The Francis Bacon Research Trust
Swan-Rose Seminars

Gateway to the Ageless Wisdom

The Secret World of Shakespeare and the Old Masters

‘Arcadia’

Saturday 18th September 2010
(2:00 pm - 5:00 pm)
Compton Verney, Warwickshire

Afternoon Seminar
with
Peter Dawkins and Jill Line

This is the fourth of an innovative series of seminars revealing the hidden knowledge and initiatic mysteries that were passed on in the Platonic academies and mystery schools of the Renaissance through their paintings, sculptures, emblems and other works of art.

These truths found their expression in Italy and France in the works of great initiate artists like Verrocchio, Botticelli, Giorgione and, later, Poussin and Claude; and, in England, in the writings and associated artwork of Dee, Sydney, Spenser, Bacon and Shakespeare.

These truths, which are moral, psychological, spiritual and scientific, are pertinent to each human being and to society at large, and exist to guide us towards personal and universal peace, illumination and joy.

Arcadia
The theme of this seminar is Arcadia and will include two talks:-

1) The Arcadian Landscape of the Soul
– depicted by Shakespeare, Sidney, and the landscape paintings of Poussin and Claude. [Jill Line]

2) The Arcadian Initiate
The twinning of the Arcadian and Arthurian themes, revealing the Mysteries of initiation, in the art of Alciat, Sidney, Spenser and Shakespeare . [Peter Dawkins]

‘Arcadia’ is a classical synonym for Paradise and was used extensively as such by Renaissance poets, philosophers and artists. Hidden within its rich symbolism are profound truths, constituting a veritable encyclopaedia of wisdom knowledge.

Paralleling the Arcadian theme is that of King Arthur, Queen Guinevere (the ‘Faerie Queen’) and the knights and ladies of the Round Table, whose Arcadian land is known as the Grail Land.

The Secret World of Shakespeare and the Old Masters
The first five seminars of the series are being given in 2010 at approx. 6-7 week intervals. Each seminar takes place on a Saturday afternoon and contains an introduction and two main talks.

The team of speakers, each with expert knowledge and experience of this initiatic and symbolic theme, comprises Peter Dawkins, Julia Cleave and Jill Line.

The dates and titles of the other seminars are:-

1 May 2010
The Hermetic Journey of the Soul

19 June 2010
The Pillars of Time & Eternity

31 July 2010
Hidden Truth

30 October 2010
The Mysteries

Venue
The venue is at Compton Verney, the 18th century mansion and award-winning art gallery whose location in the ‘Shakespeare Country’ of Warwickshire is part of the secret knowledge and mystery.

Compton Verney houses six permanent collections and has a programme of changing exhibitions. Besides a seminar room and art gallery, the Grade 1 listed Robert Adam mansion also has a good cafe/restaurant. The mansion sits overlooking a lake in the midst of Grade 2 listed classical parkland, landscaped by Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown, the most eminent landscape architect of the eighteeth-century.

Why not make a day of it and visit the art galleries in the morning, have lunch at the cafe and then attend the seminar in the afternoon?

Compton Verney is situated 7 miles east of Stratford-upon-Avon on the B4086 between Wellesbourne and Kineton, and adjacent to the Fosse Way. It is 6 miles drive from the M40, Junction 12. [See map.]

Programme
Each seminar will begin at 2:00 pm and end at 5:00 pm.

Cost and Booking
Seminar fee = £25 per person, or £100 for all five seminars if booked in advance.
(The cost does not include include admission to the Compton Verney art gallery.)

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