Join Val Woodgate, Art Historian, for a lecture in the series about Victorian art. There are three lectures in this series to be enjoyed but you do not need to attend all. 

More than in any other period, art in the Victorian age gives us a wonderful insight into life and attitudes of the time. Through art we are made aware of the deep gulf between the rich and the poor, the plight of the homeless, the tragedy of the millions forced to emigrate because of economic circumstances, the thrill the Victorians experienced when using the omnibus or the railway, and their attitudes to prostitution, the fallen woman and divorce. 
 
The pictures also reveal the Victorian obsession with sickness and mortality, childhood and love, their fear of female demands for equality and the vote (‘The Woman Problem’), and much much more.

This lecture: Mortality, Love and the Fallen Woman

The theme of love is ever-present, and often the greatest love and fears are centred around children, in particular the danger they faced from illness.  Infant mortality was a very real fear in the Victorian era.
 
Romantic love is another popular subject, often focussing on flirtation, broken promises and rejection.  Also significant were the Fallen Woman, the Social Evil (prostitution), and concern about the Matrimonial Causes Act (1857), which allowed divorce through the Courts for the first time. 
 
An ideal woman was economically, legally, socially and ideologically dependant on her husband. The place of a women, ‘the Angel of the house’, was in the home.
 
The Victorians’ Cult of Death was triggered by the death of Prince Albert in 1861, although the subject was not entirely new.

This talk will take place via Zoom. Details of the zoom link will be sent to participants the day prior to the lecture.

Places: 40
Cost: £10.50