Sunday 28th January
1pm| FREE
RSVP Appreciated
Showcasing Andrew McLeod’s large painting, River (2019), currently on view in “Strange Friends”, join Art Historian David Maskill for this in-depth talk where he considers how McLeod’s work engages with the tradition of western history painting.
Grand in scale and ambition, a world of gods and saints, learned and steeped in the past, history painting was considered the highest and most demanding genre of painting in the western tradition. But, by the middle of the 19th century, it faced a decline in popularity – replaced by art that was firmly grounded in the modern world.
In his recent paintings McLeod revisits this neglected genre. With references to the “Old Masters” in both their subject matter and execution, McLeod suggests there may be some contemporary relevance for this painting tradition.
David Maskill is an art historian. He was senior lecturer in art history at Victoria University of Wellington Te Herenga Waka from 1993-2019, where he taught a range of courses on the western art tradition from late-Roman and Medieval to the 18th century.