The death of the life class

‘Love of the human form’, writes the painter John Lessore, ‘must be the origin of that peculiar concept, the Life Room.’ Then he goes on to exclaim on the loveliness of that name. It is indeed a venerable institution with a delightful description: a place devoted to looking at life — or, at any rate, to earnest attempts to depict people without a stitch of clothing.

Currently two exhibitions in Norwich — at Norwich Castle Museum and Norwich University of the Arts — by Lessore and another distinguished painter, John Wonnacott, focus attention on this time-honoured practice, apparently remote from the contemporary art world of video, installation and performance. Between 1978 and 1986 Lessore and Wonnacott taught at Norwich School of Art, and presided over a Life Room famed at the time for its seriousness and dedication. For a period, model teachers and students would begin at 7.30 in the morning, so as to take advantage of the beautiful morning light.