HOA Minerva Lecture
On Tuesday (21 November), writer Nick Ross delivered a very cultured and thoroughly insightful Minerva lecture to our History of Art pupils.
The lecture, titled “Love and Marriage in 15th Century Florence”, explored works and themes both inside and outside the curriculum with Nick giving his own unique take on Italian Renaissance masterpieces.
Here is what a couple of our HOA pupils has to say about the talk.
| I thoroughly enjoyed the Minerva lecture by Nick Ross on “Love and Marriage in 15th century Florence”. It was incredibly insightful and full of interesting detail, which we have not covered as part of our History of Art syllabus. I was fascinated by the level of researched context that he talked through with us during the lecture, particularly, the significance of marriage and love in fifteenth century society and how it is conveyed through symbols in art. My favourite part of the lecture was when Nick talked about Botticelli and the way he conveyed various types of love in his painting, such as “La Primavera”, “The Birth of Venus” and “Minerva and the Centaur”. I would love to hear more of his lectures. |
| Anna (I) |
| Nick Ross came to Bradfield this week and gave an incredibly uncensored, captivating talk on his specialty of Renaissance love and marriage. His truthful and satirical approach to Jan Van Eyck’s ‘Arnolfini portrait’, discussing the physical appearance of the wife appearing pregnant, was my highlight. Since I have studied this painting myself, I was aware that she was in fact not pregnant; however, Nick gave an in-depth analysis of why she was made to look this way. I found it absolutely fascinating that Van Eyck intentionally represented her in this way, in order to present the idea that she was fulfilling her marital duties with Giovanni Arnolfini, whilst in the midst of a marriage ceremonial. The sheer amount of research behind his talk was obvious, and was clearly conveyed through his dynamic delivery and thought-provoking presentation, which engaged not only myself but also everyone I was surrounded by. |
| Amy (I) |
The lecture formed just one of a series put on by the College for our scholars. The Minerva Programme encompasses the breadth of academic disciplines available at Bradfield, with this term’s talks exploring a wide range of topics within History of Art, Biology, Politics and Photography to name just a few.
Find out more about the Minerva Programme and this year’s speakers.
