Leighton House Museum and The Cinema Museum have teamed up this summer to celebrate the life and work of two visionary artists, separated by a century yet united by their impact on contemporary cinema.

Alma-Tadema: At Home in Antiquity at Leighton House Museum

From shortly after his death, early filmmakers turned to Alma-Tadema’s paintings as they looked for inspiration for their own recreations of life in antiquity. The appeal of his work was not just its authentic feel derived from objects, costume and architecture, but the spatial devises that he had evolved. Tadema’s dramatic framings of his subjects, his changes in scale, his use of curtains to divide and reveal space and his incorporation of different floor levels within a single composition were all picked up and translated into early film. Click here for more information.

The Cinema Museum: A Tribute to Ken Russell

Over five days in August (Wednesday 23 – Sunday 27) The Cinema Museum will be celebrating the life and work of a visionary genius – a groundbreaking pioneer in TV and film making – the flamboyant, unconventional, controversial, and one of the last great British romantics, Ken Russell. This will include Melvyn Bragg discussing Ken’s films for the BBC; a screening of The Devils introduced by Mark Kermode; Robert Powell and Georgina Hale introducing Mahler: Glenda Jackson discussing her work with Ken, and Ken’s widow Lisi and others talking about his life and work, followed by a screening of Savage Messiah. Click here for more information.

The prizes:

• Two tickets to the Leighton Late on Friday 8 September, including access to Leighton House, the current exhibition and the garden and the chance to enjoy live music and a free guided tour.
• Two complimentary copies of the exhibition catalogue
• Two complimentary tickets for any of the public events that accompany the Ken Russell season at The Cinema Museum

Enter the prize draw here.