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Alberta Gnugnoli will give a lecture entitled Thomas Lawrence: Lo splendore della sua arte nell'epoca della reggenza. She will be introduced by Maurizio Ascari of Bologna University.

Thomas Lawrence was the greatest British portrait painter of his generation and one of the most celebrated artists in Europe in the early decades of the nineteenth century. This lecture by Alberta Gnugnoli coincides with an exhibition of his work at the National Portrait Gallery in London, the  first for over thirty years, which features fifty-four works drawn from international public and private collections, some never before seen in public.

Lawrence was a child prodigy. He was born in Bristol, where his father was an innkeeper. At the age of ten, having moved to Bath, he was supporting his family with his pastel portraits. At eighteen he went to London and soon established his reputation as a portrait painter in oils, receiving his first royal commission, a portrait of Queen Charlotte, in 1790. He stayed at the top of his profession until his death, aged 60, in 1830. Self-taught, he was a brilliant draughtsman and known for his gift of capturing a likeness, as well as his virtuoso handling of paint. He became an associate of the Royal Academy in 1791, a full member in 1794, and president in 1820. In 1810 he acquired the generous patronage of the Prince Regent, was sent abroad to paint portraits of allied leaders for the Waterloo chamber at Windsor Castle, and is particularly remembered as the portraitist of the Regency.

The National Portrait Gallery exhibition provides a fresh understanding of the career of this key figure in the history of British art, exploring his astounding technical innovations, dazzling brushwork and bold use of colour through his greatest paintings and drawings.
Stunning early works such as the beautiful full-length painting of actress Elizabeth Farren and the striking Arthur Atherley, are shown alongside majestic and powerful portraits of international statesmen, society figures, military leaders and royalty, created at the height of his fame, such as Pope Pius VII, Princess Sophia and the Earl of Aberdeen.

Alberta Gnugnoli, journalist, art critic and contributor to the Anglo-American section of the magazine Art e Dossier, writes and lectures on subjects concerning art and photography.