What are Study Days?
Starting at 10:00am and finishing at 3:00pm, Study Days provide three one-hour lectures, linked to a chosen theme. Coffee is served between the morning sessions, and a two-course lunch before the afternoon session. Study Days are held in Oxford at Rewley House, 1 Wellington Square, OX1 2JA, the home of the Oxford University Department of Continuing Education. The lecture theatre has up-to-date audio/visual equipment, including a hearing loop, and there is lift access.
The next Study Day
We are very pleased to announce that our next Study Day will be held on Tuesday 12th January and will be titled The art, life and times of Jan van Eyck.
The speaker will be Dr Sophie Oosterwijk. Sophie was born in the Netherlands. She has an MA in Medieval Studies (York) and a PhD in Art History (Leicester), and an MA and PhD in English Literature (Leiden). She has taught at the universities of St Andrew’s, Leicester and Manchester, at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, National Trust, V&A, U3A, WEA and other organisations, and has organised many study days, tours and visits.
Lecture 1. “Introduction: Jan van Eyck as a portrait painter and court artist”. Virtually nothing is known about Jan van Eyck’s birth, early life or training. He may have worked initially as a court painter for John of Bavaria, Count of Holland, until the latter’s death in 1425. Then Van Eyck’s talent landed him a prestigious position as court painter and valet de chambre to Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. At the same time Van Eyck also ran a flourishing workshop in Bruges, where he started a family with his wife Margaret and where he enjoyed an international reputation with his carefully observed portraits of nobles and burghers until his death at an unknown age in 1441.
Lecture 2. “The Ghent Altarpiece by Hubert and Jan van Eyck”. A great deal of mystery still surrounds the famous Adoration of the Mystic Lamb that the ongoing restoration (since 2012) has not been able to solve. We know that some time in the early 1420s Hubert van Eyck received the commission from a childless couple in Ghent, Judocus Vijd and Lysbette Borluut, for a huge altarpiece to be placed in the newly built Vijd family chapel in the (then) parish church of St John (now St Bavo’s Cathedral) in Ghent. However, the work was still unfinished when Hubert died in 1426 and at some point Jan agreed to continue his late brother’s polyptych, which is named after the mystical scene in the central panel. The work was completed in 1432 but it has suffered many vicissitudes, including the theft in 1934 of a panel, which is still missing today.
Lecture 3. “Jan van Eyck’s other works, reputation and influence”. Jan van Eyck’s output consists of drawings as well as portraits and religious works in different sizes, from the huge Ghent Altarpiece to tiny panels executed in oil. His eye for detail and meticulous execution is evident in all works – eg just note the rendition of the mirror in the famous Arnolfini Portrait (1434) in the National Gallery. Important in all his work is his apparent realism, eg the convincing way he painted different textures from fur and velvet to gold brocade, and the illusionistic tricks he played, especially the use of reflections but also his painted inscriptions on the frames of his paintings. These ‘tricks’ evidently added to his fame and would inspire and influence other artists for centuries to come.
Timetable
09:30-09:50 registration
10:00-11:00 lecture 1
11:00-11:30 break for coffee/tea and biscuits
11:30-12:30 lecture 2
12:30-14:00 break for lunch
14:00-15:00 lecture 3
Buying a ticket
TASO is using TicketSource for the booking process. The tickets will be sold on a first-come first-served basis and paid for by card at the time of purchase. You will not need to print them at home as the organisers will have a list of participants. If you try and buy after all the tickets have been sold, you will be able to add your name at no charge to a waiting list via the TicketSource website.
Booking will open at 10:00am on Tuesday 1st December. More details of the cost and the link to book tickets will be provided nearer the time.
Cancelling
You can cancel by sending an email to tasoxford@gmail.com. Make sure you put Study Day in the subject line of the email. You will not receive a refund, but we will put you in touch with the next person on the waiting list (if there is one). You can then make your own arrangements. TicketSource provides its own insurance against cancellation if you choose to pay extra for it, but you are recommended to read the small print carefully.
Previous Study Days
To read about our previous study days click here
How do I contact the organisers?
If you would like any more general information about Study Days, please contact our organisers – Ann Bevan, Moony Budge, Karen Gleeson and David Stern – at tasoxford@gmail.com. Make sure you put Study Day in the subject line of the email.
Wyvern Area Study Days
We are part of The Arts Society Wyvern Area and our members, and those on the waiting list, are welcome to take part in Wyvern area events. Further details click here