From Hastings to Hockney: Narrative and nationhood in British art

Coinciding with the return of the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain and, more recently, the passing of David Hockney, this course explores how artists have told stories of conquest, monarchy, identity and belonging, tracing the changing relationship between Britain, France and the idea of nationhood itself. What does it mean to belong to a nation? How have artists shaped ideas of identity, monarchy, history and collective memory? And how do works of art help define the stories a nation tells about itself? This autumn, the Bayeux Tapestry will return to Britain for the first time in nearly a thousand years. Created in the aftermath of the Norman Conquest, it remains one of the most powerful visual narratives ever made and a defining image in the story of England. Although it predates the earliest paintings in the National Gallery's collection by almost two centuries, it raises questions that continue to resonate throughout British art. Who gets to tell history? How is power represented? And how are ideas of nationhood constructed and challenged? Over three weeks, art historian Richard Stemp traces the relationship between narrative and national identity from the Norman Conquest to the present day. Spanning nearly a thousand years, this course reveals how artists have helped shape ideas of nationhood while also reminding us that national histories are rarely self-contained. The story of British art has often been bound up with Europe, especially France, through conflict, exchange, ...