EVENING LECTURE: 'Romanesque Art' - Malcolm Hebron

Part of our 2026-27 Roots & Networks Lecture Series

Join us for a drinks reception from 6pm. The lecture will start at 6.30pm and afterwards there'll be time for questions.

Romanesque Art

Malcolm Hebron

'Romanesque' is the general name given to thousands of buildings and artefacts made across Europe in the 11th and 12th centuries. In the DEI we are literally a stone’s throw from the Romanesque (or Norman) towers of Exeter Cathedral. The Romanesque was the first international style since the fall of the Roman Empire, drawing on many roots – Roman, Germanic, Byzantine and others. It is a style that is always on the move, as artistic practices migrated and influenced each other through historical and social events: pilgrimage, the monastic orders, the crusades and other military episodes such as the Norman Invasion. Workshops and individual masters were mobile, creating a rich and complex series of cultural networks. From Pisa to Durham, from the illuminations of the Winchester Bible to the wall paintings of churches in the Pyrenees, the style known as Romanesque includes a remarkable variety of images and techniques.

Sometimes, looking back can help us look at our own times. Considering the art and architecture of the Romanesque helps us to think about the relation between international and national culture, the complex nature of identity – religious, local, social – and the ways in which networks foster and revitalise a cultural language. It prompts questions about the relation of art to power. While historically remote, the art of the period is also strikingly vivid, sharing the non-realist language of much modern art – another kind of network, across the centuries. 

Above all, perhaps, the art of this period is rich, bold, vivid and retains a power to astonish, delight and disturb. The focus will be on a few selected works – to be decided – but a major source will be the collection in the MNAC museum in Barcelona, as it is well known to the speaker and a popular holiday destination!

Malcolm Hebron taught English Literature and History of Art at Winchester College, before moving to Devon. He now lectures and teaches courses for Raw Writing in Exeter.