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Magical Brittany: An Illustrator's Guide with Dr. Alan Montgomery

Magical Brittany: An Illustrator's Guide with Dr. Alan Montgomery


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Can't make this time? A video recording will be sent to all participants after the seminar.

Over the last year, Alan Montgomery has produced a series of thirty-five illustrations for a new book about Brittany in France by writer Wendy Mewes. Entitled ‘Brittany: Stone Stories’, the book explores Brittany’s long history and rich folklore, featuring fascinating tales of unusual stones and strange stone structures both man-made and natural, including standing stones, prehistoric tombs, ruined castles, holy wells and ancient chapels.

In this lecture, Alan will discuss the genesis of ‘Brittany: Stone Stories’ and share a selection of his favorite places that feature in his artwork. Highlights will include a shadowy cave said to have once sheltered King Arthur and a romantic (and reputedly haunted) ruined castle which served as a prison for the young man who would become King Henry VII of England. We will also look at a huge prehistoric stone monument said to have been built by fairies and a massive boulder that was supposedly used by a saint to sail across the sea. From a mysterious carved megalith in the depths of a forest to a mighty ‘trembling rock’, Brittany’s enigmatic stones have many intriguing and dramatic stories to tell.

Led by a writer, historian and Context guide who splits his time between London and Brittany, this lecture will explore some of Brittany’s most intriguing and mysterious stone monuments. Designed to inform curiosity as well as future travels, participants will come away with a new perspective on the region, its history and its myths and legends. 

Alan Montgomery was born and raised in Scotland but has spent most of his adult life in London. Having achieved an MA in Art History at Glasgow University, he worked for many years in the art world at both an international auction house and an antique dealer. In recent years he has returned to academia, achieving an MA in Classical Civilisation in 2011, and has recently completed a Ph.D. in which he analyzed eighteenth-century attitudes towards the ancient Roman world. In addition to his work for Context Travel, Alan also writes catalog essays on Contemporary Art for a leading auctioneer. Elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in 2017, his first book, entitled 'Classical Caledonia', was published by Edinburgh University Press in August 2020.

This conversation is suitable for all ages.

90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.

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