Art Appreciation: Portraits through the Ages

Portraits have taken many different forms over the past centuries: idealistic, realistic, humorous, flattering, even ugly! They have been created in various sizes from the miniature to the larger than life size, and in a variety of materials, stone, marble, oils, water colours, pastels, photographs and even fruit! We begin by reflecting on why the portrait has remained such a popular subject over time, and then consider a wide variety of works from the ancient world to the 20C, from artists such as Van Eyck, Holbein and Brueghel, to Gainsborough and Angelica Kauffman, and from Ingres and Singer Sargent, to Van Gogh, and Lucien Freud, not forgetting Cecil Beaton. So come and enjoy this feast of art, to gain a deeper insight into how artists developed and employed new techniques and materials to tempt their wealthy patrons while also creating some fascinating views of the lives of the poorer classes.