Paintings are silent but they want to tell us things – sometimes they tell simple stories, but sometimes they send subtle messages: messages intended to elevate, educate, warn or criticise. A medieval altarpiece, a Renaissance portrait, a Dutch still life, a Baroque ceiling painting or a Victorian genre scene, all resort to symbolism to tell their stories. This talk looks at the rich tradition of symbols, emblems and allegories used by artists through the ages to tell us more than just meets the eye.
About Lydia Bauman
Born in Poland and studied for her BA in Fine Art at University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne (John Christie Scholarship and the Hatton Award), and an MA in History of Art from Courtauld Institute of Art, London, (19th-20th century art – Distinction for thesis on Matisse’s Illustrations to Poetry). She has since divided her time between painting and exhibiting as well as lecturing widely to adult audiences. She has taught at London’s National Gallery for more than 35 years, and intermittently at Tate Gallery and National Portrait Gallery as well as collections such as Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Hermitage and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, the latter as a guest speaker for travel companies. Since the pandemic began in March 2020 Lydia had devised and delivered a programme of upwards of 180 online lectures to her own group Art For The Uninitiated.
