The Arts Society Dukeries’ first lecture of the 2024 programme is on Wednesday 6th March and is entitled ‘Palmyra – Bride of the Desert’, by speaker Paul Roberts.
In this lecture Paul will look at one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient world: the fabled city of Palmyra in the Syrian desert.
Palmyra arose on a trade route that brought silk, spices and other luxuries across the desert from the east. The city’s wealth and power are displayed in gorgeous monuments, while the people, wealthy, sophisticated, and cosmopolitan, are preserved in their hauntingly beautiful, surreal portraits.
Palmyra became so powerful during the Roman empire that it’s warrior Queen Zenobia challenged Rome itself. The audience will see Palmyra’s meteoric rise and its dramatic fall, its rediscovery by English Lords, its influence on art and architecture, and then its destruction by Isis.
The lecture finishes with the hope that beautiful Palmyra will rise again…
2024 lecture programme
- 6th March – Palmyra: Bride of the Desert
- 3rd April – Berthe Morisot – impressionist painter
- 1st May – Stanford Raffles – art collector and discoverer of Singapore
- 5th June – Fra Angelico – sweetness and light
- 3rd July – National Treasures: saving the nation’s art in WWII
- 2nd October – Postwar fashion and illustration
- 6th November – The Scoliotic Knight: reconstructing the real Richard III
- 4th December – It’s a Wonderful Life – the forgotten genius of Frank Capra
Monthly Arts Society lectures take place at the Civic Centre, Long Lane, Carlton-in-Lindrick, S81 9AP. Tea and coffee are available before the lecture, ready to start by 10.50am and lasting for approximately one hour. Free car parking is available. Members pay an annual subscription; visitors are welcome, paying at the door. Members of the Society also enjoy two extra Special Interest days, newsletters, a national magazine, a coach holiday and days out to local places of interest.
For further information, phone Caroline on 01909 531614 or Gill on 01909 540506, or visit www.theartssociety.org/Dukeries.