Liz Prettejohn presents Rumble Fund Lecture 2017

Posted on 10 February 2017

Professor Liz Prettejohn will deliver this year's Rumble Fund Lecture in Classical Art on 'Beauty and Classical Form'.

'Flaming June', Frederic Leighton, 1895 Museo de Arte de Ponce ‌Why do we still experience the visible forms of ancient Greek art as beautiful? It is not difficult to understand why we should find them impressive in their longevity, or informative about the ancient societies for which they were made. But why should they inspire in us the thrill of beauty? And why should they continue to do so in a modern world where the sterner values of politics, economics or social justice may seem dominant? This lecture explores the ways in which modern artists may help us not merely to understand, but genuinely to see the beauty of classical form. It takes as a test case the art of Frederic Leighton (a nineteenth-century painter so often treated with condescension as the last of the ‘academic classicists’). The lecture argues that the seriousness of Leighton’s engagement with classical form may be seen, instead, as progressive and forward-looking.

The lecture takes place on Wednesday 15 March 2017 6:00 – 7:30pm in the Great Hall, King's Building, Strand Campus, King's College London WC2R 2LS

This event is free but registration is essential: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rumble-fund-lecture-in-classical-art-2017-beauty-classical-form-tickets-27066443461

All enquiries: chs@kcl.ac.uk

Liz Prettejohn's co-curated exhibition Flaming June: the Making of an Icon Runs at Leighton House until 2 April 2017, and her co-curated exhibition Alma Tadema: Classical Charm runs at the Fries Museum until 7 February when it will move to the Belvedere Museum in Vienna.