Studio of Allen Ramsay, George III, ca 1765

This version: Adelaide, The Art Gallery of South Australia, via Wikimedia Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Allan_Ramsay_-_King_George_III_in_coronation_robes_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

In an age of royal absolutism throughout most of Europe, the role of a court painter was more critical than ever in perpetuating the idea of divinely ordained power. Yet in England, things were a little different. The years 1642-88 were witness to, in succession, civil war, parliamentary rule, Restoration, further rebellion, and finally the establishment of a legally-restrained form of monarchy. A royal painter on this side of the Channel had to understand all of the above without causing the royal image any loss of majesty. We shall study the portraits of such Painters in Ordinary to the King as Sirs Peter Lely, Godfrey Kneller, and Thomas Lawrence.

We shall also examine the work of their French and Spanish contemporaries: Charles le Brun, François Boucher, and Francisco Goya, among others.

RJW F2310 Online course (via Zoom)

A 5-hour short course, delivered via 2 x 2½-hour sessions on consecutive Saturdays (Saturday 3 & Saturday 10 June, 10.30-1.00).

£40 (individual registration); £72 (for two people sharing one screen).