Double Dutch... and the Golden Age with Lynne Gibson Thursday 19th November 2026 10.00am – 3.00pm Cheddon Fitzpaine Memorial Hall, Taunton, TA2 8JY The merchants of seventeenth century Holland filled their town houses with paintings. But these upright Calvinist citizens rejected biblical subjects and Baroque melodrama. Favourite themes were found closer to home. Still lifes and scenes of everyday life reflected the prosperity and self-esteem of the new Republic. The detailed realism of these paintings convinces us we are looking at a window onto a past world. But is there more to Dutch art than meets the eye? Vanitas and ‘Pronk’ still lifes display an abundance of luxury goods, flower bouquets and exotic foodstuffs. If we look closely, however, the inclusion of a pocket-watch, fading bloom or blemished fruit might hint that consciences are troubled by such ostentation. In 'Genre scenes', depicting everyday life, there is rarely anything to cause offence. However, innocent objects hint at adult themes: lap dogs and songbirds, lutes and virginals, foot warmers and bed warmers. This is a world of subtle hints and double-entendre, spoken through a language of symbols, emblems and motifs. Join me to explore the hidden meanings in art and become a fluent reader of ‘Double Dutch’! Lynne Gibson BEd Hons MA is now working as a freelance lecturer in the History of Art, as well as in practical Drawing, Painting and Printmaking. She has held posts at the Universities of Sussex and Bristol, where she introduced 'Understanding Art' to the Lifelong Learning programme. She gives talks, lectures, courses and guided tours for a wide range of organisations including Art Galleries and Museums, The Art Fund, The National Trust and The Arts Society. She has worked as a professional artist specializing in oil painting and etching. Her work has been exhibited widely and used in a range of publications. Programme Registration and Coffee 10.00am Session One 10.30am – 11.30am Reading symbols and meanings in Dutch still life, pronk, vanitas and flower paintings Session Two 11.50am – 12.50pm Symbols and meanings in Dutch genre paintings Session Three 2.00pm – 3.00pm Guided in-depth discussion of a small selection of paintings, Q&A Suggestions for reading Battistini, Matilde, Symbols and Allegories in Art, translated by Stephen Sartarelli, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles 2005 Carr-Gomm, Sarah, The Secret Language of Art: The Illustrated Decoder of Symbols and Figures in Western Painting, Duncan Baird Publishers, London 2001 De Jongh, Eddy, Questions of Meaning: Theme and Motif in Dutch Seventeenth-century Painting, translated by Michael Hoyle, Harvey Miller Publisher 2000 Franits, Wayne, Dutch Seventeenth-Century Genre Painting: Its Stylistic and Thematic Evolution, Yale University Press 2004 Hall, James, Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art, 2nd edition, Westview Press 2008 Shawe-Taylor, Desmond and Buvelot, Quentin, Masters of the Everyday: Dutch Artists in the Age of Vermeer, Royal Collection Trust 2015 Special Interest Day Thursday 19th November 2026 Cost £42 including coffee on arrival, buffet lunch and a glass of wine Guests who are not members of our society are very welcome. Please return this form to The Arts Society Taunton to: Margaret Way, Special Interest Day Organiser, The Weavers, Church Lane, Kingston St. Mary, Taunton TA2 8HR or email your booking details to Margaret Way at specialinterest.tast@gmail.com (note this is a NEW email address) Payment by BACS where possible please or by CARD READER at one of the monthly lectures before the event Account name: The Arts Society Taunton, account number - 35802160. Sort code 30-98-45. Ref: SID and your name Where electronic payments are not possible, please post a cheque with your booking form to Margaret Way at the address above Name …………………………………………………………….........................................Telephone No…………………………………… Email …………………............... Number of places at £42 ………. Total £…………… Names of other attendees………………………………………............................ Dietary requirements for all attendees ……………………………………………………………………………………......... |