Winchester Art History Group

Established 2008

Winchester Art History Group was founded in 2008 by local art historian, Bernard Courtis. It offers a programme of themed study on art history topics, with talks from art historians, guided visits to museums and galleries and other places of interest. It is a non profit organisation administered by a group of volunteers.

Current Programme

Singh Twins, Mr Singh's India

Thomas Thomas Rowlandson, Me, My Wife & Daughter 1808, Met Museum, NY

Camille Pissaro Self-portait c. 1890, NGA, Washington

Rembrandt, Buste van oude man met bontmuts., 1630

William Hogarth, Election 1, 1754

Delacroix, Apollo Slaying Python

Prince of Wales and Maharaj Jung Hunting 1876

John Singer Sargent, Treetops against Sky, 1909-1913, Met Museum, NY

Edward Bawden, Working in His Studio

Edward Hopper Ground Swell, 1939 NGA, Washington

Giovanni Bellini, St Francis in the Desert, c1480, Frick Collection, New York

Giovanni Bellini, Portrait of a Young Man, NGA, Washington DC

Alfred Sisley, First snow at Veneux-Nadon, 1878, NGA, Washington

Vincent van Gogh, Green Wheat Fields, Auvers, 1890 NGA, Washington DC

Rivera Diego, Landscape

Ranjit figurine

Paul Gauguin, Fatata te Miti (By the Sea) 1892, NGA, Washington, png

Mary Cassatt, Margot in Orange Dress, 1902, Met Museum,NY

John Edwin Augustus, The Marchesa Casati

Johannes Vermeer, A Lady Writing, c1665 NGA, Washington

Epstein, Jacob, 1880-1959; Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)

George Stubbs, White Poodle in a Punt, 1780, NGA, Washington

Eugene Boudin, Jetty and Wharf at Trouville, 1863, NGA, Washington

Delacroix, Salon du Roi Palais Bourbon Paris

Umberto Boccioni, Testa, luce ambiente, 1912

Harcourt, George, 1868-1947; Portrait of a Young Girl

Segal, Arthur, 1875-1944; Hafen, La Ciotat

Roberts, David, 1796-1864; The Doge's Palace, Venice

Frederick Leighton, Sybil Primrose c1890

John Singer Sargent, Wyndham Sisters

Willens, S.; Old Windmill, Lord Street, Redcar, Tees Valley

THE ART OF THE SUBLIME

The philosophical concept of the sublime is rather different from the present day use of the word, and over centuries it has captivated writers, philosophers, and artists alike. Edmund Burke’s definition of the sublime from 1757 focuses on such terms as darkness, obscurity, privation, vastness, magnificence, loudness and suddenness, and suggests that our reaction is defined by a kind of measurable terror. Feelings of terror, awe, infinity and minuteness course through an experience of the sublime in nature, and for centuries, artists have attempted to recreate that
experience in whatever art form they can use to best expose it. The point of view is territorial and vast, in contrast to the picturesque which is more intimate. The forces overwhelm humans. Because the experience of the sublime is relational – we feel ourselves in relation to something larger than ourselves – artists interested in the sublime use myriad methods and media – from colour and perspective to immersive installations and sound – to create an experience that engages the viewer’s senses and brings them into the work.