Art History in the Pub for August

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Claire Trevien (University of Warwick) will speak on ‘Caricaturing Charlatans: Depictions of Science in French Revolutionary prints’



Tuesday 21 August 2012, 7.30 p.m.

The Monarch, Camden: 
40–42 Chalk Farm Road
, Greater London, NW1 8BG


Free to attend
 

The regular ‘Art History in the Pub’ series of talks, lectures and events present a selection of the wide variety of topics, periods, methods and approaches common in art historical study, and are aimed at a generalist audience.

The next speaker is Claire Trevien, who has recently submitted her doctoral thesis at the University of Warwick, speaking about the depiction of science during the French Revolution. Please note that unlike most of these talks, this one is on a Tuesday. This talk will be an introduction to charlatan iconography, specifically in prints, before and during the French Revolution, demonstrating the blurred line between science and charlatanism in 18th-century France. It is an understatement to say that pre-Revolutionary France was infatuated with science and more particularly, experimental physics. Scientific instruments were built not just for investigative purposes but for entertainment too and displayed in many spaces that lent them a theatrical quality.

Come along and learn more about this fascinating period – all welcome.