Join us for a thought-provoking and insightful session by Tony Rawlins in The Arts Society at Firstsite (TASAF) Lecture series!

The Arts Society at Firstsite is an organisation about connecting people who have a passion for art.

TASAF is part of a global network of local societies, which bring people together through shared curiosity for the arts. You can learn more about it here. 

We offer a series of 10 talks* from accredited lecturers based around the UK. Lectures take place throughout the year from September to June on the third Tuesday of each month. 

Find out more about TASAF here.

Session Program 

Art’s Hidden Secrets (Lecture by Tony Rawlins)

Have you ever noticed or asked yourself these questions:

In Rembrandt’s Night Watch, what’s a little girl doing there, in a party dress with a dead chicken hanging from her waist?

Given Michelangelo’s statue of David was originally to be placed high on the Cathedral roof, why did he carve his eyes heart-shaped, when it would be impossible to see them from the ground?

Where can you find the hidden self-portraits of Velázquez, Vermeer, Raphael, Titian, Filippo Lippi and Botticelli?

In Gainsborough’s Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, why is there an unfinished area of paint on her lap?

Why did Ghirlandaio paint a strange item hovering in the sky behind the Madonna’s head. Could it be a UFO?

Why are the horizon lines behind the Mona Lisa on different levels right and left?

In Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights there’s a tiny musical score tattooed on a man’s backside. It has recently been transcribed and recorded. It’s a very spooky tune.

Art’s Hidden Secrets is a light-hearted look at the messages, codes, and self-portraits found, if you look closely, in many famous works of art. We are very familiar with many of them but perhaps had never noticed these little details, or questioned why they are there.

About the Lecturer

Starting his career in advertising in 1965 as a mail boy in the J. Walter Thompson agency., Tony was educated at Highgate School. 

He graduated through the training system there to become an account director and subsequently worked in a number of agencies before setting up on his own in 1985.

There he handled primarily Guinness advertising in Africa and the Caribbean, where he produced many commercials and print ads for them over a period of 15 years.

Tony remains active as a consultant in the industry, but more recently has concentrated on philanthropic projects, such as producing a film in the rural villages of Nigeria for the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. He has also completed a sanitation project in Haiti after it was devastated by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.  

He is an accredited Lecturer to the Arts Society and lectures to Arts Societies all over the UK and in Europe.

Visit the Firstsite Cafe before or after TASAF Lecture Series session! 

Our cafés offer a wide selection of delicious snacks, cakes and light meals, along with hot and cold drinks which can be purchased to enjoy.

Find out more about our menus here 

*This price is the set fee paid by all members irrespective of the date they join the society.