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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- Art and critical theory: rethinking 'nature'Course start date: Wed 28 Jun 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeExplore the role of critical theory within the field of art history, and learn new ways of thinking about art by focusing on how recent authors have been rethinking our understanding of nature.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £99.00 - A culture of luxury: ancient China and modern fantasiesCourse start date: Wed 28 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the material culture of imperial China and its influence on modern and contemporary visual cultures.
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 - Showing the goods: luxury in Greek vascular paintingCourse start date: Fri 30 Jun 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaA the saying goes, “what’s the point of being rich if you cannot brag about it?”; well, the Ancient Greeks were masters at this art to the point of depicting it in plain sight across their vases and vessels. Let us look through this kaleidoscope into the lives of Athenian well-to-dos to see what form their wealth assumed and how its depiction became a synonym for luxury across the Mare Nostrum.
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 - Full fee £59.00 Senior fee £47.00 Concession £38.00
- Art history tasterCourse start date: Fri 7 Jul 2023 (and 17 other dates)
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayEver wondered what art history is but don’t want to commit to a whole course? This taster explores some of the ways art historians come to their interpretion art. Build your confidence in looking at art by learning what art and art history really are.Full fee £10.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Hokusai’s natureCourse start date: Mon 10 Jul 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore the life and work of Hokusai beyond the Great Wave. Get an insight into his artistic practice and what his artistic interpretations of nature can teach us about our relationship with the natural world.
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 - Van Eyck and the Pre-RaphaelitesCourse start date: Mon 10 Jul 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberExplore the work of Van Eyck in relation to Holman Hunt and the Pre-Raphaelites more generally; consider how this 15th century painter influenced artists some 300 years later.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 - Fra Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico – the two monastic paintersCourse start date: Tue 11 Jul 2023 (and 1 other date)
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberJoin us for a close reading of the works of Fra Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico, two of 15th century Italy's most influential artists. We study their techniques, their subject matter and how they communicated narratives in painting. Explore all the wonderful tactile visual details they added to the works.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £19.00 - Women in art 1400-1800Course start date: Tue 12 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresThere were a significant number of highly talented female artists active during the 15th to 18th centuries, so why is their work not more famous? This course investigates and redresses this gender inequality.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Berthe Morisot's Impressionist groupCourse start date: Wed 13 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayLook at the work of Berthe Morisot in relation to her peers – her similarities and her difference. Examine how her distinct style developed as part of being an Impressionist.
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 rise and fall of the Italian RenaissanceCourse start date: Mon 18 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoWhen, where and what was the Italian Renaissance? Explore it through the craft of its masters such as Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, Titian and others and trace its legacy.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £229.00 Senior fee £229.00 Concession £149.00 - Art in the 1920s and 1930s: Western art between the warsCourse start date: Tue 19 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover how art in Europe and America between the wars reacted to the culture of the times. Explore the experimental world of Surrealism, Constructivism, de Stijl and other political art and abstract art of the era.
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 - Art and memoryCourse start date: Wed 20 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithHow have artists since 1960 engaged with the recent history and memory of political conflict? What role have artists had in remembering a difficult or traumatic past? What are the connections between memory and national identity in their work?
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Islamic art in the medieval worldCourse start date: Thu 21 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Anita ChowdryA course examining the formation and development of Islamic Art and Design; looking at the role of ideology and patronage, and the key influences that went into its development and evolution.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £239.00 Senior fee £191.00 Concession £155.00 - Art in Britain 1950-2000 - 'This is Tomorrow' (Part 1)Course start date: Thu 21 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Chantal CondronDiscover the work of selected British artists whose innovative practice shaped the development of modern art in Britain from the 1950s to the 1970s. Explore how and why the ideas and themes behind their work continue to be relevant to today’s audiences.Full fee £119.00 Senior fee £95.00 Concession £77.00
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