THE December meeting of the Test Valley Decorative and Fine Arts Society saw everyone enjoying mince pies before an interesting lecture from Alexandra Drysdale.

The subject was ‘The aesthetic and emotional significance of red in Western Art, from angelic pink to demonic scarlet’.

Alexandra had been working on a series of her own paintings concerned with the journey of love and was surprised to find how often she instinctively used the colour red in her work. She wondered why and gave serious thought to the meaning of red.

The early paintings in her series were about falling in love and she found she had used a lot of strong red, indicating passion and adrenalin.

She reminded the audience that in nature, during the mating season the colour of a robin’s breast deepens in colour as it attempts to attract a mate.

Alexandra showed a number of paintings using various shades of red and explained why that shade had been used and what it meant.

A woman wearing red is seen as strong and evocative, yet a pale shade of pink (red muted with white) implies a soft sensitive woman, that men often want to protect, she said. Gainsborough had used this in a portrait of a recently married lady.

The Madonna is often painted wearing a deep red to indicate the suffering of Christ.

Many saints are depicted in the same way as a symbol of their suffering. In the past, when many people were named after saints, they would receive a red letter on their birthday to remind them of their namesake.

Popes wear deep crimson robes to emphasis their power and dignity and again in recognition of the suffering of Christ.

Red is often used in war paintings where it can have two roles.

A dark red mixed with black to show pain, suffering and the despair of war; or a bright scarlet to show the power, courage or tragedy of war. It can also depict a hero.

Alexandra finally showed a number of modern paintings by artists such as Rothko and Matisse where colour actually became the subject of the painting, with perspective or object playing little or no role at all in the image. New members are welcome and should contact Avril Stevens on 01264 351266 for further information.