In December, the group introduced a short regular slot called ‘Artwork of the Month’.
Member volunteers choose a piece of art that has been in the news.
This informs the group about the artwork and the artist.
This month it was ‘The Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer’ by Gustav Klimt.
The rest of the meeting was built around examples of art used to depict Christmas. We discussed:
- The importance of and symbolism around the Christmas colours (red, green and gold) and how they were embedded in the nativity paintings
- Why the Virgin Mary is often depicted wearing blue
- Ancient celebrations, such as Saturnalia, held in December
- Why robins are associated with Christmas
The work below is by Claude Monet - 'Snow at Argenteuil' - painted in 1875 and currently housed at the National Gallery in London.
In addition, three members shared their thoughts of Christmas with the group:
- Sue Henson explained why the illustrations in ‘Father Christmas’ by Raymond Briggs, and the carol ‘Good King Wenceslas’ illustrated by one of the ‘Glasgow Girls’, Jessie M King, reminded her of Christmas
- Janet Shaw took us all back to our childhoods as she presented a wonderful painting from Rupert Bear ‘Christmas Eve in Nutwood’
- Margaret Brook delved into the history of Christmas cards, including the first card to be printed, and the beautiful artwork associated with them. Jenny also reminded us that Royal Mail (then the General Post Office) only ceased deliveries on Christmas Day in 1960
Before enjoying, our Christmas refreshments, the group completed an art-related Christmas quiz that included the works of Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, Vincent Van Gogh, Haddon Hubbard Sundblom (creator of Santa Claus for Coca Cola), Mark Ryden, Thomas Nast, Giotto, Albrecht Durer and Pieter Bruegel.