The Painted Garden
22 April 2026 - 10 June 2026
10.45 – 12.45 Wednesdays
£83.00 – £552.00
Description
This course will explore the mutually enriching intersection between art and the garden. Often seen as works of art in and of themselves, great gardens have always inspired and delighted those who make and appreciate them. Crossing time periods and cultures, we will explore some of the finest examples of actual gardens full of art and of art full of gardens. We will also consider why artists have for centuries chosen gardens and plants as subject matter for fine paintings and decorative art objects.
“Christine’s previous series on “Iconic Interiors” was a fascinating journey through the world of structured design and its relationship to taste, function, practicality and liveability. It was great to look at all the different styles and trends in a linear fashion. It highlighted what designers were railing against, but also how difficult it was to come up with a style that worked for the masses. All in all, a delight”
Course Outline
22 April 2026 – Introduction to The Course: Tools for Learning
How to Read Paintings
How do we determine whether a painted garden is real or ideal, existing or lost, an accurate representation or aspirational? This session will focus on learning to assess and analyse depictions of painted gardens, flowers and plants.
29 April 2026 – The Italian Renaissance Garden: Spaces,Paintings,
Drawings & Prints Examined
Many of the iconic gardens created in Italy during the 15th and 16th centuries were intentionally conceived as works of art. Often containing fine sculpture, mosaics, fountains and complicated water works, these were spaces full of narrative and dazzling visual effects.
06 May 2026 – The Garden as a Symbol of Love & Meaning
Diverse civilisations have, for centuries, placed great importance on the garden as a focus of storytelling, symbolism and memory. The gardens of China, Japan, India and Europe are frequently depicted in a range of art forms and these constructed spaces and their plants have the power to communicate meaning, beliefs and culture values.
13 May 2026 – Women in The Garden
Painted images of women in the garden abound and it can at times be easy to dismiss these depictions as simply ‘pretty’, decorative works. However, many genre pictures featuring women engaged in various activities in the garden are in fact filled with social comment and sharp observation. We will unpick and ‘read’ some interesting examples.
20 May 2026 – Private Visions & Genre Scenes Set in a London Garden James Tissot in Focus
Accomplished and Sophisticated, French painter Tissot lived in London in the 1870s, during which time he created a beautiful home full of fabulous objets d’art and a large garden boasting a colonnaded reflecting pool and a live-in gardener. His intimate painted scenes, often featuring his mistress in the garden, are full of the detail of domestic life and love.
27 May 2026 – Garden Paintings in The Late 19th & Early 20th Century in France & The USA
Impressions and reflections of hours spent in the garden tell us much about the value placed on these cultivated spaces. They also speak to the period in which they were both designed and enjoyed. Many of the most compelling painted views of gardens are those belonging to the artists themselves. We will consider Claude Monet at Giverny, of course, as well as others in both Europe and the United States.
03 June 2026 – The Golden Age of Garden Painting in Britain
Gardens created as compliments to the new houses built in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods, often in the Arts and Crafts style, continue to influence garden design today. During the same period, the gardens of older properties were also reconsidered and refreshed and an interest in the traditional ‘cottage garden’ grew in parallel. This was a time of great energy and inspiration in domestic design and garden making, which created perfect conditions for artists attracted to the depiction of verdant spaces and floral profusion. Fine artists including John Singer Sargent, Beatrice Parsons, Helen Allingham and Alfred Parsons will be considered.
10 June 2026 – Modern & Contemporary Considerations of Gardens & Landscape
The garden as a setting and also as a subject in its own right continues to be of perennial attraction to artists of all types. Our final lecture will look at the ways in which garden subject matter has evolved across the fine and decorative arts. We will also expand our scope to look at exciting and bold examples of land art and conceptual art.