The History of Western Art

The History of Western Art: From Early Italian to Impressionism in the National Gallery. The National Gallery's collection comprises works from the early 13th century up to masterpieces by the Impressionists of the 19th century. The stories behind the pictures are interesting, amusing, unexpected and sometimes surprising. Details such as a peeing child in a beautiful Canaletto, or a portrait of a female rhinoceros who toured London and set a fashion for having one’s hair styled ' a la rhinoceros' - or why the working classes of Paris are happily bathing in the sewage of the city - or why it took 12 years for Renoir to finish a painting. The lecture also looks at technical details such as the sort of wood chosen for the panels and then the subsequent change to canvas in the late 1590s - or the fact that so few frames are original. No more than a handful of pictures in the NG are in the frames originally chosen for them. Restoration, cleaning and display all change how we view a painting and it is important to remember that none of these pictures were produced to hang on the walls of a London gallery. - they have all lived other, often surprising lives. Linda Collins is a lecturer for the Historic Royal Palaces & National Trust, a freelance lecturer at Tate Modern & National Gallery, London, a member of the Association of Art Historians and President of The Arts Society Harpenden Area. Her publications include The Tudors: The Crown, The Dynasty, the Golden Age. Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, Andre Deutsch Publishing, 2019; King & Collector: Henry VIII and the Art of Kingship, Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, The History Press, 2021. and Gloriana: The Art of Elizabeth I, Linda Collins & Siobhan Clarke, The History Press, 2021. Release date to be confirmed.