Art Firsts, by Nick Trend
Author Nick Trend presents a talk about his recently released book, Art Firsts.
Please note that this event will now take place in the Parish Centre, just over the road from the church.
The book is a highly imaginative approach to art history which tells the story of western painting by tracing the first time that various gestures, emotions, genres, ideas and techniques appear in paintings. So, for example there are chapters on the First Smile, the First Kiss, the First Self Portrait, the First Landscape, the First Abstract Painting etc – there are 30 in all. Each chapter explains the context around the innovation and traces its influence on later works of art. The artists discussed range from Giotto to Banksy, and Botticelli to Jeff Koons. Here are a few examples:
First Self-Portrait: Jan van Eyck, National Gallery, London
First Smile: Portrait of a man, Antonello da Messina, Metropolitan Museum, New York
First Abstract Painting: Hilma af Klint, The Ten Largest, Group IV, No.8, Adulthood, 1907. The Hilma af Klint Foundation, Stockholm.
Nick, who has recently worked on the curatorial team at the National Gallery, is an art historian and journalist who has written about both art and travel for The Telegraph for many years. He has a doctorate in art history and is an experienced public speaker, whose engagements have ranged from after-dinner speeches to presenting academic papers.
Here’s a link to Nick’s publisher’s Website
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