Portraiture
Preserving Liberty and Law during the Enlightenment @ London
Our understanding of the meaning of both liberty and justice is at the very heart of the establishment of today’s modern western culture.
Da Vinci’s Painting Show at London – Mysteries Revealed
An exhibition at the National Gallery of London until February 5, 2012 concentrates on work produced during the period of his life spent in Milan when Ludovico Sforza sponsored him (1482 – 1499).
Peabody Essex Museum at Salem – Opening Windows on the World
A connoisseur, scholar and devout Buddhist, within the forbidden city Chinese Emperor Qianlong created a luxurious garden compound to serve throughout his retirement as a secluded place of contemplation, repose and entertainment. When the city was shut down following the Chinese revolution of 1911 – 1912 many of its treasures gathered dust for a century. Now, through a great deal of international cooperation and negotiation they have been conserved and sent on tour.
The Culture Concept Circle – You Tube Channel
On our You Tube Channel you will find our mini-documentaries, which provide an insight into the evolution of art, design, music, fashion and style.
What is an Antique?
An antique is something made in a previous era. However, according to antique dealers, their associations and the tax man, it is not really that simple at all.
Early Civilisations – In the Beginning
All cultures on earth, just like individuals, have distinct modes of existence. Creation stories are something they all have in common in a logical attempt to rationalize the presence of humans on earth.
Ancient Rome – An Important Precinct of Power and Glory
During the reign of Augustus (31BC – 14ACE) Rome emerged as an economically successful city with a population approaching one million. To become a free citizen of Rome was considered a great honour.
Whoever you were if you were born within the boundaries of the Roman Empire you had the right to hold the highest office in the State. Under Augustus the concept of an eternal Rome emerged, revealing its link to the legendary past and its promise of a new era.
Love Jewellery from Cupid to Cartier
When people today talk about jewels, jewellery, gemmology and gems it is clear the vocabulary has become confused. Gemstones are treasured minerals found in the earth. ‘Gems’ are the objects fashioned from them. Jewels are gem ready for mounting into jewellery and other objects of art. And, jewellery – it is the finished product that if its designer from Cupid to Cartier has succeeded, adorns its wearer well.
Australia – Culture in the Colonies
Captain Arthur Phillip laid the foundation stone of Australia’s first government house within four months of sailing into Port Jackson on January 26 1788 with the first fleet. Against a background of a natural environment its indigenous inhabitants had never disturbed, at the time, it was an assertion of culture in the colonies.
Three Wise Men – Achieving Celebrity Status
January 6 the climax of the Christian Twelve Days of Christmas celebrates The Epiphany when three wise men brought gifts of Gold Frankincense and Myrrh to the baby Jesus. But why?
A ‘Compleat’ Gentleman, more than a leader of style
In London much of the development in the eighteenth and early nineteenth century was in the hands of aristocratic landowners. But were they ‘compleat’ gentlemen?
Martha Nussbaum’s Call – Hug the Dragon for Social Profit
American Philosopher Martha C. Nussbaum is the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor of Law and Ethics in the Philosophy Department, Law School, and Divinity School at the University of Chicago. In her short and powerful new book called Not for Profit: Why Democracy Needs the Humanities she makes a passionate case for the importance of the liberal arts at all levels of education. She challenges us all to strive be truly human – ‘to remain childlike, to keep an open mind, to refine an ability to remain humble, to eschew pride and arrogance and to be reverent towards other people and towards the natural world’.
What is a Mirror, more than just Glass?
The mirror, more than just glass, has occupied a unique place in his imagination as a site of the divine or demonic, of lucidity or madness. It is the ‘matrix of the symbolic’ and accompanies the human quest to know and understand our identity.
CLASSIC: Artists & Artisans – Renaissance to Restoration
Classic – is the SECOND part of our four (4) segment course the Evolution of Art, Design & Style. It is available in video, ebook or podcast format and can be watched, read or listened to on your computer, iPad, Kindle or iPod.
Andy Warhol Pop Art Prince – King of People’s Perceptions
20th century Pop Art Prince Andy Warhol knew that works of art meet many needs, including that of the ‘artist’. He didn’t want to pay the wages of art or beauty himself but to provide the lifestyle he wanted to enjoy. He concentrated on graphic works because he knew they would exhibit more than normal significance in a world rapidly being dominated by emerging technologies.
Book Reviews: Abydos & Herculaneum – Understanding Antiquity
Professor David O’Connor and Professor Andrew Wallace-Hadrill have spent a great deal of time excavating and conserving the sites of Abydos in Egypt and Herculaneum in Italy respectively. Both continue to yield spectacular discoveries invaluable to classical historians and the world at large.
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