FREE SPECIAL LECTURE

Attention - Important Notice

The cost of this Special Event
has been reduced to FREE*.

So there's still time to register!

*Those who already paid, will be reimbursed within the next few days.

THE ARTS SOCIETY THE HAGUE

Most kindly invites you to join us for our very

Special Event on Saturday 4th May 2024 at 14.45 hrs.

'HANS HOLBEIN THE YOUNGER - Portraitist of the Renaissance'
 
   
Lecture by Mrs Jane Choy
 
   
Atrium of the Church of Our Saviour Pastoral Center.
[Entrance:  Helenastraat 8, 2595 HA  The Hague]

Please register below, so we know the number persons to prepare coffee/tea, chairs, wine, nibbles for.

Jane has generously offered to deliver this talk, so quality and dedication are guaranteed.

The purpose of this Special Event is twofold:

Not only will you be able to enjoy yet another of Jane´s well-presented and interesting lectures, you´ll also be able to make acquaintance with a possible new venue for The Arts Society The Hague in which the monthly lectures for our new season could be presented.

It all depends of YOU, dear members and guests.  By attending this Special Event in person, we are giving you all a chance to see and experience the Atrium and adjacent Bar, the cloakroom, the area which should provide amble parking places in the evening, and to try-out the public transport to the church.

We hope you will feel at home there, and we, the committee, shall of course pamper you with free coffee/tea before the lecture and a 'gezellig borrel' afterwards.  Please join us, we would like to see as many of you as possible, in fact the more the merrier.  There is room for around 100 people, and so to give as many members as possible a chance to see the Pastoral Centre for themselves, this lecture will not be available by Zoom.

We would like to hear your opinion on this venue as we need to make a decision.  The reason for the proposed change in venue aims to increase our membership and to make our budget more financially sustainable.  The committee works hard to recruit more members, not an easy task, and more members means more income.  We have noticed a wish from our members and guests for more live lectures which we respect and try to fulfill, but this means extra travel costs and ever-increasing lecture fees.  Using this new venue would be beneficial to our society.  Our aim, as always, is to maintain a high quality of lectures, but we also need to balance our books!

The three portraits shown above illustrate:  Hans Holbein the Younger (self-portrait - centre) and his two patrons so to speak:  to his right Erasmus of Rotterdam, painted by Holbein in 1523, and to his left Thomas More, painted in 1527.
 

Erasmus, the humanist, and scholar, played an important role in Holbein's search for work in England, where he went in 1526.  Erasmus' letter of recommendation to his friend Thomas More (also a humanist), introduced Holbein to his circle where he quickly built a high reputation.

Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543) was a German-Swiss painter and printmaker, born in Augsburg, but worked as a young artist mainly in Basel which is where he met Erasmus.

Jane will introduce us to this phenomenal artist, who, through his portraits especially of Henry VIII, his wives and courtiers, has done so much to illustrate this turbulent time.  This 16th century expat travelled to many countries in pursuit of his career, but what makes his work so special?  Why are his portraits so intriguing and fascinating for so many people?  Is it his unbelievably refined technique and the beautiful use of colour which make his paintings come to life?  Or is it his talent in revealing the characters of these people so mercilessly?  His portraits of famous scholars, traders as well as Henry VIII and his marriage candidates and courters show us people of flesh and blood:  powerful personalities, erudite, good natured, industrious, or vulnerable, but also people who radiate cunning and deceit.