcards of David Hockney works. She is a great fan! To keep it manageable, she concentrated mainly on his landscapes – you’ll no doubt be familiar with his recent depictions of trees through he seasons. She also recommended a visit to Salts Mill at Saltaire, near Bradford, which houses one of the largest collections of Hockney’s works.
July was our annual ‘Show and Tell’ where we bring anything art related. A souvenir of a gallery visit, a picture we have at home, a pot we picked up in a charity shop – anything goes. It’s amazing where the conversation takes us!
This time we looked at the photography of Julia Margaret Cameron, a highly acclaimed British photographer of the 19th century. A book of maps convinced us that cartography was a form of art. There were accounts of visits to the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Quai D’Orsay, Paris. We were very pleased to be able to identify, after some googling, a vintage Japanese biscuit barrel, circa 1930’s, but a mystery object foxed us. It was an unusual looking statue, possibly east Asian and possibly stone or bronze!
We were shown pieces of art that had a very special meaning for one of our members. Lastly, a porcelain plate was brought which connected us with our look at Renoir earlier as he had begun his painting career at the factory in Limoges.
As you can see our interests are varied. In September, we’re off to Southwell to see ’The Longest Yarn’, the depiction in knitting and crocheting of the events of D Day.
Please join our group if you have an interest in any form of art and would like to learn alongside us.
April 2024
At our April meeting we had a presentation on Pierre Auguste Renoir, a leading member of the Impressionist movement. We heard how he progressed from starting work in Limoges painting on fine china to Paris where he became friends with other Impressionists such as Monet.
He was a painter of portraits and still-life, but he was also famed for his paintings of social scenes.
(Image of ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party. 1881)
He was particularly interested in depicting the reflections of light and colour on water and colours in shadows. He painted ‘en plein air’, out in the open, and often sat alongside Monet. Several pairs of paintings exist where they painted the same scene.
In 1881 Renoir began ‘The Umbrellas’. Whilst painting it, he travelled to Italy and there studied the grand masters. He began to question whether he was taking the right path and returned to complete ‘The Umbrellas’ in a more severe classical style. This change can easily be seen when looking at the painting and the mystery of why it took 5 years to complete is explained. (Image ‘The Umbrellas’ 1881-6)
It may not reproduce here but we were very lucky to see it for ourselves when for our June meeting we visited Leicester’s Museum and Art Gallery. As part of the National Gallery’s 200th Anniversary, 12 museums around the country are displaying 12 iconic artworks from the national collection during this summer, under the title ‘National Treasures’. Leicester is displaying Pierre Auguste Renoir’s masterpiece “The Umbrellas” (c 1886), one of the most famous artworks in the world.
Visit – November 2022
A group of us went to Patchings Art Centre near Calverton to see two exhibitions.
The first called ‘The Artist Collection 2022’ was a collection of works from 8 winners of ‘The Artist’ Exhibition awards 2021. There was a great variety of styles to look at and we had fun picking out our favourites. Unfortunately, my favourite of Whitby Beach had been sold – it was only £1400!
Whitby Beach – Michael Salt
The Diagnosis – Mark Fennell
A stitch in time – Michelle Ashby
The second exhibition was ‘Transcribing the Landscape’ by Susan Isaac, a local artist.
We were initially struck by the rather imposing images in this exhibition. There was a lot of dark outlining of buildings and features. However, as we acclimatised and began to study the paintings inclose up we were able to appreciate them more. The artist has worked as an archaeologist and is trained in fine art and sculpture. We could see the influence of her interest in architecture in the strong shapes of the buildings she painted and saw her bold use of colour. She has been a wild card winner on ‘Landscape Painter of the Year’.
Helen Baker
Here are some links to follow. They allow you to ‘visit’ some great museums worldwide:
Guggenheim Museum, New York – 3D tour
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam – 3D tour
Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Uffizi Gallery, Florence – install Google Arts & Culture app to explore virtual reality tour
MASP, Sao Paulo – install Google Arts & Culture app to explore virtual reality tour
National Gallery of Art, Washington – install Google Arts & Culture app to explore virtual reality tour
Paris Museums – 100,000 images online for free viewing
Googles Art site – explore in 3D many places of interest
Most detailed ever photograph of The Night Watch goes online – Rijksmuseum
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/