3 February, 6:00 pm, Martin Paul Sorowka, Artistry, Artifice and Accuracy in British Artists’ Drawings of Seville

Abstract: The talk relates to Dr Martin Paul Sorowka’s recently published book British Travellers in Seville, & their drawings 1715-1854 (CEEH, Instituto Ceán Bermúdez, ARTES, 2025). Surely an artist on their foreign travels would faithfully set down on paper the view before their eyes? But no, this is not always so. Focussing on the Andalusian city of Seville, Sorowka’s talk examines the consequential drawings of renowned hispanophile artists John Frederick Lewis, David Roberts and John Phillip to show why historians should treat their work with caution. He will introduce three unknown amateurs: Cecilia Montgomery, John Gardner Wilkinson and Nathaniel Armstrong Wells to whom historians should turn to find more trustworthy representations of the city’s architectural heritage.

About the speaker: Dr Martin Paul Sorowka AFRHistS belongs to the research group HUM976. ‘Expregrafica’, Place, Architecture and Drawing at Seville University, and has recently published his doctoral thesis with CEEH, Instituto Ceán Bermúdez, and ARTES as British Travellers in Seville, & their drawings 1715-1854. His archival research evidences new diverse cross-cultural narratives of artists and travellers in Spain and the Maghreb, and how knowledge and meaning become embodied in their written and visual depictions of architecture.

The seminar is organized by the ARTES Iberian and Latin American Visual Culture Group and the Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art.

To join the seminar, click on the Zoom link below (or copy and paste into your browser):

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81959799220?pwd=Q7r8ryKnlCsOLAwlYrrwZmnACZyyVS.1

Meeting ID: 819 5979 9220

Passcode: 014848