Today's lecture explores the story of Chinese porcelain for emperors and export. The technical ingenuity of China's potters, cultivated by emperors, stimulated an export trade in porcelain at first to the Middle East and later to the West. These countless millions of porcelain wares destined for palaces, aristocratic or town houses, were carried on ships propelled by trade winds on seas of a colour which matched the coveted blue and white Chinese porcelains.

Antoni Gaudí is well known and much loved. In this lecture we investigate how deeply he engaged with nature - and in the most innovative and extraordinary ways. We will also place him in context, by exploring buildings by other Catalan architects of the period.

From the earliest days of photography women claimed this new art for their own. In today's lecture Suzanne Fagence Cooper examines two centuries of photography through the works of pioneering female photographers, from Julia Margaret Cameron, through the protest images of Olive Edis, to the uncompromising reportage of war correspondent Lee Miller.

Today we explore Niven's remarkable life and career in cinema, from movie extra to Hollywood Institution, with an examination of his enduring place in public affection.

His charm, wit, and dashing persona earned him roles in classic films and ultimately an Academy Award. But he was also a writer and he had a notable military career during the Second World War.

There was much more to this unique actor than a moustache and a smile.

Rodin is one of the heroic figures of 19th century art history and was internationally celebrated during his lifetime. This lecture by David Worthington surveys his work, showing why he is one of the greatest sculptors ever, looking at his work in relationship to 19th century sculpture as well assessing his continuing relevance.

The painting known as Las Meninas, by Diego Velázquez, is a seeming "snapshot" of an insignificant moment in the day of the court - and yet ..... 

Called "a treatise on painting" and its creator "the Prince of Painters", it has been marvelled at, written about, copied and loved since it was made.

In today’s lecture Ronnie Ireland will try to unwrap for us at least some of the mystery surrounding this unparallelled achievement.

In December 2024, The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris reopened after a devastating fire had threatened to destroy it five years earlier. Despite the enormity of the task, there was never any doubt as to whether to restore or not; such is the power of this building in the psyche of the French people.

In this lecture our Speaker, Carole Petipher, explores the cultural significance of Notre-Dame through the ages and what makes it so special.