In this lecture, Will Christie looks at the role played by the portrait, and by the aesthetics and language of portraiture, in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. He examines how Austen exploited the uncertain status of portrait painting in the 18th century and the ambiguity of ‘ideal imitation’ as championed by art theorists like Sir Joshua Reynolds.
Professor Will Christie is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and President of the Romantic Studies Association of Australasia (RSAA), He was formerly Professor of English Literature and Pro Dean for Research in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney.
In April 2015, Professor Christie moved to the Australian National University, where he is now Head of the Humanities Research Centre. His publications include the award-winning Samuel Taylor Coleridge: A Literary Life (2006); among his research projects are a network of Eastern and Western scholars exploring cultural relations between China and the West.
With this public lecture, Professor Christie seeks to introduce himself to residents of Canberra with an interest in the humanities and creative arts.
Further information and registration
This lecture is free and open to the public
Please register for this event
Please register via Eventbrite
or contact
Colette Gilmour, Humanities Research Centre, ANU
E colette.gilmour@anu.edu.au
T 02 6125 4357