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Students enjoy an engaging art history day!

Students enjoy an engaging art history day!

Tuesday 15 June was Art History Day for year 11 and 13 as part of the June Jubilee Jamboree. 

Dr Susanna Avery-Quash, senior research curator at The National Gallery, and Dr Victoria Avery, keeper of Applied Arts at the Fitzwilliam Museum, both gave lectures on their respective roles and the work which goes on behind the scenes to produce exhibitions and care for collections. 

Students gained an insight into the inner workings of museums and the considerations and logistics which go into exhibition planning. There was also a practical session led by our Art department, looking at Vanitas painting and the motif of the skull through Western Art from the medieval period to the present day.

Students then created their own chiaroscuro charcoal drawings of skulls, inspired by artists as diverse as Leonardo da Vinci and Odilon Redon.