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History of Art: Slade Lecture Series

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The Slade Lectures, which were founded in pursuance of the will of Felix Slade in 1869, focused on art historical topics, as they continue to do so today. John Ruskin delivered his first lecture as the Slade Professor of Fine Art in 1870. The Slade Professorship in conjunction with the University's museums, libraries and college collections helped to foster a wider interest in the history of art. Find out more about past Slade Lectures on the History of Art Department homepage: https://www.hoa.ox.ac.uk/slade-lectures

# Episode Title Description People Date
34 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: Defiant Sculpture: Isek Bodys Kingelez and Mobutu Sese-Seko’s Authenticité, 1990s Professor Chika Okeke-Agulu argues that the extravagant hypermodernity of Isek Bodys Kingelez’s architectural sculptures, as with segments of popular arts, constitute a distinctive form of imaginative resistance to official culture under Mobutu. Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
33 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: Drawing the Line: Obiora Udechukwu and Nigeria’s Smiling General 1980s-1990s In the 1980’s, the painter and poet Obiora Udechukwu (b. 1946), a leading figure of the Nsukka School, was at the height of his powers, with drawings and paintings celebrated for their lyrical power and trenchant social commentary. Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
32 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: Prison Drawing: Ibrahim El Salahi in Al Nimeiry’s Sudan, 1970s In this lecture, Professor Chika Okeke-Agulu focuses on the calligraphic figuration of Ibrahim El Salahi (b. 1930), the country’s leading modernist and onetime political prisoner. Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
31 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: To speak in Parables: Dumile Feni in Hendrik Verwoerd’s South Africa, 1960s Chika Okeke-Agulu examines art & politics in 1960s South Africa paying particular attention to Hendrik Verwoerd, the self-styled “Great Induna,” & architect of Apartheid, whose assassination in 1966 slowed the triumphant march of Afrikaner racist ideology Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
30 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: Gazbia Sirry and Egyptian artists in the Nasserite State, 1950s-1960s Professor Chika Okeke-Agulu follows the formal and tonal shifts in Gazbia Sirry’s work as it responded to, and was shaped by Nasser’s and post-revolutionary Egypt’s political fortunes. Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
29 Creative Commons Slade Lecture Series 2023: African Artists in the Age of the Big Man Okeke-Agulu presents 5 artists whose work exemplify the difficult relationship of art & power as Africa’s decolonization gave way to the emergence of undemocratic polities ruled by charismatic & repressive strongmen in the second half of the 20th century. Chika Okeke-Agulu 18 May 2023
28 Slade Lecture Series: Hunting in the Borderlands: Translations Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 2 June 2021, part of the Slade Professor of Fine Art, Annual Lecture Series, 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
27 Slade Lecture Series: The Virgin as Colonial Agent Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 26 May 2021, part of the Slade Professor of Fine Art, Annual Lecture Series, 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
26 Slade Lecture Series: Mudejar and Romanesque. Romanesque and Islam Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 19 May 2021, part of the Slade Professor of Fine Art, Annual Lecture Series, 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
25 Slade Lecture Series: Babylon in Flames Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 12 May. Part of the Slade Professor of Fine Art, Annual Lecture Series, 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
24 Slade Lecture Series: The Great Mosque of Cordoba as Center and Periphery Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 5 May 2021. Part of the Slade Professor of Fine Art, Annual Lecture Series, 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
23 Slade Lecture Series: An Agonistic History of Art Material Histories of Medieval Iberia, held on Wednesday 28 April 2021. Jerrilynn Dodds 14 Jun 2021
22 Slade Lectures 2018 (7): Barocci: The Madonna del Popolo Professor David Ekserdjian gives his seventh Slade Lecture on Barocci’s drawings for the Madonna del Popolo. David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
21 Slade Lectures 2018 (5): Parmigianino: The Madonna of the Long Neck Professor David Ekserdjian gives his fifth Slade Lecture on Parmigianino’s drawings for the Madonna of the Long Neck. David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
20 Slade Lectures 2018 (4): Correggio: The Dome of Parma Cathedral art, drawing, painting, visual arts, italy David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
19 Slade Lectures 2018 (3): Raphael: The Stanza della Segnatura Professor David Ekserdjian gives his third Slade Lecture on Raphael’s drawings for the Stanza della Segnatura in the Vatican Palace. David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
18 Slade Lectures 2018 (2): Michelangelo: The Sistine Chapel Ceiling Professor David Ekserdjian gives his second Slade Lecture on Michelangelo’s drawings for the Sistine Chapel Ceiling. David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
17 Slade Lectures 2018 (1): Drawing in Italy before 1500 Professor David Ekserdjian gives his first Slade Lecture on Drawing in Italy before 1500. David Ekserdjian 09 May 2018
16 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 8: Walking distance from the studio: cities, maps, and myths Eighth and final Slade Lecture in Surrealism and Art History given by Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University on 10th March 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
15 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 7: Transnational Surrealism: Tropiques and the role of the little magazine Seventh lecture in the Slade lecture series on Surrealism and Art History given by Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University on 3rd March 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
14 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 6: Monuments and ruins: Surrealism and archaeology in the New World Sixth lecture in the Slade lecture series on Surrealism and Art given by Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University on 24th February 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
13 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 5: Poetry, politics, and sexuality: Surrealism in Latin America Fifth lecture in the Slade lecture series given by Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University in Surrealism and Art History on 17th February 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
12 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 4: The experimental demonstration of critical paranoia: Salvador Dalí's The Tragic Myth of Millet's Angelus Fourth Slade lecture from Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University, given on 10th February 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
11 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 3: Beyond art: 'the enemy within', Georges Bataille and Documents Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University, gives the third lecture in the Slade lecture series on Surrealism and Art History. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
10 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 2: Beyond painting: collage, objects, installations Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University gives the second Slade lecture in Surrealism and Art History on 27th January 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
9 Creative Commons Slade Lectures 2010: Week 1: Automatism and chance: Surrealist strategies and their legacies in contemporary art and film Dawn Ades, Professor of Art History and Theory at Essex University, gives the first Slade lecture in Surrealism and Art History on 20th January 2010. Dawn Ades 18 Apr 2011
8 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 8: Naturalism Strikes Back: Tradition, Consensus, Rupture Eighth lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
7 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 7: Repudiating Naturalism: the Avant-garde Seeking Style Seventh lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
6 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 6: Organicism: National Energy and Natural Flux Sixth lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
5 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 5: The 'Populaire': Identifying or Imagining Art from Below Fifth lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
4 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 4: The Caricatural: Visual Humour and Subversive Style Fourth lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
3 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 3: Naturalism: Flexibility or Failure of Style? Third lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
2 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 2: Naturalism at the Service of the Republic Second lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013
1 Slade Lectures 2009: Week 1: Defining the Dominant Naturalism First lecture from the series "Style versus the State: Naturalism and Avant-gardism in Third Republic France, 1880-1900" given by Professor Richard Thomson as part of the annual Slade Art Lectures. Richard Thomson 18 Feb 2013