NB - This course starts on 29th September and finishes on 3rd November

We look at paintings and compare them with the ‘real world’. For example, the romanticized illusion of the milkmaid or haymaker – the reality was quite different! We study the paintings and what they are telling us about the social history of the period, by each week picking a particular theme to explore.

The most popular paintings in the Victorian period were narrative – they told a story; it could be one of fiction or of social conditions or, importantly, moral warning! These paintings present potent images of various aspects of 19c society, giving the modern viewer insight into daily life - offering a particular image which has to be unravelled in order to see what actually lies behind the image. A painter may wish to express an emotion or show the plight of the poor, women’s enslavement to society, effects of industry, power of the wealthy.

The narrative might be one of optimism – a love story with a happy ending or jubilant homecoming. It might be tragic or melodramatic – a letter arriving that tells of betrothal to another, or more commonly, death of a loved one. Within the paintings lie various conventions that require decoding; not knowing the code can change the meaning completely. Symbolism is widely used, as well as literary and artistic allusions. The image on the canvas is what the artist wants the viewer to see so (as with photography), it is not necessarily truthful, and is often fanciful.

Illustrated with many paintings on powerpoint slideshows.

Formerly an Associate Tutor for CCE at the University of Sussex, Sarah Tobias is an experienced and sympathetic adult education tutor who started her teaching career 26 years ago at Rottingdean Whiteway Centre. She has a Diploma in European Humanities; BA Hons in History and European Humanities; Master’s Degree in Histories and Cultures and Certificates in Further Education Teaching. Sarah is a social, cultural and local historian and an established, experienced university lecturer, college tutor, public speaker (over 30 subjects), tour guide and writer. She is also an occasional dramatic narrator, costumed role player, playwright and filmmaker. https://sarah-tobias.blogspot.com/