Apart from the pear tree in which sat the partridge, there are no plants in the 12 days of Christmas according to the folk song. Sadly, even that reference is erroneous, because partridges are ground-dwelling birds. And yet at Christmas we are surrounded by plants. 

This talk puts the record straight and rewrites the zoocentric song replacing partridges with poinsettias and maids with mistletoe.

A reflection on how the ‘Art of the English Garden’ has changed over the centuries.
Moving from classical landscapes through Victorian decadence to modern planting schemes Gillian will discuss how the ideals of the ‘perfect’ garden have changed and are still developing today. The simplicity of William Kent’s Rousham is followed by the ornament of gardens such as Stowe and Stourhead. The impact of the intrepid Plant Hunters will be explored. After visiting some famous 20th century delights, we end with a garden which has maintained its glory and interest over the centuries, Chatsworth.

The 200th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven's death in March 1827 makes it a great time to reassess the legacy of this great composer. Born into a family of court musicians in Bonn, Beethoven became one of the greatest and most disruptive figures in the history of classical music; by the time he died in Vienna he had completely transformed music's cultural landscape.

This lecture reflects on this brilliant, cantankerous, visionary and astonishingly original composer, and traces how he grew from Classical beginnings to become a true Romantic artist, or as he preferred to describe himself, a “poet in sound”.

David Hockney's talents and achievement were widely admired. From his student days in the 1960s to his more recent experiments with photography and digital image making, Hockney enjoyed great success in contemporary art. When many working artists have abandoned drawing, the human figure and landscape, Hockney continued to re-invent traditional subject matter for the modern age. Always honest and driven by his convictions, this artist's gifts have transcended fashion to create an enduring legacy in fine art.

Enlisting a wide group of friends as his models, Hockney returned to the human body while also designing theatre sets, drawing scenes from his travels and adopting the latest technologies in a long tradition of artists enlisting mechanical assistance. This lecture presents the different phases and interests of Hockney's career and attempts to explain why he has continued to enjoy such a dedicated following.

“Westminster Abbey” by Amanda Slater, CC BY-SA 2.0 (flickr.com/photos/pikerslanefarm)

Munich, capital of Bavaria, was the cradle of German culture around 1900. Supported by generous patrons, including ‘mad’ King Ludwig, the city fostered an astonishing array of artists, writers and musicians. It was home to the first artistic Secession, breaking away from the city’s rich though otherwise orthodox academy, as well as the writings of Thomas Mann, the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, and the technological advances of Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW).

But just as creativity and industry thrived, all fuelled by the famous Oktoberfest, so did destruction, with the city becoming home to the new Nazi party. This lecture peers right into the heart of German history, where artistry and annihilation sit side by side.

Dare you think about the things our 18th century forebears did to pursue the social arts of beauty and fashion? We strive for fashionable body shapes and we are prepared to use all sorts of potions and lotions on our skin in our pursuit of the image of beauty. None of this is new. For thousands of years image has influenced our taste and our habits. At no point was this more obvious – or more lampooned – than in the 18th century in Europe. The fashions were excessive, the lotions were poisonous, and the caricaturists were merciless. Try not to squirm as this lecture exposes it all.

Marking the 300th anniversary of his birth (1727) this lecture will look at the life and works of Thomas Gainsborough. Justly considered one of this country’s greatest ever portrait painters, along with his rival Joshua Reynolds, he created what has been called the Golden Age of British Art. Despite achieving great artistic and financial success he actually hated his ‘day job’: “I am sick of portraits,” he said, “and wish very much to take my viol da gamba and walk off to some sweet village where I can paint landskips and enjoy the fag end of life in quietness and ease”. Find out how he achieved acclaim and financial success…and what he would have preferred to be doing. He was, indeed, a dissident at the top of the art world.

The Huguenots came to England in huge numbers in the late 17th century bringing a wide variety of skills - such as silk weavers, silversmiths, clock makers, opticians, bankers, gilders, ironworkers and horticulturists. Names such as Paul de Lamerie, Samuel Courtauld and Jean Tijou spring to mind. In virtually all areas, they were innovators and more advanced than the English who were forced to improve their own skills or go out of business. Although the majority settled in London, others found their way to East Anglia, Macclesfield and Canterbury. This talk examines their lasting legacy.

Before the British arrived in India, the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughal Emperors. The stunning buildings and gardens they constructed from the 16th to the 18th century left an indelible stamp on India’s architectural and cultural landscape. From the Jama Masjid in Delhi, to the Taj Mahal in Agra, to the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, this lecture will take you on a tour of some of India’s greatest buildings, and provide insight into the historical contexts and colourful personalities involved in their construction.

An in-depth look at how artists have portrayed a powerful woman over 2,000 years. Cleopatra, the woman for whose love’s sake Antony is imagined to have given up the chance to rule the Roman world, has been inspiring painters, poets and film-makers for over two millennia. Their gorgeously voluptuous depictions of her offer insights into changing concepts of beauty, and into the racial and sexual assumptions underlying them. Showing images ranging from Roman portrait busts, through medieval illuminations, the glorious works of Renaissance masters like Michelangelo, the splendour of Tiepolo and the exoticism of Gustave Moreau to 20th century film stars, this lecture will show how Cleopatra became a screen onto which artists have projected their wildly differing fantasies about exotic danger and erotic bliss.

The foods we eat at Christmas have a long, curious, and visually spectacular history, from medieval boar’s head and brawn, by way of highly decorated seventeenthcentury mince pies, to the almost forgotten Twelfth Night Cake.

Medieval illuminated manuscripts, paintings and prints from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries, and illustrations from cookery books, provide us with images of some of the lost glories of the British Christmas feast.