On the last Friday of the month, I give an online talk on an artist, from 10 to 11:30 am. It takes place on Zoom. Talks are recorded (with everyone’s video off) and are also available for you to watch or listen to at home at a time of your choosing. For a list of previous talks and how to purchase access to these, please scroll down to “previous talks”. Thanks!
In this series, artists are diverse, men and women, from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. There will be painters and sculptors, from a variety of countries. Feel free to send me your suggestions as to who we should study in this series.
For each, I come back on the artist’s life (such as origins, training, career, family life), I highlight and analyse some of her/his works of art, and will set her/his art in the historical context. With each case I will bring forward something thought-provoking about the artist’s life and/or art.
Each session costs £ 10. You can pay safely via Stripe (using your bank card and a payment link). If you’d like to pay with a cheque, please get in touch and I’ll give you details.
To enrol on a upcoming talk and attend the live session, please go back to the main menu, and find the artist you’d like to learn more about. You will find the payment button on that page. You can enrol in a session until the day before (Thursday evening).
The Zoom lIf you’d like to receive more information, please get in touch. You can do so by emailing me if you already have my address, or by using the contact form above (see the menu at the top of this page, click on “contact”). I will answer you to either confirm your booking(s), or send further information, including payment details and terms and conditions.
I will keep adding new dates as we go. Don’t hesitate to send me suggestions of artists to study!
Previous talks
Talks are recorded (with participants’ videos off). If you would like to learn about one of these artists and could not attend the live session, please get in touch with to get access to the recording(s). You can do so by emailing me, or clicking on “contact” in the menu at the top of the page.
Price: £10 per talk. If you purchase 5 talks at once, it’s £40.
See below the list of recorded talks now available.
September 2024: Lavinia Fontana
Born in Bologna in 1552, and trained by her father, she became a sought-after portrait painter. Her career reveals a brilliant artist and astute businesswoman. You will learn about her life, about the patrons who supported her, and will study some of her key works of art. In this story, the city of Bologna appears as an exceptionally favourable context for women artists. We will see that Fontana was not so much a “miracle” or “anomaly”, but one of many successful Bolognese painters in the late Renaissance and Baroque periods
October 2024: Peder Severin Krøyer
In October, our focus will be on a Danish painter, P.S. Krøyer (1851-1909), who could be said to be to Denmark what Sorolla is to Spain: a painter with a technical facility who brought the Impressionist revolution to his national art scene.
In this talk, you will learn about where Krøyer came from and where he trained. He was a member of the artist colony in Skagen, a place renowned for his light. There, he painted beautiful pictures of people strolling by the beach, boys bathing, and of the local fishermen at work. He did so in an impressionist style. Even though Impressionism was not well received in its time, Krøyer was a very successful painter. We will see how his works were received by his contemporaries and the reasons of his success.
November 2024: Antoni Gaudí
Have you ever wanted to know more about the architect of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia and Park Güell? If so, join us in November to learn more about the Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.
In this online talk, you will learn about his life: his origins, trainings, his personality. A selection of Gaudí’s works will be studied, bringing together the famous examples (Sagrada Familia, Casa Mila) with lesser-known ones (such as Casa Vincens and “El Capricho”). This will be a session filled with bright colours and exuberant shapes. It will also be rich in history as we connect Gaudí’s unique style to its social and cultural context.
January 2025: Henri Matisse: Dancing Colours
Matisse is well-known for his colourful and decorative works of art, from the early Fauvist paintings (1905-1912) to the large collages he did in his late years (1940s-1954). Throughout the years, the French artists insisted on the decorative purpose of art and even said that the painting should be like a “good armchair”, it should relax us, and makes us happy. It is not just the colours, recurring themes such as music and dance, also exude a “joie de vivre”. In this talk, we will look into the theme of happiness in Matisse’s art and seek to understand why it was so important for him. We will consider biographical elements such as his childhood and his personality, financial woes, and his experience of three wars. We will also replace his way of thinking about art as entertainment and pleasure in the cultural context of the European avant-garde.
28 February – Edmonia Lewis (1844-1907): American Sculptor
When it comes to the subject of women artists, Edmonia Lewis’s story is an extraordinary one. Lewis was a professional artist in the second half of the 19th century. She was also a woman, which added its own challenges. And she was mixed-race (her father was from Haiti, her mother a native American), which added another level of discrimination. To add to the complications, she chose sculpture, a field reputed as too “masculine” for women. Yet, Edmonia Lewis found patrons to support her and commission sculptures that she exhibited in public. She lived and worked in Rome among other American women sculptors, and eventually travelled to London.
March 2025: Jan van Eyck, beyond the Arnolfini Portrait
Uncover the multifaceted genius of Jan van Eyck in this talk. Renowned for his Arnolfini Portrait, van Eyck’s talents extended far beyond this masterpiece. As a court painter and a skilled illuminator of manuscripts, he combined technical precision with artistic innovation. His pioneering use of oil paint revolutionised art, creating luminous, lifelike works that defined the Northern Renaissance. This talk looks at what we know of his life, explores his lesser-known creations, his role at the Burgundian court, and his legacy as one of history’s most influential artists.
April 2025: Redon, Visions and Dreams
This lecture explores the mysterious world of French artist Odilon Redon (1840-1916). A key Symbolist artist, he blended dreams, myths, and imagination in his drawings and paintings. From his dark, fantastical Noirs to his later luminous and colourful paintings, Redon sought to evoke the mysteries of the unconscious. We will examine his fascination with literary and mythological themes, as well as his deep interest in Buddhism.
May 2025: Vanessa Bell, Privilege and Radicalism
Vanessa Bell was a trailblazer of British modernism, redefining painting and design with bold colour, abstraction, and expressive form. A key figure in the Bloomsbury Group, she embraced post-impressionism, rejecting Victorian tradition to shape a new visual language in Britain. Her work with the Omega Workshops and at Charleston blurred the boundaries between fine and decorative art, pioneering a modern aesthetic.
This talk explores how Bell’s privilege enabled her radical artistic freedom while complicating her rebellion. Was she breaking barriers or working within them? Through her paintings, designs, and influence, we’ll uncover the contradictions that shaped her visionary career.
June 2025: Albert Edelfelt: Finnish Master of Light and Life
Albert Edelfelt (1854–1905) was a trailblazing Finnish painter who helped put Finland on the European cultural map. Bridging academic tradition and impressionist influence, Edelfelt captured everyday life with vivid color, natural light, and emotional depth. From portraits of national heroes to intimate scenes of Finnish countryside life, his art reflects both personal expression and national identity. This talk explores Edelfelt’s artistic journey, his impact on Finnish culture, and his role on the European art scene—uncovering how one artist helped shape a nation’s image both at home and abroad.
July 2025: Tarsila do Amaral, Brazilian modernist painter
Discover the vibrant world of Tarsila do Amaral, a pioneering force in Brazilian modernism. This talk will be an introduction to her life and iconic works. With works such as “A Negra” (1923) and “Abaporu” (1928) we’ll explore how Tarsila fused European modernist styles with Brazilian themes to create a bold new visual language.
August 2025: Constanti Brancusi, Pioneer of Modern Sculpture
Join us to learn about the life and art of Constantin Brancusi, the Romanian sculptor who revolutionised modern sculpture. This talk traces his path from a rural village in Romania to the avant-garde circles of Paris, where he developed his signature style. We’ll explore his most iconic works—The Kiss, Bird in Space, Endless Column—and examine how he stripped forms to their essence, paving the way for abstraction in sculpture. As we do so, we will place him in his context and mention other sculptors such as Modigliani and Gaudier-Brzeska.
September 2025: Edward Hopper. Painting American Life, with a Twist
Inspired by the realism of the Ashcan school, Edward Hopper became a painter of American life in the intewar period. In his works, diners, cinemas, offices, petrol stations, and city streets became a stage for the visual stories he imagined and invites us to imagine.
He used effects of light, contrasts of colours, and points of view to craft silent and still dramas that have an appeal on several levels: psychological, sociological, and aesthetic. The ingredients for a masterpiece are all there.
We’ll study well-known paintings such as Nighthawks and Automat, and lesser-known ones to discover who Hopper was and why he painted the way he did. Comparisons with other artists will reveal the aspects that made him unique and original, an artist who suceeded in creating pictures of modern life, at once entertaining and profound.
October 2025: Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun
Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842) was one of the most celebrated portraitists of 18th-century Europe, yet her career was anything but ordinary. Rising to fame as Marie Antoinette’s favourite portraitist, she navigated the glittering but treacherous world of the French court with both talent and tact. Her luminous style set her apart from her contemporaries.
After the 1789 Prise de la Bastille, Vigée Le Brun fled France, painting across Europe for aristocrats, diplomats, and intellectuals, leaving behind a remarkable record of an era in upheaval. Beyond her artistic achievements, she was also a shrewd self-promoter and memoirist, keenly aware of the challenges and possibilities for women in the arts.
This talk explores Vigée Le Brun’s life and work in context: how she balanced politics and patronage, how her portraits shaped images of femininity and power, and how she carved out an enduring place for herself in a male-dominated field. Her story is one of talent, ambition, and resilience.
November 2025: Anna Ancher, Danish Impressionist Painter
Anna Ancher (1859–1935), the only Skagen painter native to the Danish village, brought a distinctly personal vision to Impressionism. While her peers favored seascapes and heroic labor, Ancher illuminated quiet interiors, humble gestures, and the play of sunlight on simple walls. This talk reclaims her as more than Michael Ancher’s wife: a pioneering colorist who transformed domestic life into modern art. By situating her within European trends yet rooted in Skagen’s atmosphere, we reveal how Ancher’s luminous vision still teaches us to find beauty in overlooked spaces of everyday life.
January 2026: Sofonisba Anguissola
Sofonisba Anguissola challenged the social norms of Renaissance Europe to become one of the first internationally acclaimed women artists. A court painter to Philip II of Spain and praised by Michelangelo and Anthony van Dyck, she navigated gender barriers with wit and technical brilliance. This talk explores how Anguissola’s portraits redefined artistic authorship and female identity in a male-dominated era—revealing her subtle strategies of self-representation, innovation in portraiture, and lasting influence on European art.
February 2026: George Bellows
This lecture explores the life and work of George Bellows (1882–1925), one of the greatest painter in early twentieth-century American art. Closely associated with the Ashcan School, Bellows captured the raw vitality of modern urban life — from crowded streets and dockworkers to boxing rings, tenement interiors and building site — with a force that challenged academic tradition and genteel taste.
We will trace Bellows’s artistic development from his Midwestern upbringing to his formative years in New York, examining how his training under Robert Henri and his immersion in the city shaped both his subject matter and his expressive style.
The lecture places Bellows within the broader cultural context of immigration and industrialisation, and the rapidly changing New York City. In the United States, artists like Bellows grappled with new questions of who Americans were, how they lived, worked, and what realities art should represent.
Picture above: George Bellows, A Morning Snow—Hudson River, 1910, oil on canvas, the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 114.5 × 160.5 cm
April 2026: Paul Klee, his colourful and poetic world
In April we explored the world of Paul Klee (1879-1940). From his early years in Switzerland to his role at the Bauhaus, Klee developed a unique visual language that blends music, poetry and symbolism, in deceptively simple and colourful forms.
Throughout his artistic journey, he responded to many avant-garde ideas, from Expressionism and Cubism to abstraction and Surrealism. He ended up creating his very own, unmistakable and mysterious, style, and evaded easy categorisation into one movement.
Beyond studying his style, we will also see how he faced – as a man and as an artist – the political upheavals of his time, WW1 first, and then the rise of fascism. In the 1930s, his art was labelled “degenerate” and he had to flee Germany.
Image below: Paul Klee, Senecio, 1922, Kunstmuseum Basel
May 2026: Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Step into the lively world of Pieter Brueghel the Elder, one of the most original painters of the 16th century. This lecture explores how Brueghel transformed everyday life into powerful visual storytelling, capturing peasant festivals, harsh winters, moral allegories, and the quiet dignity of ordinary people. We will also consider his striking religious and mythological scenes, where biblical narratives and classical tales are reimagined within expansive, bustling landscapes.
We’ll trace his journey from his early travels and influences to his mature masterpieces, unpacking how his work reflects the political, religious, and social tensions of his time. Far from simple genre scenes, Brueghel’s paintings are layered with symbolism, humour, and sharp observation.
