The Limbourg Brothers, “The Anunciation” from The Belles Heures of Jean de France, duc de Berry, 1405–1408/1409, tempera, gold, and ink on vellum, Metropolitan Art Museum, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/470306
Due to unforeseen circumstances, we will be rescheduling the second Linda Blair lecture to Thursday, February 29, at 7:30 p.m., and the third lecture to Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. Please let us know if you have any questions. We appreciate your patronage.
Thursday, February 29, 2024
7:30 PM
“Art is a mirror held up to the society which birthed it, a whisper from long ago history. It is a code message sent to a timeless future: this is who we were; what we believed; what we valued.”
This lecture opens with exquisite paintings from what is considered “the most valuable book in the world,” the Limbourg Brothers’ Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, richly illustrated scenes drawn from our childhood visions of a castles and kings, knights and ladies—a wondrous world for those of us eager to burrow down into history. We then turn toward the pivotal artist Jan van Eyck, notable not only as one of Europe’s greatest painters, but also as the “inventor” of oil paints over the traditional tempera. (The mixing of ground pigments with oil had been attempted unsuccessfully for centuries, and van Eyck discovered how to make the mixture viable.)
About Linda Blair:
Linda Blair has taught art history for many years, at the La Jolla Athenaeum and UC San Diego Osher; she was a docent at The Cloisters. She holds a BA from Mills College and an MA from USD. She is an active volunteer at UC San Diego, dedicated to raising scholarship funds.
Tickets: $16/21
The lecture will be in person at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library. There are no physical tickets for this event. Your name will be on an attendee list at the front door. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. This event will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of the lecture.
Masks optional. If you have a fever, cough, or flu-like symptoms, please stay home.