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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- Romanesque art, culture and societyCourse start date: Thu 28 Sep 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Andreas PetzoldThe Romanesque is the first international style since antiquity, and one of the most inventive and creative periods in the history of art. The course takes a thematic approach to this fascinating period and provides an introduction to the main themes and works of art and architecture from this period; it is based on the tutor's book 'Romanesque Art.'.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Textiles: an international history
Course start date: Fri 29 Sep 2023Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresAs well as expressing power, prestige and fulfilling symbolic functions, textiles have been intimately linked to the everyday lives of members all societies for millennia. On this course you will study the development of woven, printed and embroidered textiles of many kinds from around the globe and explore the significant roles they have played in the world’s material culture.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Art and identity: from the High Renaissance to the Reformation Course start date: Wed 4 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberExplore the legendary art and artists of the High Renaissance in Italy and the Netherlands from c. 1490-1540. Consider the role that ‘self-fashioning’ plays in their fame and notoriety through close reading engagement of a combination of images and texts. - Avant-garde women: art innovations of the 20th & 21st centuries Course start date: Thu 12 Oct 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Irina ChkhaidzeDiscover the work of prominent modern and contemporary women artists from the early twentieth century to the present, looking at the political and social transformations reflected in the artworks.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Spanish Art 1900-1937: the age of Picasso, Miró and Dalí Course start date: Wed 1 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithReflecting a 'silver age' of literature, art in Spain before the Civil war encompasses the modernist genius of Picasso, Juan Gris and Miró; the surrealism of Dalí and the late Impressionism of Joaquín Sorolla.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Renaissance art: making, locating and viewingCourse start date: Wed 8 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThis course explores the Making, the Locating and the Viewing of Renaissance paintings in the collection of the National Gallery. This course takes place at the National Gallery.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Art and power: from the Counter-Reformation to the Baroque Course start date: Wed 8 Nov 2023
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayDiscover how artists documented and (many times) defined the political and religious revolutions of 17th century Europe. From Caravaggio to Velázquez, Rubens and Gentileschi we trace the artist’s cultural impact while also studying the development of artistic independence through readings on art theory and the art market. - Art and empire: in the early modern era Course start date: Wed 10 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberStudy the art of the Dutch Golden Age from 1600 to 1750 looking at the luxurious, tactile paintings of domestic life and landscape of this gloriously rich period in art. Consider the role that commerce, travel and trade played in how these paintings were made and through critical analysis of texts, try and evaluate the validity of the term ‘Golden Age’. - The art and cinema of 20th century Spain: from Picasso to AlmodóvarCourse start date: Wed 17 Jan 2024
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Mark Stuart-SmithExplore the development of Spanish art from Picasso’s 1937 'Guernica' to the installations of Juan Muñoz in the 1980s and 1990s. We will focus on key episodes highlighting General Franco’s impact on Spanish art 1936-2000.
This course will be delivered online. See the ‘What is the course about?’ section in course details for more information.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £179.00 Concession £116.00 - Global arts of AfricaCourse start date: Fri 19 Jan 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 £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - The foreigners that invented British artCourse start date: Wed 7 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Leslie PrimoTrace the importance of foreigners to the British art scene from the Tudor period to the Baroque. How did artists like Holbein, Dobson, van Somer and van Dyck influence the British School?Full fee £169.00 Senior fee £135.00 Concession £110.00 - Introduction to Tate Modern Course start date: Tue 20 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayExplore different aspects of the permanent collection of Tate Modern by looking at the work of modern and contemporary artists in painting, video, sculpture and mixed media installations. - Art and revolution: in the long 18th century Course start date: Wed 21 Feb 2024
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayFrom the absolute monarch to the beheaded king, discover how artists contributed to the cultural revolutions of the ‘long 18th century’ (1630s-1800). We explore how shifts in artistic style and subject matter reflected dramatic social change. Through reading the philosophy of the age we uncover how this era’s complex notions of beauty and justice still impact art and society today. - London's hidden art and architecture Course start date: Wed 17 Apr 2024
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Julie BarlowUncover a whole new side of London, from Roman times to the present day through a series of walks and visits to art galleries and historic sites. - Art and melancholy: from the Enlightenment to the Victorian age
Course start date: Wed 17 Apr 2024Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberStudy the art of the period from c.1750-1880 considering Romanticism and the Pre-Raphaelites. We look at ‘romantic’ landscape, the modern moral subject and the depiction of women. Explore the art of women artists who struggled to survive as artists in the tightly controlled world of the art academy where the woman was encouraged to be muse and model rather than creator and thinker.
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