In the 1850s, when Oxford University scientists were seeking inspiration for their new Museum, they turned to the bold, avant-garde art movement of their day – the Pre-Raphaelites. Guided by John Ruskin’s call for ‘truth to nature’ in art, their principles and practices shaped the decoration of this intricate and stunning building.
In a talk on the museum, John Holmes, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at the University of Reading and Chair of the BSLS, explores how the Pre-Raphaelites became involved in the design of the Museum and reveals how the building as a whole encapsulates in stone, iron, and glass its own scientific conception of the truth of the natural world.
Friday 30th November 2012, 5 p.m.
Museum of Natural History, Parks Road,
Oxford, OX1 3PW
Comments
One response to “A Pre-Raphaelite Museum”
[…] a talk on the Oxford University Museum as a Pre-Raphaelite museum in a couple of weeks – please click on this link for the flier if you would like to come […]