ADFAS Shoalhaven

Julia Mcmillan, a student from Olivia Corish Studio, opened our lecture on Thursday 27 July. She sang beautifully and showed poise and confidence belying her age.

Jacquie Ansell gave a most engaging and erudite analysis of Rococo art using the masterpiece of Fragonard, Psyche showing her sisters her gifts from Cupid. Through an engaging examination of famous Rococo paintings, Jacquie highlighted the opulence and frivolity of the French aristocracy during the reign of Louis XV. She explained how Madame de Pompadour, the well-educated and respected mistress of the King, became an influential patron of the arts in Paris. 

Edgar Degas: Painting the Darker Side of Life 

Don’t miss our 28 September lecture, at 7.30pm, at Berry Uniting Church Hall, 71-77 Alfred Street, Berry. 

Many stories are told about Degas, his attitudes and his work. This talk will unpick myth from reality, pointing out the strange, even contradictory nature of Degas’ work. We concentrate on portraits and domestic scenes from the 1860s, when he was still in search of an artistic identity. We consider Degas’s tendency to imbue his images with a sense of ambiguity or unease. Is there a logical explanation for these unsettling compositions? We consider possible answers through an examination of Degas’s work and that of contemporaries including Manet, Renoir and Tissot. 

Kathy McLauchlan is a lecturer specialising in 19th century art history, she is currently a course director at the Victoria & Albert Museum, organising courses and study days on the history of art and design. She is also a freelance lecturer who teaches at several institutions, including the Arts Society and Art Pursuits. She is a graduate of Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute, with a Ph.D. in French 19th-century painters in Rome. She has published catalogues and articles for the British Council and the Barbican Art Gallery. For more information on this lecture visit our website:

www.adfas.org.au/societies/shoalhaven/

Maebehe Garcia

Publicity Officer