The Arts Society, Isle of Wight, will be presenting the first lecture of its new season on TUESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER at 2.00pm, at Northwood House, Cowes

‘The ‘Shakespeare of Sculpture’: the dynamic Baroque works of Gian Lorenzo Bernini by Justin Reay

Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) was a polymath of the visual arts working at the height of the Italian Baroque. A painter of small canvases, a playwright, actor and theatre scenery designer, and designer of a wide range of decorative art objects, he was renowned as an architect and, above all, as a sculptor.

He gained commissions from an early age, designing architectural features such as the Baldacchino in St Peter’s Basilica and the colonnade of the Piazza, and large fountains across 17th century Rome. It is his figurative sculpture however which ensures his reputation as one of the greatest European sculptors, in some ways surpassing those of Michelangelo, Canova and Rodin. His works were famous in his lifetime, and are credited with introducing the dynamic form of the Baroque into sculpture.

Justin discusses Bernini’s life and reputation and describes several of his key works including Apollo and Daphne, the Ecstasy of Saint Theresa, David, and the intriguing character studies of Charles I and of Louis XIV.

Justin Reay FSA FRHistS After officer service in the Royal Navy, Justin entered a long career in business, becoming Director of European Business and Cultural Studies for a Japanese executive school in Oxford and Washington DC. Retiring from business in 2001, Justin studied the History of Art and Architecture at Oxford and was awarded the University’s Diploma with Distinction. He frequently wrote on naval history in this period, researching the architectural history of the Admiralty in London, which prompted him to study the History of Art, and undertaking a doctoral thesis in medieval naval weapon systems at the University of Exeter.

For six years from 2004 Justin delivered courses in the Oxford / UCal Berkeley residential programmes. A qualified teacher, he was commissioned to create a teaching guide and resources portfolio on the Spanish royal art collections for Oxford’s Department for Continuing Education. He is a tutor in the History of Art and Architecture, Classical Studies, Academic Writing and Critical Thinking for tutorial colleges in Oxford, and privately tutors undergraduate and post-graduate students. Formerly a senior academic manager at the Bodleian Library, Justin is a published historian. Among his impending works are an edition of Samuel Pepys’s naval papers in the Bodleian’s collections, and his study of the Admiralty Buildings in London. He is frequently engaged as an enrichment speaker on art history for a major cruise line. Justin is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and of the Royal Historical Society, a Founder Member of the Grinling Gibbons Society, a member of the Catalogue Raisonné Scholars Association, New York, and a member of the Arts Society Cheltenham.

There are places for visitors at all lectures for £10 per person but booking must be made in advance to [email protected]

Find out more about the society at www.theartssocietyisleofwight.org.uk