The Forensic Eye

On the 26th November The Arts Society Welwyn Garden, enjoyed an excellent Day of Special Interest led by Chantal Brotherton-Ratcliffe.

Our first session "Looking with eyes wide open" encouraged us to search for clues in the painting itself. The composition of the figures could help to date the painting, and the style. An intriguing detail was the way some artists cunningly disguised their signatures in a  fold of cloth or round a neckline.

In the second session we looked for family likenesses, and details in the way a hand or foot was painted. Drapery also featured and it was fascinating to see the progress an artist could make in expertise in just a few years.

Our last session was interactive and Chantal compiled some features, eg. eyes, hands, and we had to look carefully and with our "forensic eye" indentify them correctly, based on the information we had been given.

The detail on our banner heading is from "Lord John Stuart and his Brother Lord Bernard Stuart " by Anthony van Dyck   1638 (NG)  we looked closely at the hand and glove and the artist's handling of them both.

Thank-you Chantal for an inspiring day.