Look Up! It's the Sistine Chapel - Dr. Francis Broun - Aug 1/13
Speech Topic: The Sistine Chapel
Named for its builder Pope Sixtus IV (uncle of Julius II), the Sistine Chapel is the prime target of tourists in the Vatican. In 20 minutes, about the time that most people can stand being buffeted by the hordes, Dr. Broun will discuss the three stages of its decorations – the side walls, usually overlooked, created in the early 1480s by artists like Botticelli and Ghirlandaio, the ceiling, Michelangelo’s masterpiece (1508-12) and his highly personal vision of the Last Judgment painted on the wall behind the altar (1536-41).
Speaker's Bio:
Dr. Broun came to Canada from Scotland in 1967. He has a B.A. from McGill and a Ph.D. from Princeton, both in art history. For fifteen years he worked at the AGO, teaching courses and helping to organise Old Master exhibitions like the Dutch paintings from the Mauritshuis and the Holbein drawings from the Queen’s Collection. He also accompanied AGO trips to Florence, London and the River Danube.
Dr. Franics Broun in front of The Birth of Venus, BOTTICELLI, Sandro, c1482–1486Since 1989 he has established himself as a popular freelance lecturer, most regularly at the Ontario College of Art and Design, the Royal Conservatory of Music (where he was Head of the Humanities Department) and the Women’s Art Association. He was twice nominated in TV Ontario’s Best Lecturer competition.
Now busier than ever in his retirement, he still gives lectures and plans tours for groups of art lovers, mainly to North American cities like New York, Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston. His most recent European trips include London (three times), Vienna, Paris, Venice, Provence, the Netherlands and Spain. Rome in 2012! When time permits he is also a guest speaker on the Mediterranean cruises run by Voyages to Antiquity.
Testimonials re: Dr. Broun's TVO program on Michaelangelo:
"Wonderful...informative and moving and full of details I'd never encountered before...everything I could hope for on Michelangelo...and now I can enjoy it again and again."
- Penny Potter
"I was very impressed with your lecture about Michelangelo on TVO. Thanks again for "nourishing my soul"… just when I was desperate for something like this."
- Neda Pajovic
Website: Art History Lectures