Online Courses in Art History
Art captures the spirit of an age. Whether you are looking at Holbein’s portrait of Henry VIII or the latest Turner Prize winner, a Gothic cathedral or a Mughal palace, learning to analyse and to interpret these objects and spaces offers a glimpse into lost worlds and new perspectives on your own. Our art history courses include introductions to looking at and understanding painting and architecture, as well as courses focussing on particular periods or contexts from the Renaissance to the Indian subcontinent.
Indian Art: a History
The history of South Asian art over the last two thousand years is extraordinarily rich and diverse from Buddhist and Hindu architecture and sculpture to paintings and architecture from the Rajput and Mughal courts, and the impact of European colonialism. By examining the religious, ritual, social and political contexts in which these buildings and objects were made and use you will understand their impact and beauty in deeper ways. Find out more about this course
Islamic Art and Architecture
From Spain and West Africa to South-East Asia and China, Muslim societies produced art of tremendous vitality and diversity for around 1500 years. This artistic production includes architectural monuments such as mosques, palaces, and civic centres to textiles, manuscripts, and portable objects in ceramic, gold, silver, metal alloys, ivory, and rock crystal. This introductory course explores the main stylistic and iconographic themes in Islamic art and highlights the diversity of its expressions. Find out more about this course
Italian Renaissance Art: c.1400 - c.1500
From Bellini and Botticelli to tapestry and tableware, the material culture of the Italian Renaissance continues to fascinate us to this day. This course is an opportunity to explore a wide variety of art forms and to discover more about the cultural, social and historical background that made this period so unique. Find out more about this course
Learning to Look at Modern Art
Should art shock or please? Modern Art, from the twentieth century to the present moment day, is full of challenges, as well as delights. By looking at and discussing a wide range of art works, from the sunflowers of Van Gogh to the ‘readymades’ of Marcel Duchamp, you will be encouraged to understand all its forms. Modern art reveals continuities and ruptures with the art and experiences of the past as well as offering new ways of thinking about our own times. This course was written by Mary Acton, author of our Learning to Look at the Visual Arts course. Find out more about this course
Learning to Look at the Visual Arts
Do you ever look at a painting and wonder why you like it? Learning to look at paintings, prints and drawings from a more analytical and objective point of view can help to deepen your understanding, and appreciation, of art. As a group, we will discuss a wide range of pictures, exploring how composition, space, form, tone, colour, subject matter and visual techniques, all work to affect us when looking at a painting. By helping you to develop a visual vocabulary, this course will enrich the ways in which you engage with and interpret art. Find out more about this course
Learning to Look at Western Architecture
What does a building tell us about the world for which it was created? From Gothic cathedrals and Renaissance palaces to skyscrapers and modern houses, by looking at a range of building types and historical styles, this course enables you to 'read' the architecture of the Western world in a critically informed way. Learning to recognise and to differentiate between the major architectural styles of the Western tradition will help you to understand how buildings reflect the imaginations of their architects and the societies in which they lived and worked. Find out more about this course
Van Eyck to Memling: Northern Renaissance Art c.1430-1480
Was the Renaissance an Italian invention? Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden, Memling show that another Renaissance blossomed in Northern Europe. This alternative tradition, celebrated texture and detail with unprecedented virtuosity. We will explore these artists huge influence upon their Italian contemporaries and the history of art in Western Europe up to the present day. Find out more about this course
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