The Arts Society Costa del Sol closes its 2025/2026 season with a compelling illustrated lecture on the secret symbols hidden in centuries of great art masterpieces, open to non-members for just €10.
Art: A Detective Story Decoding Symbols in Painting
The final lecture of the season takes place on Monday, May 11 at the Salon Varietes Theatre, Fuengirola, doors open from 4pm, with the talk beginning at 4:30pm. The lecture is titled Art: A Detective Story – Decoding Symbols in Painting, and it promises to change the way you look at every painting you will ever see again.
The premise is simple and fascinating. Paintings are silent, yet they are designed to communicate. Sometimes the message is obvious. More often it is layered, encoded in objects, gestures, colours and figures that carried specific meaning to the audiences of their time.
From medieval altarpieces and Renaissance portraits to Dutch still lifes, Baroque ceiling paintings and Victorian genre scenes, the lecture traces the rich tradition of symbols, emblems and allegories that artists used to elevate, educate, warn and criticise, communicating far more than the eye first registers.
Lydia Bauman the lecturer
The talk is delivered by the incredibly impressive Lydia Bauman, a highly experienced art educator working in the field today. Born in Poland, she completed her BA in Fine Art at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where she was awarded both the John Christie Scholarship and the Hatton Award. She then studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, earning an MA in History of Art with a Distinction for her thesis on Matisse’s Illustrations to Poetry.
Her talents don’t end there, Lydia has taught at London’s National Gallery for more than 35 years, and has lectured intermittently at the Tate Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Hermitage, and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. Since March 2020 she has delivered more than 180 online lectures through her own programme, Art For The Uninitiated. She is an accredited lecturer with The Arts Society.
Ticket information and how to attend
Admission is free for members of The Arts Society Costa del Sol, whose membership covers the full lecture season. Members of other Arts Society societies are welcome at a discounted rate of €8, payable at the door. Non-members are invited to attend for a donation of €10, also payable on arrival.
The Salon Varietes Theatre is centrally located in Fuengirola. Arriving from 4:00pm allows time to take your seat before the lecture begins at 4:30pm.
More about the society
Founded in 1988 as the Costa del Sol Decorative and Fine Arts Society (DFAS), The Arts Society Costa del Sol was the first society of its kind in Spain and remains part of a global network of Arts Society chapters. The society has members from a number of different nationalities all united by a shared love and interest in art and culture.
Monthly illustrated lectures run from October to May, covering painting, architecture, history, and cultural heritage, with particular attention to the artistic legacy of Spain. Members have a full social calendar including after-lecture drinks and dinners, a Christmas lunch, an end-of-season dinner dance, a Members’ Forum, and carefully researched cultural day trips to destinations across Spain and Europe.
New members are encouraged and always welcome. For more information visit The Arts Society Costa Del Sol website.
If you have an interest in art, would like to learn something new, or have a painting in your house that you believe has an inner meaning then this event is perfect for you.
Art: A Detective Story – Decoding Symbols in Painting. Monday, May 11, 4:30pm. Salon Varietes Theatre, Fuengirola. Non-members €10, pay at door.
