This special Christmas-themed lecture will explore how the Most Wonderful Time of the Year has been visualised by some of history’s most notable artists. Scenes like The Nativity and The Adoration of the Magi have been commonplace in Christian Art since Antiquity. However, artists such as Giotto, Sandro Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, and more have presented these well-worn subjects in novel ways which reveal fascinating insights into their working methods, the social divisions which defined their cultures, and the most turbulent spiritual crises that permeated all aspects of society. Winter scenes in visual art have their own history outside the bounds of Christianity, however, and Dr Whyte will examine how the winter landscape has provided a lens for visual artists from the Middle Ages to the present day to elaborate a wide array of ideas and practices, from work to leisure, national identity to deep personal feeling. This is a perfect way for art lovers to ring in the Christmas Season! About Dr Matthew Whyte is an Art Historian. He is Assistant Lecturer in History of Art in University College Cork since 2014. He is also Development & Communications Coordinator with Sample-Studios, where he contributes to the strategic development of one of Ireland's largest artist studio organisations.
Image: Sandro Botticelli, The Mystic Nativity (detail) (1500; London, National Gallery). Credit: Wikipedia Commons