Thursday 12th December 2024 10.45am and 2.15pm. Simultaneous transmission a.m. only
Sarah Ciacci
Report:
The Arts Society Henley (TASH) was given a visual treat on 12th December by Sarah Ciacci. She illustrated the Christmas Story using paintings from the Renaissance to the sixteenth century, using both well-known paintings and also lesser-known but still excellent paintings. Illustrations of the Christmas story started with the adoption of Christianity by the Roman Empire, but early illustrations were essentially stylised, and it was only in the Renaissance that paintings became more realistic and often highly decorated, as new materials became available to artists. The lecture was divided by events in the Christmas story, such as the Annunciation, the Birth, the Arrival of the Magi, the Arrival of the Shepherds and the Slaughter of the Innocents and the Flight into Egypt. There was much symbolism, as artists also sought to bring in metaphors to Christ's death on the cross, and to other events in His life. There are more paintings of certain subjects. For instance, there are many paintings of the Magi, because the artists draw parallels with their wealthy patrons, and also analogies with the Slaughter of the Innocents in the lives of ordinary people in the Renaissance. Many of the artists also drew on apocryphal stories of the birth of Christ, such as that of the origins of the Magi in Europe, Asia and Africa. Sarah Ciacci is a well-known art historian, and drew widely on art collections for her lecture, including from the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the National Gallery in Washington DC. She was able to shed new light on the paintings, which illustrate a well-known story but where not all the symbolism is apparent to modern eyes. TASH members thoroughly enjoyed it; the ability to have coffee and lunch with fellow members enhanced the occasion, and sent everyone home with a keen anticipation of the Christmas season.
In this talk we will look at works of art that depict episodes from the story of Christmas.
(Please click on the blue print above to continue reading)
We will look at paintings of Mary and Joseph, as well as Mary with her baby son Jesus, we will see the Shepherds and the Three Kings visiting the new-born child, and see how artists have depicted these scenes differently over the centuries to remind us of the story of Christmas.
Sarah Ciacci has an MA in History of Art (Late 19th century French Painting and 20th Century Art) from University College London. She has been a Blue Badge Guide for London since 2008, specialising in art, museums and galleries, so relevant tours and visits for talks can be arranged. Since 2008 she has trained Blue Badge Guides in the National Gallery and is an art lecturer for trainee guides in Tate Britain, Tate Modern and for a period the National Portrait Gallery. She is a gallery educator and Adjunct Faculty at Richmond University (since 2008) teaching the History of British Art, the History of Museums in London and the History of London, and runs regular courses and independent lectures on a variety of art historical periods.
