Lectures and Writings
In his role as professor of sculpture to the Academy, Weekes delivered a series of eighteen lectures which were published posthumously as Lectures on Art, with a biographical introduction by his son, John Ernest Weekes. Art historian Benedict Read described the Lectures as "the most consistent and intelligent exposition of sculptural thinking in the Victorian era". In addition to conventional topics such as composition, beauty, style, taste, idealism versus realism, portraiture and Greek sculpture, Weekes devoted three lectures of the series to Sir Joshua Reynolds, and one to John Gibson and his mentors, William Behnes and Sir Francis Chantrey. He advised students to become "thinking men", but also advocated a practical approach to learning, "with the modelling tool in hand, and the clay to operate upon".
His gold-medal-winning essay was also published in 1852. Described in a contemporary review as "thoroughly practical", it includes an exposition of the technical aspects of casting in bronze and carving in marble.
Read more about this topic: Henry Weekes
Famous quotes containing the words lectures and, lectures and/or writings:
“I love man-kind, but I hate the institutions of the dead unkind. Men execute nothing so faithfully as the wills of the dead, to the last codicil and letter. They rule this world, and the living are but their executors. Such foundation too have our lectures and our sermons, commonly.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Hence a young man is not a proper hearer of lectures on political science; for he is inexperienced in the actions that occur in life, but its discussions start from these and are about these; and, further, since he tends to follow his passions, his study will be vain and unprofitable, because the end aimed at is not knowledge but action.”
—Aristotle (384–322 B.C.)
“An able reader often discovers in other people’s writings perfections beyond those that the author put in or perceived, and lends them richer meanings and aspects.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)