Exploring light and colour at the National Gallery – from Titian to Velazquez
Starting with the complementary colours in Bellini’s Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan (currently in storage), the group were then immersed in the colour and light of Titian’s renowned artwork. From the translucent fresh face of his portrait of a man, to the rich vibrance of colour and life in his Bacchus and Ariadne, to the more developed realism that invokes a sense of dark foreboding in the Death of Actaeon.
Candida has a talent for bringing these artworks to life and explores the links between periods and the influence of each era on the next. Members discovered that the tendency to portray figures behind a ledge originated with Van Eyk in the early part of the 15th century to create an illusion of depth, that 16th Century Venice saw women used for the first time as models for nudes in artists’ studios, and that the pigments used in Venice were of such high quality that despite their age these paintings have had little need of restoration.
Finishing with 17th Century Spain and exploring the influence of the Venetian masters on this period, Candida completed her tour with Velazquez’s only surviving nude, the provocative Rokeby Venus, who inspired outrage and scandal in the climate of Spain’s Counter-Reformation.
Dukes Club members can enjoy more of Candida’s inspirational art tours during the autumn term. Book using the links below.
Tate Britain Guided Tour - New Directions in 20th Century British painting
The Wallace Collection Guided Tour - Connoisseurs’ Acquisitions
Related