Objects in Focus: 94 Degrees in the Shade, by Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1876) The Fitzwilliam Museum

We're going to take the next six minutes to do the relaxation together and then we will look at the painting. This is how we always start our sessions after we've all said hello to one another and checked in and see how we all are. We sit in a chair and we take five minutes to relax, to put some very gentle music on and arrive into our bodies, arrive into perhaps moving a little bit more slowly than usual, letting our busy minds still a little bit and preparing ourselves to look at the paintings in an embodied way. So take a moment to make sure you're sitting comfortably, make sure there's nothing that's in the way around your feet or on your lap, for this first bit it might be nice just to take your glasses off and put them somewhere near so that you can find them again easily when we finish the relaxation. And remember this time is for you, this is for you to enjoy, to relax and we're going to do it together. So here we go. Okay, so let's begin. We're going to take the next four minutes to sit comfortably, to relax before we begin to look at our painting today. And there's no right way of doing this or wrong way, it's simply about enjoying, relaxing, enjoying the music, taking the moment to slow down. So make sure your back is supported by the chair, make sure both feet are resting on the ground and bring your hands to your lap, one hand on each thigh. So very slowly we're going to begin to move our hands along our thighs, keeping the bones of the fingers in contact with the bones of the thighs, bringing your hands towards you and then slowly stroking your hands away. This is really good for helping ourselves relax, letting your breath come gently, easily. See if you can bring your hands to a stop and just take a bit of movement into your fingers as if you're playing the piano very slowly. And just take that bit of movement into your wrists, not really thinking about it, just letting your wrists and your hands move to the music. Again, there's no right, there's no wrong, do whatever feels comfortable. Lovely. And then we're going to take our elbows, lifting them up at the side slowly and stretching out our arms, reaching out to either side of us, just letting our breath come gently, softly, bringing the hands back down to the lap. And we're going to do that again, lifting our elbows out to the side, floating them up and then stretching out the arms. That's it. And then slowly bringing our hands back to our laps. I'm going to take one hand and let that hand float up slowly like a feather reaching high above us or as high as feels comfortable. And then again, floating that hand back to your lap and the other hand floats up, reaching as far above as you can go, perhaps reaching for the sky, bringing that hand back down again, softly, gently. Bring both your hands together and just give them a slow, soft rub and then bring the palms of your hands to your eyes. Rest your eye sockets right into your hands as if you're leaning forward into a warm nest. And taking your fingertips, begin to massage your forehead, softly feeding the bones of the face. And then taking your fingers to the temples of the face and finding the cheekbones and then moving the fingers along down to the jawbone. And slowly bringing those hands down along the front of the throat, down towards the heart, just resting both hands over the heart for a moment. And then continuing with the hands down over the belly, right back to where we began. Hands in the lap, shoulders relaxed, just bring your shoulders for one final movement back up to your ears and then relax them back down. Lovely. Let your breath come slowly, easily and rest. And when you're ready, we're going to open our eyes and we're going to begin to look at our first painting. Dancing at the Museum. Today we're looking at a painting by Laurence Alma Tadema, 94 Degrees in the Shade, painted in 1876. Before we begin, let's just remember to turn off our phones and settle in a comfortable position. Take the time to ensure nothing is in the way of you sitting or lying comfortably. All you need to do now is follow along, join in and enjoy. You may have a printed copy of the painting near you, or you may be looking at the painting on a screen. Make sure you can see the painting well and make sure you're comfortable. So as always, let's take this first moment of drinking in the whole painting. What do you see? What do you notice in particular? And what catches your attention? Where are you drawn to? And ask yourself why your eye is drawn to this one place in the painting. Perhaps something already stands out as fascinating, or something you want to find out more about. So let's take another step into the painting, looking more fully, noticing more. We'll start at the top of the painting, high in that blue sky, and we allow our gaze to drift with those soft clouds, backwards and forwards, until we come to that line of green trees, and then slowly shift into the golden field. Make a note in your mind of the colours, the blue, the soft blue of the sky, and the wispy clouds, the yellows and browns, the lighter colours that the artist uses to depict the ears of corn. The painter is really inviting us to take in the sweep of the sky, that large field, that line of dark green trees, delineating sky from field. And now, look at the full rich shapes of the bundles of corn, almost higgledy-piggledy, waiting to be harvested. Are they soft and fresh, or dry and warm? The colour of the sky and the kinds of clouds indicate the harvest season, a hot summery day. Have you ever had the joy of leaning into a rich bundle of corn? As we slowly move our gaze right down to the bottom of the painting, we find a figure in the foreground. And who is this man lying so comfortably on the earth, hiding in the shade, escaping the heat of the day? It looks as though he may have beaten down that foliage to make himself a more comfortable bed. We can't see much of the man's face, but somehow we know he is young. How do we know that? And is he very young? Take note of his clothing, the elegant cut of the cloth, the shape of his hat. Can you imagine wearing those clothes on such a hot day? Clearly he is engrossed in his book. Are there any clues as to what he might be reading? There is a stick on the ground in front of him. Follow that line until the end, notice what looks like a net. What might he be catching with this net? There are so many clues as to what time of day and which season has been captured in this painting. But let's think about which country we're in. What makes you think that? Can you also now figure out what period this painting was made? Do those clothes look modern? And notice the way the artist has painted the fabric of the figure's clothes. Do they look loose and comfortable? This is a wonderful painting to step into. Where would you put yourself? Would you be leaning against a bundle of corn? Or would you position yourself comfortably in the shade with our young man? Would you also have a book with you to read? Or would you sit calmly, taking in the scene? Imagine walking barefoot through this field. How might the corn feel underfoot, dry and scratchy or tickly on the skin? Take a deep breath and smell the air. Absorb its warmth. Are there any sounds, rustle of leaves in the distance? Or is all peaceful and still? This would be a wonderful opportunity to imagine all the birdsong high in the sky as you rest calmly in this beautiful painting. How would you describe this painting to somebody who doesn't have it in front of them? What qualities, what words would you use? Is this a peaceful painting? Or are we drawn to the adventures of this young man and wondering what his story might be and where he would go next when he finishes his book and picks up his butterfly net and strides back off across the field into the cool shade of those trees and onwards? So this painting was made by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema who was born in 1836 and lived until 1912. This painting was painted in 1876. Alma Tadema was Dutch but settled in Britain in the 1870s. He was famous for his classical scenes showing luxurious everyday life of ancient Greece and Rome. So this painting is quite unusual in his artwork as it shows a contemporary scene. However, he does use the same rich warm colours that he used in his classical scenes. The scene depicts Herbert Thompson, the teenage son of Alma Tadema's great friend Sir Henry Thompson. Herbert was about 17 when this was painted and went on to read law at Trinity College here in Cambridge. It's interesting to think that perhaps this is the last day of his summer holidays before he begins university. Alma Tadema was considered one of the most popular Victorian painters. It is interesting to note that he was painting at the same time as the Impressionist painters but his style is so very different with great detail used. We hope you've enjoyed this painting. Good to have another painting familiar to us and good to have moved, good to have listened and relaxed to music. Thank you.