Art Appreciation – November / December 2021
On November 8th, due to expanding numbers, the Art Appreciation Group met in the Mayor’s Parlour in the Manor House for the first time. The new venue worked well for the most part. It is a gracious room, and having the original wooden shutters, it offers good blackout capability for projecting pictures on the wall.
The focus of our meeting was a presentation on by David Gearing. I’m sure all those who were able to attend the meeting will agree that the time David spent researching Lippi during lockdown was very well spent. We all came away with a much clearer picture of the artist, his body of work and his significance in the history of art.
He was orphaned at an early age and brought up in a Carmelite convent, eventually becoming a monk himself and being ordained as a priest. It is said that he was inspired to paint when he saw Masaccio at work in the Carmine church. He later left the monastery and despite his religious background, led a life full of incident, not to mention scandal, but nonetheless was in great demand due to his mastery of the complexities of the artistic techniques of the time. Looking at pictures of his work and seeing them in the context of other artists earlier and contemporaneous with him, it was clear to see why he was so much in demand despite his interestingly dubious lifestyle!
Our next meeting will again be in the Mayor’s Parlour at the Manor House on December 13th at 2pm, when we will be sharing our own choices of art work with the group on the theme of ‘Celebration’ or ‘Entertainment’ as befits the approach of the festive season. There may also be a little quiz for some seasonal entertainment.
Lynne Vick, Convener