Scandimania
The Art of the Dark and Frozen North
A Study Day with
Adrian Sumner
Saturday 29 November
Grosvenor Museum,
Chester
Abandon any misconceptions - yes it can be cold, and yes it’s
the Land of the Midnight Sun, but the Art can be a startling and brilliant
revelation. Join me in this expedition of discovery (don’t worry, we probably
won’t have to eat the sled-dogs.) And all in a single day.
10.30am - Arrive, sign in, drink coffee (or possibly tea).
10.45am - Lecture: Edvard
Munch and the Expressionists (vs the World).
A crucial influence
on 20th Century Art, and one of the originators of Expressionism in
Germany, Munch is very much more than his popular image as the poster boy of
Modern Neurosis. This lecture looks at Portraits (and Self-Portraits),
Landscapes (External and Internal),
Public Commissions, Woodcuts and Lithographs, Vampires, Madonnas and the
Nordic Summer Night. Romantic indeed, in
the proper sense of the word.
11.45am - More coffee (unless you’re having tea.)
11.30am - Lecture: Nordic
Landscape.
By which I mean the actual landscape- trees, rivers and so
forth. Looking at the Landscape Art created by the emerging National
Romanticism of the 19th Century, and featuring atmospheric views of
lakes, fjords, forests, snowscapes, and the tiny spaces in them occupied by
mankind. By artists of whose names you may never have heard, but , once seen,
will never forget.
12.30pm - Lunch (Light but filling- includes fruit and drinks.
Not many pies).
1.30pm - Lecture: The
Bridge.
Of all the facets of Nordic Society and Culture covered by
‘Nordic Noir’…in books, films, television…. the one aspect glaringly
conspicuous in its absence, is the Art. Why? Because it isn’t Noir—instead , it’s full of Light
and Hope and, dare I say it, Joie-de-Vivre.
This lecture examines the scope of this art, from Neolithic
stone-scrapings, via the Vikings, to the Golden Age in the 19th
Century, and crucial contribution to Modernism in the 20th. (not just the same
old lecture, by the way, but featuring lots of new slides, artists and musings,
as well as sections on Images of Wildlife and Flora).
3.00pm - Questions, queries, points and issues.
3.30pm - Farewell.
The day costs £15 (yes,
just £15) and includes refreshments and lunch.
For booking, call Adrian Sumner on 01606 782516 or email on
AdrianSu3913842@aol.com
