An 8 part series from January – May 2025, @ Society Dubai
In the busyness of our day-to-day lives we find – perhaps today more than ever – a need to stop, to breathe, to think. To look at something beautiful, inspiring and uplifting. To hear stories that are thought-provoking and challenging. To be reminded of the determination, fragility and resilience of the human condition.
The astonishing innovations of Italian Renaissance art do all this and more.
Join Rose Balston at Society Dubai, Jumeirah 1, to get under the skin of this extraordinary period, and learn about the Greatest Storytellers of this immense cultural boom.
The story of the Renaissance will be unveiled through the lives and art of eight of the most ground-breaking artists of the era. As Rose unlocks their personal tales, you will learn about the ways in which they crafted their art, and how they spun some of the most epic stories of human history. From Venice to Florence, Padua and Rome, you will come away with a deep understanding and revitalised interest in this most thrilling period of human cultural history.
This course is suitable for everyone, from first-timers to art history old hands. Talks can be attended as one-offs, but to get the most out of the period, buy a discounted bundle of eight.
Travelling from Venice to Paris, we will follow the trailblazing painter Rosalba Carriera. A canny businesswoman, Carriera realised the potential of pastel painting and was soon working for the aristocratic clientele of the Grand Tour world. The British, French and German travellers flocked to secure commissions, and visit her in her Venetian Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. In Paris she stunned the French establishment so much she was unanimously elected to the Royal Academy of painting. As a highly successful, unmarried woman of international fame, Rosalba Carriera was one of Europe’s great 18th century cultural celebrities.
I will start with Giotto, the artist known as the Father of the Renaissance. In this talk I will unveil the story of the exquisitely beautiful Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, a place where countless future artists cut their teeth and learnt their trade. Rich in detail, heartfelt, funny and utterly memorable, let’s find out why he was called the great ‘Father’.
Travelling from Venice to Paris, we will follow the trailblazing painter Rosalba Carriera. A canny businesswoman, Carriera realised the potential of pastel painting and was soon working for the aristocratic clientele of the Grand Tour world. The British, French and German travellers flocked to secure commissions, and visit her in her Venetian Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. In Paris she stunned the French establishment so much she was unanimously elected to the Royal Academy of painting. As a highly successful, unmarried woman of international fame, Rosalba Carriera was one of Europe’s great 18th century cultural celebrities.
With Donatello, we learn it is quite feasible to look at a piece of his art and start to cry. Or laugh out loud. Or be shocked to the core. I will tell Donatello’s tale, discussing his close relationship with the Medici family, revealing the essence of his sculptures, and unpacking the complex symbolism of one of the most bizarre pieces of all – his bronze David.
Travelling from Venice to Paris, we will follow the trailblazing painter Rosalba Carriera. A canny businesswoman, Carriera realised the potential of pastel painting and was soon working for the aristocratic clientele of the Grand Tour world. The British, French and German travellers flocked to secure commissions, and visit her in her Venetian Palazzo overlooking the Grand Canal. In Paris she stunned the French establishment so much she was unanimously elected to the Royal Academy of painting. As a highly successful, unmarried woman of international fame, Rosalba Carriera was one of Europe’s great 18th century cultural celebrities.
Piero della Francesca is one of the most wonderful Renaissance artists – but one who has been much underrated in the face of more famous names from the period. Join me on a very personal Piero Pilgrimage. One that will take us right to the edge of Tuscany, to the border of Le Marche and Umbria, away from the tourist trail of Florence and Rome. To learn of Piero’s powerful stories I will follow a particular route I made in 2019 to find some extraordinary off-the-beaten track treasures – treasures I had been waiting 20 years to see in person.
Alongside the French Revolution of 1789, a cultural revolution was also brewing – the emergence of the female painter and the story of artistic equality. Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun and Adélaïde Labille-Guiard are thrilling examples of female success in a man’s world. They take the official institutions by storm and defy convention at every step of the way.
In the tumultuous lead-up to the opening years of the 19th century, with upheaval churning all around them, we’ll question the way they depicted Queen Marie Antoinette and the royal family in a time of unprecedented change. We’ll look at their attitudes to the shifting role of motherhood, and above all, how they used the self-portrait to show the world that women artists could provide fresh perspectives for a new artistic future.
Botticelli. Mythology. Beautiful faces and enviable hair. Nudes. Sumptuous, rich, symbolic and sexy paintings. But throwing his canvases onto a fire? His brother joining a band of fundamentalists? I will look at Botticelli before and after the great ravaging of the glittering city of Florence. From a story of sauciness and good humour, we will then descend into one of the darkest, and most misunderstood paintings of the Italian Renaissance. Prepare yourselves for a few surprises…
Angelica Kauffman was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Alongside her friend Joshua Reynolds, Kauffman forged a highly successful career and achieved international renown – not only as a sought-after portrait painter but also as a committed history painter.
Why then, did fellow Royal Academician Johan Zoffany, remove Kauffman from his famous painting the “Academicians of the Royal Academy”, three years after foundation of the institution? Instead, she and her fellow female academician Mary Moser, are depicted as busts, shown in the background. Objects of male contemplation. Demoted so drastically that the short flame of hope at their election was almost immediately snuffed out.
In this concluding talk we’ll spotlight Angelica’s incredibly successful career. But also – importantly – look again to the wrongs of art history.
There was no turning back after Leonardo. Once his sublime paintings had been created, the Renaissance gets a big tick in the box. So what made him so extraordinary? Why are his paintings so eye-wateringly special and how could he illustrate such nebulous concepts as divinity and love? By carefully unpicking the intricacies of the “The Last Supper” I will show you how. In this astonishingly powerful painting, the greatest story of all is revealed.
Angelica Kauffman was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Alongside her friend Joshua Reynolds, Kauffman forged a highly successful career and achieved international renown – not only as a sought-after portrait painter but also as a committed history painter.
Why then, did fellow Royal Academician Johan Zoffany, remove Kauffman from his famous painting the “Academicians of the Royal Academy”, three years after foundation of the institution? Instead, she and her fellow female academician Mary Moser, are depicted as busts, shown in the background. Objects of male contemplation. Demoted so drastically that the short flame of hope at their election was almost immediately snuffed out.
In this concluding talk we’ll spotlight Angelica’s incredibly successful career. But also – importantly – look again to the wrongs of art history.
Have you ever been to the Vatican, traipsed down corridor after corridor, room after room, been pushed and pulled by crowds, and ended up in the Sistine Chapel? The guards shout ‘no photo’. Everyone is jostling. And the frescoes above you are darker than expected. What does it all mean? This ceiling needs time, space and consideration. I will reveal each layer of meaning and explore the philosophies behind this sensationally exciting masterpiece.
Angelica Kauffman was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Alongside her friend Joshua Reynolds, Kauffman forged a highly successful career and achieved international renown – not only as a sought-after portrait painter but also as a committed history painter.
Why then, did fellow Royal Academician Johan Zoffany, remove Kauffman from his famous painting the “Academicians of the Royal Academy”, three years after foundation of the institution? Instead, she and her fellow female academician Mary Moser, are depicted as busts, shown in the background. Objects of male contemplation. Demoted so drastically that the short flame of hope at their election was almost immediately snuffed out.
In this concluding talk we’ll spotlight Angelica’s incredibly successful career. But also – importantly – look again to the wrongs of art history.
More than any other Renaissance artist, Giorgione best sums up the spirit of Venice. His elusive paintings generate mood, atmosphere, often a feeling of instability and the unknown, beautifully paralleling the exquisite La Serenissama herself. His stories are powerfully evocative and colours sensationally modern. Join me on a journey into the heart of Venice, to learn about her most intriguing artist.
Angelica Kauffman was one of the founding members of the Royal Academy of Arts in London. Alongside her friend Joshua Reynolds, Kauffman forged a highly successful career and achieved international renown – not only as a sought-after portrait painter but also as a committed history painter.
Why then, did fellow Royal Academician Johan Zoffany, remove Kauffman from his famous painting the “Academicians of the Royal Academy”, three years after foundation of the institution? Instead, she and her fellow female academician Mary Moser, are depicted as busts, shown in the background. Objects of male contemplation. Demoted so drastically that the short flame of hope at their election was almost immediately snuffed out.
In this concluding talk we’ll spotlight Angelica’s incredibly successful career. But also – importantly – look again to the wrongs of art history.
Titian. Tiziano Vecelli. Just saying his name is pleasurable. Everything about this sensuous artist from the world’s most sensuous town (Venice) is to do with pleasure. The pleasure of colour, skin tone, mythology, poetry. In this talk I will focus on the sensational “Poésie” series, created for Phillip II of Spain. The mythological stories will have you reeling in awe, both at Titian’s painting prowess and the very tales themselves. Think sex, power, betrayal and death. The “Poésie” has it all.
For speaking engagements, tour enquiries and other information, please email Rose on: rose@rosebalston.com.
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