This series of lectures is held on Fridays at 1:30 p.m. with a repeat on Saturdays at 4 p.m. in the Brown Auditorium Theater. A reception to meet the speaker and a "Your Turn to Speak" tour follow each lecture.
May 9-10: "Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection"
Enjoy an overview of Beyond Craft: Decorative Arts from the Leatrice S. and Melvin B. Eagle Collection, an exhibition that features 85 objects made by international artists from the 1960s to the 2000s. The Eagles were adventurous collectors at a time when the boundaries between high art and studio craft were challenged by cognoscenti. The result is a distinctive collection that reflects the technical innovations and shifting tastes of the last half century in ceramics, fiber art, furniture, glass, jewelry and works on paper. In addition to highlighting works by masters of the medium, this lecture explores artistic movements such as Funk; narrative and functional tendencies; and the role of drawing within decorative artists' careers. Presented by Cindi Strauss, curator of modern and contemporary decorative arts and design.
May 16-17: "Rembrandt's Self-Portraits and Their Secrets"
Rembrandt van Rijn's self-portraits are famous in that they reflect one of the most sustained sequences of self-scrutiny in Western art. But below the surface of some of these extraordinary paintings are unexpected changes and hidden clues to Rembrandt's practice and the workings of his studio. By looking at the results of technical examination, David Bomford explores one of the most fundamental questions of all: The true meaning of authenticity and authorship in Rembrandt's art.
May 23-24: "Brush to Paper: Situating Sargent in the History of Watercolor"
One of John Singer Sargent's favorite media was watercolor, which he embraced throughout his career for its freedom and spontaneity. Water-based painting has been used by Western artists since before the Renaissance, and it reached a height of popularity among artists in England and France during the 18th and 19th centuries. Dena M. Woodall examines the rise of watercolor as an art medium, made possible because of advancements made in pigments, brushes and paper. She also situates Sargent in a broader art historical context, exploring how Sargent adapted watercolor to best capture his subjects.
May 30-31: "Alexander Archipenko in Context"
Alexander Archipenko (1887–1964) invented a whole new way of exploring the human figure not only in his two- and three-dimensional artworks, but also in his "sculpto-paintings" — low-relief collages that mix sculptural volumes and pictorial surfaces. Anna Tahinci examines the artist's evolution from classical to modern and puts Archipenko's radical innovations in the context of European and American avant-garde art. By interlocking concave and convex forms and by experimenting with negative space and hollow voids, Archipenko renewed the depiction of forms and moved from figuration to an almost abstract simplification with originality and freshness.