Home
Talks
The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin
The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin
The bed has been the subject of multiple explorations in art, representing an ambiguous realm between something personal, intimate, and yet common to all. Most often associated with passion, throughout history the bed has also been linked to childhood, death, disease and other more unseemly acts.
In this live HENI Talk, made in collaboration with The Arts Society, Dr. Marie-Anne Mancio investigates some of the scintillating examples of 'The Bed in Art', ranging from Renaissance master Titian's stunning Venus d'Urbino, through Manet's illustrious Olympia, which shocked the Paris Salon of 1865, and Tracey Emin's infamous My Bed, a scatological work shortlisted for the Turner Prize in 1999, which remains a succès d'scandale and staple of modern art.
Time Period:
Various
Themes:
Dr Marie-Anne Mancio trained as an artist before gaining a PhD in Art and Critical Theory from the University of Sussex. She has lectured in art history for City Lit, Tate Modern, the Course, Art in London, London Art Salon, Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Nth Degree Club and many private art societies; she also runs art history study tours abroad.
Watch more
Watch more
20:50
The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin
Death, sex, birth, childhood. Uncover how the bed has been represented throughout art history.
24:05
Colourful Language: Red, White and Blue
Discover the symbolism, significance and spirituality of the colours red, white and blue throughout the history of art.
15:48
Gerhard Richter: Drawings
‘The drawings are traces of a life, creating territories in relation to limits and potentials. Communications transmitted to whoever will regard them.’ — Prof. Michael Newman
20:50
The Bed in Art: From Titian to Emin
Death, sex, birth, childhood. Uncover how the bed has been represented throughout art history.
24:05
Colourful Language: Red, White and Blue
Discover the symbolism, significance and spirituality of the colours red, white and blue throughout the history of art.
15:48
Gerhard Richter: Drawings
‘The drawings are traces of a life, creating territories in relation to limits and potentials. Communications transmitted to whoever will regard them.’ — Prof. Michael Newman
1:16
1 Minute 1 Work: The Sake-drinking Boy
Shantell Martin shares her admiration for Hishikawa Moronobu’s inspiring use of line.
15:03
Metamorphosis of Narcissus: When Salvador Dalí met Sigmund Freud
Dawn Adès tells the story of the historic meeting between Salvador Dalí and Sigmund Freud, and unpacks the mind-boggling painting the artist took with him.
8:14
Duchamp's 'Readymades' and the Making of Contemporary Art
What is contemporary art? Why is it so hard to define? Ralph Rugoff argues that Marcel Duchamp is to thank - or to blame.