London Through the Eyes of Foreign Artists

Townscapes are an important type of landscape. A series of talks seeks to inform about London Through the Eyes of Foreign Artists. These are organised by Gresham College which is an independent educational institution based in Barnard's Inn, Holborn.

The first one, which I missed, was on Monday this week. Foreign Artists in 16th Century London was about the foreign artists, such as the German, Hans Holbein, and Netherlandish artists such as Hans Eworth and William Scrouts who were working in London in the sixteenth century.

The next ones are much more about artists who have portrayed the landscape of London and in particular the River Thames.

The cover of Canaletto
by JG Links (Phaidon).

The book cover is part of a painting
Canaletto, London, The City seen through one of the Arches of Westminster Bridge, c. 1746. Collection of the Duke of Northumberland

Canaletto: Grand Designs is the title of a talk given by Martin Gayford at the Museum of London on Monday 8th March at 1.00pm

In 1746 the great Venetian artist, Canaletto, moved to London following the market and wealth for his work. Nine years later, he left the city attacked by the critics as repetitive and a fake.

What was 18th Century London like to be the centre of such hope and disappointment? How did Canaletto feel about the city, and how are we to assess these views today?

Monet: The River of Dreams is a lecture by Professor John House (Walter H Annenberg Professor at the Courtauld Institute of Art) on 15th March at 1.00pm at the Museum of London.

Claude Monet visited London numerous times between 1870 and 1901, painting some of his most important works in the city.

Why was he repeatedly attracted back to the foggy and overpopulated urban capital when his impressionist work was otherwise so concerned with light and nature? What was the city like when he visited it in the 1870s and 80s? How was he received by the London art establishment at that time?

The final lecture - which i'm less interested in is Feliks Topolski: Eye-Witness to the 20th Century