Art History courses online and in London
Looking to build your confidence in discussing and interpreting art? Or are you interested in taking your established knowledge of art in new directions? Then come and join City Lit’s Art History learning community!
Our exceptional range of courses, both introductory and in-depth, are designed for all learning levels. Our programme approaches art history from a variety of perspectives including social and cultural context, art theory and philosophy, curation and collecting, general art appreciation and so much more.
Choosing the right class for you
Our courses are open to all. Our students come from all backgrounds and learning experiences, from the absolute beginner to those refining their knowledge and understanding. We aim to give you the confidence to engage meaningfully with art, whatever level you are working from. Our students use our courses for personal fulfilment as well as professional and educational development. Many of our students go on to advanced degree and certificate programmes and many are able to use their knowledge in art making and gallery work.
Learn from expert tutors
At City Lit we are proud of the expertise of our tutors who are all professional art historians working actively in museums, galleries, research and writing, universities and auction houses. As experts in the field, they are able to provide you with the support and guidance you need to develop your art historical knowledge. As teachers they provide student-focused education, helping students achieve their art historical goals, both the personal and the professional.
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- The varied styles of the Italian Renaissance: through the lens of Pontormo and Masaccio
Course start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberAn in-depth online discussion about two artists that represent to different styles of the Italian Renaissance, but who may have more in common than we think.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Global arts of Africa Course start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Thomas BalfeThis course introduces major forms of African art in their regional and global contexts. It studies classical traditions of carving, metal casting, architecture and textile arts as well as twentieth-century and contemporary developments, including the work of photographers and conceptual artists.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00 - Tuesday talks: Lubaina Himid – longing and belonging Course start date: Tue 15 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Chantal CondronThis Tuesday afternoon art history course spotlights the work of artist Lubaina Himid, one of Britain's most thought provoking artists.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Adam Elsheimer, his secret art Course start date: Tue 22 Oct 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThis is about a German 17th-century painter who deserves to be better known. In fact, we might see him as the equivalent to Caravaggio for Germany. We shall also study him in relation to his contemporaries such as Rubens, Lorrain and Poussin. A consideration of new scientific endeavours, such as how light works will feature to try and explain the way in which he painted.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - London's smaller art collections Course start date: Wed 30 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowDiscover some of London’s fascinating smaller art collections and hidden art treasures on this gallery-based art history course.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Still life in the history of art: opulence and fragility Course start date: Tue 5 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresStill-life paintings usually represent ordinary things, often small and arranged on an indoor surface, without human presence. Long regarded in western art as the lowliest subject or “genre”, one that only required technical skill rather than imagination, still lifes are now considered some of the most charming and best loved paintings and can contain intriguing meanings that repay close study.Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Raphael – too perfect for words Course start date: Tue 12 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the work of Renaissance master Raphael through his highly polished artistic process. Get to know how the artist came to be known by his contemporaries as a person showered by the ‘infinite riches of heaven’.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - The beginnings of Impressionism: the Barbizon School Course start date: Tue 19 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWho said the Impressionists were the first to paint ‘en plein air’? Get lost in wood and green and light and shade in the large forest of Fontainebleau near Paris and learn about a group of 19th-century painters who influenced the Impressionists in the art of painting landscape outside.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Tuesday talks: Cook must fall! Portraits of Captain James Cook, new and old Course start date: Tue 19 Nov 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Ben PollittExplore the portrayal of Captain James Cook from c. 1770 to the present day. Understand images of Cook provide us with a fascinating platform to think about the complicated relationships that have emerged out of British Empire and what used to be thought of as its imperial possessions.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £8.00 Concession £7.00 - The beauty of the medieval manuscript Course start date: Wed 20 Nov 2024 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberIt is generally accepted that medieval illuminated manuscripts are very beautiful things. Something to do with all that gold-leaf maybe. While we cannot hold them in class, close-up digital reproduction will allow us to see if they really are as beautiful as we are told. Indeed, are none of them ugly? Join this course to find out.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00 - Art history taster Course start date: Fri 6 Dec 2024 (and 9 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayCurious about art history? Join us for this taster session where we explore different ways into visual art and its histories, from the ancient to the contemporary.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £10.00 - Tuesday talks: Angels in art Course start date: Tue 10 Dec 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberAngels have always made their mark – wings and all. And this course will explore painted and carved angels in western art in all their ways and fashions, from the archangels to Christmas angels to those just flying in to say hello.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £10.00 Senior fee £10.00 Concession £7.00 - Ways into art history Course start date: Tue 7 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberAn introduction to studying art history, inviting you to get close to works of art and learn how to improve your visual and analytical skills.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Introduction to art history Course start date: Wed 16 Oct 2024 (and 2 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayArt history is much more than decoding secrets and symbols. It is about critical thinking and empathy, understanding how an artwork reflects an artist’s interpretation of their world, and what it says to you about our world now. This course is designed to build your confidence in understanding visual art of the Western tradition. It is designed for both the absolute beginner and those with some existing art historical knowledge.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £183.00 Concession £149.00 - The Renaissance at home in the V&ACourse start date: Tue 14 Jan 2025
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonStep into the Italian Renaissance home in this three- part course taught in the unrivalled collection of Renaissance objects in the V&A. Discover how furnishings, paintings and objects were made and used in the fashionable homes of Renaissance Italy.Full fee £99.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £64.00
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