It goes without saying that colour is an essential element of art.  Used throughout history, artists use colour to describe a subject, to create mood, and to convey meaning through cultural connections and resonances.  Following on from the recent success of the Colour in Art series, Martin will be taking a deeper look at Violet.  
 

In late Medieval and Renaissance art, purple often symbolised divine majesty and heaven. Renaissance artists from Venice particularly embraced the colour. In  the nineteenth century, with the development of new pigments, violet and purple became more prevalent in both classically inspired paintings and notably in the work of the French Impressionists.
 

This talk considers diverse examples from western art history in which this colour is used to great advantage.
 

Martin will provide a list of helpful books and links to further explore on a PDF following each of the talks via the class information page.