Julian Halsby

MA (Cantab), RBA

Author: dg80ajks9

Kyffin Williams – Wales’ Greatest Painter

Lecture Kyffin Williams (1918-2006) was born on Anglesey and attended the Slade School of Art which had been evacuated to Oxford during the War. He later became art master at Highgate School before deciding to devote himself entirely to painting in 1973. Kyffin developed a very personal style of painting using a palette knife and […]

The Fauves 1900-1910

Lecture  .   At the 1905 Salon d’Automne a group of young artists which included Matisse, Derain, Marquet, Vlaminck and Van Dongen exhibited their work together in a room which had in its centre a traditional piece of sculpture. The art critic Louis Vauxcelles was surprised by the violent colours of the young artists and […]

A Survey of British Painting 1850 -1914

This Study Day aims to give an account of the achievements and developments of painting in Britain from the Pre-Raphaelites to the First World War. It was a dynamic period with the Pre-Raphaelites, the square brush painters of Newlyn and Glasgow, the London Impressionists, the Camden Town School and Roger Fry’s explosive Post Impressionist exhibitions […]

The Pre-Raphaelites – The Years of Achievement 1848-1860

Lecture In 1848 a group of very young men, mostly students at the Royal Academy Schools, established themselves as The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They challenged the academic teaching of the Academy, and wanted to see nature through eyes unspoilt by theories and traditional ways of painting. They began to paint outside in broad sunlight using the […]

Symbolist Painting – The Age of Decadence

Lecture Symbolism is a relatively unknown art movement and provides a fascinating alternative to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Symbolism has its roots in German Romanticism and the Pre-Raphaelite Movement, but develops a language of its own. Whereas the Impressionists looked outwards at the world observing and often painting on the spot, the Symbolists looked inwards basing […]

Manet – The Rebel in a Frockcoat

Lecture Édouard Manet is one of the most remarkable and fascinating artists of the 19th century. His life is full of contradictions – he loved to dress well and be a ‘man about town’ but was also an extremely hard worked devoted to his art; he was sharp tongued and had an acerbic wit, yet […]

John Singer Sargent – A Life through Pictures

Lecture Sargent was a truly international figure, born in Italy, studied in France, lived in London and America and painted in many places including Venice, Capri, North Africa, France, Broadway in Worcestershire, Palestine, Spain and the United States. His reputation is based on his portraits which are technically magnificent, but he was also one of […]

The White Mantle of Winter – Impressionist Snow painting

Lecture To the Impressionists light was all important and in particular the play of light on water. They were interested in the scientific application of colours and studied Chevreul’s Chromatic Wheel which illustrated the theory of complimentary colours and how light breaks up as it passes through a prism. It is not surprising that they […]

Two Women Impressionists – Berthe Morisot and Mary Cassatt

Lecture Entering the established art world as a woman in the 19th century was very difficult, but being involved in a group of anti-Establishment artists such as the Impressionists made this task virtually impossible. Yet Berthe Morisot became one of the few woman Impressionists to make her reputation in this male dominated world. Brought up […]

Impressionism Around the World

Study Day Most of us know about the Impressionist Movement in France, but in fact by the 1890’s Impressionism had become an international art form and many outstanding Impressionist painters emerged from America, Australia, Italy and Spain. This study day looks at Impressionism outside France. 1. Impressionism in Britain The first lecture starts with a […]

British and American Artists in Venice

Study Day Lecture 1 The Discovery of Venice Although Canaletto had successfully painted and sold pictures of Venice in England, Venice was put on the British artistic map by Turner who made three brief visits to the city in 1819, 1833 and 1840. Despite only staying for a short time, Turner produced a huge number of oils […]

Five Extraordinary Women Who Influenced the Course of Modern Art

Study Day This study day looks at the lives and work of five women who in different ways influenced the course of modern painting in Europe and America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study day is wide ranging and brings in many artists within their circles and should appeal to a […]

Painting the Modern Garden

Lecture Gardens before the 19th century were the domain of the aristocracy and were not shared with the public. In the early 19th century public gardens were developed for the enjoyment of all, and around the mid-century the middle classes began to indulge in their own gardens taking an often passionate in interest in planting […]

American Impressionism

Lecture American Impressionism has been unjustly neglected by European art historians and critics for many years, yet some wonderful paintings full of life, colour and vigour, were produced in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. James McNeil Whistler is an important figure in this story being the first American to […]

Claude Monet : At the Heart of Impressionism

Study Day Lecture 1 Early Years Monet was brought up in Le Havre where as a teenager he met the artist Eugene Boudin who encouraged him to paint seascapes in the open. His parents strongly disapproved of Monet’s desire to become a painter and only reluctantly allowed him to go to Paris where he studied […]

The Private Life of Claude Monet

Lecture Claude Monet’s life is characterised by a driving ambition and determination to let nothing interrupt his work. His early life was difficult as his parents objected strongly to his choice of career and his marriage to Camille which for many years he kept secret. He was constantly short of money which was difficult for […]

Square Brush painting in England and Scotland 1880-1910

Lecture It is often difficult to appreciate that in the late 19th Century one of the most famous artists, known internationally, was Jules Bastien Lepage 1848-1884. Although he died very young, he established a new painting technique based on the use of brushwork to create perspective. A square brush artist combined thick areas of paint […]

Social Realism in Victorian Art

Lecture Victorian life was full of contrasts – rich and poor, magnificent dwellings and slum conditions, urban prosperity and rural deprivation, modern technology and persisting old fashioned attitudes. Many artists depicted these contrasts and have left a rich legacy of social realism in painting and prints. This lecture examines the many social problems of the […]

Édouard Manet

Lecture Édouard Manet is one of the most remarkable and fascinating artists of the 19th century. His life is full of contradictions – he loved to dress well and be a ‘man about town’ but was also an extremely hard worked devoted to his art; he was sharp tongued and had an acerbic wit, yet […]

The New English Art Club – Then and (Mostly) Now

Lecture The New English Art Club was founded in 1886 as a society to promote the French influence in British art, and as an alternative to the Royal Academy. Early members include the Glasgow Boys, the Newlyn School and the London Impressionists. The Club has no clubhouse, but holds exhibitions in various galleries. When originally […]

Symbolist Painting : The Age of Decadence

Symbolism is an important art movement which is still relatively unknown in this country. This study day reveals the work of many artists who deserve to be much better known. It also reveals the links between Symbolism and Art Nouveau. It is an exciting day which explores themes and images which are largely unknown and […]

The Glasgow Boys : Painting in Scotland 1875-1914

Lecture The Glasgow Boys revolutionised painting in Scotland by bringing it into the mainstream of European art. ‘The Boys’ were young Scottish artists who looked to France for their inspiration – ‘the auld alliance’ – and many of them studied in Paris. One group met up in Grez-sur-Loing where they painted together using the ‘square […]

Sargent and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle in Venice 1880-1914

Lecture Sargent first visited Venice as an art student while based in Paris, and returned for two trips in 1880-1882, during which time he painted some superb oils of Venetian life. Having established himself as a successful portrait painter in London, he found it virtually impossible to get away to Venice, but in the late […]

What Really Happened in the Yellow House at Arles in 1888?

Lecture In October 1888 Paul Gauguin arrived in Arles to stay at the Yellow House with Vincent van Gogh. At first the friendship worked well and the two artists went out to paint in the countryside around Arles. They also painted side by side on the Alyscamps, an old Roman burial ground, and even shared […]

History of Impressionism

Study Day Session 1  The Establishment of Impressionism The forerunners of Impressionism – Corot, plein air painters and the Barbizon School Constable and Turner Boudin and Jongkind in Le Havre The politics of the Salon under Napoleon 111 Academic painters and the Beaux-Arts tradition Manet, The Dejeuner sur l’Herbe and the Salon des Refuses Degas […]

Turner in Venice 1819-1851

Lecture Turner made his first visit to Venice in 1819 but apart from producing 4 watercolours while there, some illustrations which had been commissioned and a further 2 watercolours for a private client, he did not return to Venice as a subject until 1833 when he saw the success of Samuel Prout and Richard Bonington. […]

British and American Artists in Venice – 1815 to the Present

Lecture   Although Canaletto had successfully painted and sold pictures of Venice in England, Venice was put on the British artistic map by Turner who made three brief visits to the city in 1819, 1833 and 1840. Despite only staying for a short time, Turner produced a huge number of oils and watercolours of Venice. […]

The Extraordinary Life of Misia Sert ‘Queen of Paris’ 1877 – 1950

Lecture Born Marie Godebska, daughter of a Polish sculptor living in France, Misia was brought up in Brussels and Paris where she became a pupil of Gabriel Fauré and a noted concert pianist. In 1893 she married Thadée Natanson owner of ‘La Revue Blanche’ an important art magazine which featured the work of Bonnard, Vuillard, […]

Walter Sickert and the Camden Town School 1905-1918

Lecture Although very influential in English painting, Walter Sickert’s art is sometimes difficult to appreciate. I look at his background as pupil of Whistler, his friendship with Degas and the development of his unique style. I present his superb paintings of the Victorian music halls, of Venice and his Camden Town nudes. A truly international […]

The Stunners : The Private Lives of the Pre-Raphaelites

Lecture The Pre-Raphaelite painters were rebels both artistically and in their conduct which often shocked their Victorian contemporaries. Most indulged in romantic affairs with beautiful women whom Rossetti called ‘The Stunners’. I examine the roles of Fanny Cornforth, Lizzie Siddall, Annie Miller, Janey Morris, Maria Zambaco, Alexa Wilding and Effie Ruskin in the private lives […]

Truth to Nature : The Pre-Raphaelite Landscape 1850-1900

Lecture The Pre-Raphaelites are best known for their figure and religious paintings but they also produced some of the finest landscapes of the 19th century. I look at the landscape background in the famous paintings such as The Blind Girl and The Hireling Shepherd then I go on to look at those Pre-Raphaelite artists who […]

Pre-Raphaelite Art and Design 1848-1914

Lecture The first 12 years of the Pre-Raphaelite Movement are the most revolutionary and significant. I look in detail at how the young Millais, Rossetti and Holman Hunt break with the past and turn their backs on the traditions of academic and romantic painting. I show how they discover true colour from direct observation of […]

The Butterfly on the Lagoon : Whistler in Venice 1879-1880

Lecture This lecture is a detailed examination of Whistler’s 18 months in Venice from 1879 to 1880, starting with his court case against Ruskin which led to his bankruptcy and the loss of his house in Chelsea. I look at how the Fine Art Society in Bond Street funded his trip to Venice and how […]

Pierre Bonnard : Painting with Light

Lecture Bonnard is one of the most popular modern artists, and I will explain this popularity by looking at his life and work. He started out in Paris producing lithographs influenced by Toulouse-Lautrec, before moving onto paintings in oil and distemper of Paris and its people in which he combines, colour, decoration and observation to […]

Modigliani and Bohemian Paris 1906 – 1920

Lecture   Modigliani remains one of the most popular artists of the 20th century. He was born in Italy but moved to Paris in 1906 starting to live a Bohemian lifestyle drifting from studio to studio, drinking heavily and abusing his body with drugs. In 1910 he moved from Montmartre to Montparnasse which became the […]

Toulouse-Lautrec and the Golden Age of Cabaret

Lecture Toulouse-Lautrec’s life is both a triumph against adversity and a sad reflection of late 19th century society in Paris. I discuss Toulouse-Lautrec’s technique of working in oils on board and especially the process of lithography he used to produce posters for the cabarets in Paris. I look at the careers of some of the […]

John Singer Sargent – A Life Through Pictures

Lecture Sargent’s life is full of movement – born in Italy, he studied in Paris, painted portraits in London, produced oils and watercolours in Venice, was a First World War artist, and spent the later years of his life painting murals in Boston. My lecture looks in depth at his amazing portraits analysing just how […]