LECTURE PROGRAMME VENUE: The Theatre of the Guildhall Arts Centre, St Peter’s Hill, Grantham 09.50 – 10.25 Coffee/Tea (complimentary to members) 10.50 Please be seated for Chairman’s welcome and notices 11.00 Lecture begins promptly 12.00 noon Approximate end of lecture GUESTS Please notify the Membership Secretary at least 7 days before the Lecture. A Guest will have free entry on their first visit, after which they can attend one additional lecture which will be charged at a fee of £5. Please ensure your mobile phone is switched off. 2022/23 Membership year 7th November 2023 Ian Keable Art of Trickery This talk is on how magicians have appeared in art throughout the centuries, whether in paintings, satirical prints or cartoons. Early artists used the magician to symbolise the mysterious and the unknown, associating them with astrology and tarot cards. In the 16th century, Pieter Bruegel and Hieronymus Bosch produced two of the most famous and striking pictures of the conjurer performing the Cups and Balls trick. The 18th and 19th century saw a proliferation in engravings and lithographs showing the magician both indoors and on the streets. Cartoonists and satirists delighted in linking politicians with skulduggery with images of them featuring the Three-Card Trick, Vanishing illusions or pulling a Rabbit out of the Hat. Photo: Hieronymous Bosch, The Conjurer. Wikipedia via Glenda 21st November 2023 James Campbell Shepard’s Christmas E H Shepard loved Christmas, and this lecture describes, including his own words much of the magic and joy of successive festive seasons, from those of his own childhood to others throughout his long life. We see a range of artistic styles from full colour images to pen-and-ink personal Christmas cards, with cartoons, drawings and watercolours, some featuring the iconic images from the Wind in the Willows (the snow in the Wild Wood…) and Winnie-the-Pooh (Pooh and Piglet from The House at Pooh Corner). Many of the images have not been published for over fifty years. it Not To Be Reproduced and Copyright The Shepard Trust. You can see from the above dates that there are two meetings in November and none in December. This is because during the Festive Season the Guildhall accommodates events which require frequent rehearsals, so we are unable to book the Lecture Theatre during December. In January, we revert to the "every third Tuesday of the month" norm. 2024 16th January 2024 Jennifer Browning Rutland Roman Villa Mosaic Seeing the complete picture: discoveries at a Roman villa in Rutland A new Roman villa was discovered during lockdown in Rutland in 2020, prompting a series of archaeological investigations, carried out primarily by the University of Leicester and Historic England. This extraordinary site is famous for the widely publicised figured mosaic, which depicts scenes from the mythical Trojan War. Having completed fieldwork in September 2022, analysis is now in the early stages. This talk will describe the discovery and place the mosaic in the wider complex, based on the evidence to date. The talk will also discuss the artwork of the mosaic and its significance. Achilles face Horses Photos: Jennifer Browning 20th February 2024 Valerie Shrimplin Art & Astronomy - Sir Christopher Wren: Architect- Astronomer Having designed St Paul’s Cathedral and more than 50 other London Churches after the Great Fire of London (1666), Sir Christopher Wren is better known as an architect rather than astronomer. But, as a Professor of Astronomy for the first part of his career, much of his architectural work still echoes his earlier astronomical and scientific ideas. Drawing on Wren’s role as a Professor of Astronomy (and details that survive of some of his lectures) this talk will aim to bridge the gap between the two major aspects of Wren’s career by focussing on the astronomical elements that influenced his later architectural career, especially the astronomical symbolism and significance of St Paul’s Cathedral and other selected Wren churches in the City of London. Christopher Wren by Godfrey Kneller 1711 Public Domain 19th March 2024 Steve King The Story behind the Song Save The Last Dance For Me was recorded by the Drifters in 1960, with Ben E King on lead vocals, but what single event in the life of one of its writers inspired the track? Was Every Breath You Take by The Police really written as a love song? What is the truth about the Beatles song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, and why did George Harrison stop composing for three years in 1976? We all have personal memories we associate with individual songs, but each song has its own story. In this lecture, the real stories behind some the world’s best known songs are revealed. 16th April 2024 Nirvana Romell FRESCOES OF FLORENCE – From Giotto To Masaccio Florence boasts a wealth of frescoes, from Giotto to Masaccio thanks to the 'original oligarchs' (wealthy Florentine patrons and their numerous private chapels). By Masaccio - book: John T. Spike, Masaccio, Rizzoli libri illustrati, Milano 2002, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7279949 21st May 2024 Sophie Matthews MUSIC IN ART So many of our historical references for musical instruments can be found in works of art. Not only can these windows into the past show us what the instruments looked like but also the social context in which they would have been played. Music and different instruments also play a strong role within symbolism in art. Sophie explores the instruments in selected works and then gives live demonstrations on replicas of the instruments depicted. Musicerende_engelen,_Hans_Memling,_(1483- 1494) 18th June 2024 Andy McConnell Bottoms Up! A History of Wine, its Rituals and its Vessels This light-hearted talk examines the history of wine, an elixir that has sustained much of humanity for almost 10,000 years. Essentially little more than fermented grape juice, this extraordinary and contradictory liquid has caused wars and riots, has helped broker peace and more commonly, served as an aphrodisiac. It has been personified in the form of Gods and been the principal catalyst in civilised entertaining and dining rituals. Bottom’s Up! traces the story of wine: from its humble beginnings in rotting grapes before the Bronze Age to the present . It examines the extraordinary diversity of paintings and artefacts, including drinking vessels, created by some of history’s greatest artists and craftsmen to enhance the pleasure of wine, and to impress guests. The talk visits the ancient societies of Egypt, Greece and Rome, travels through the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and 18th century Britain. It culminates in the present day, when more wine is being consumed than ever before, with its world market now worth over £100 billion. The acknowledgement for the attached illustration is Wikipedia Commons/b/b9/carafe_iran.jpeg Web site designed, created and maintained by Janet Groome Handshake Computer Training