Ancient & Medieval World
Art History Courses Online & In London
From ancient Rome to Medieval Iran, mythology to manuscripts: learn about the vibrant art and ideas of the ancient and Medieval world in our online, classroom and gallery-based courses.
Online, classroom-based and gallery-based art history courses
Many of our courses are also offered online, giving you the freedom to study from anywhere you need to be. We also offer our classes in-person at our Central London location and at many galleries and museums in and around London. Use the Location filters on this page to choose your preferred delivery method. See our guide to online learning for more information about our live online courses.
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.
- To the Holy Mountain: Treasures of Sinai
Course start date: Mon 12 Jan 2026Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Helen DejeanFor medieval pilgrims, visiting St Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a powerful spiritual experience. Today, although an established tourist destination, the modern encounter with the sacred arts of the famous Monastery and ‘God-Trodden Mountain’ is often curtailed by time and limited access. This course aims to explain its many treasures and biblical loca sancta in relation to medieval and modern pilgrimage.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - An introduction to Greek vasesCourse start date: Tue 13 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresGreek vases offer a unique window into the daily life and culture of ancient Greek society, forming invaluable sources of information about the ancient world that is unavailable elsewhere. These vases are often very beautifully decorated and many have survived, mainly in tombs and burials. The fascinating techniques employed to craft these ceramics also makes this a fascinating topic to study.
Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Between Greece and Rome: Etruscan art Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaExplore the figurative world of the elusive Etruscan civilization - from lavish painted tombs to enigmatic terracotta urns and majestic bronze sculptures.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Teatime talks: ancient China and modern fantasies – a culture of luxury Course start date: Wed 11 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the material culture of imperial China and its influence on modern and contemporary visual cultures.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Art in medieval Italy: the Kingdom of Lombardy and its impact Course start date: Wed 25 Feb 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the rich artistic heritage of the first Kings of Italy, the tenacious warriors who first rule the country.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Hell, heaven and purgatory in medieval art Course start date: Wed 4 Mar 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberWhy were images to do with the afterlife so prevalent in the Middle Ages? Come, face your eternal destinies and look at images such as the Last Judgement, skeletons, filthy flesh, worms, ghosts and Hell mouths.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - The Arts of the Book in the Islamic World Course start date: Sun 29 Mar 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anita ChowdryStudy book design and production in the Islamic world. The art of the book is one of the cornerstones of Islamic visual culture, with the role of the Qur’an driving the development of the arts in general.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Romanesque art, culture and society Course start date: Tue 21 Apr 2026
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 £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00 - Late Medieval Panel Paintings in London Galleries Course start date: Mon 11 May 2026
Location on this date: Off Site
Tutors: Helen DejeanThis two-week course explores pre-modern paintings and works of art before the ‘era of art’ in three London collections. Week one focuses on late medieval Italian panel paintings (c.1260-1370) at the National Gallery (Sainsbury Wing) and the Courtauld Gallery. The following week examines Byzantine objects in relation to selected medieval European and Islamic works of art at the V&A.
Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - The beauty of the medieval manuscript Course start date: Tue 2 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
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 £129.00 Senior fee £103.00 Concession £84.00 - Friday lates: Painted love – homosexuality in Ancient Greek vase paintingCourse start date: Fri 5 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the ways in which homoeroticism found its way onto Ancient Greek vases and how its depiction flourished in the ancient world.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - The world in black and red: painting in ancient GreeceCourse start date: Thu 11 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDelve deep in the world of Ancient Greek pottery and explore its vivid representations of gods, heroes and mythical past.Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £149.00 Concession £97.00 - Friday lates: The philosophy of Gothic architecture Course start date: Fri 14 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaExplore the connections between Gothic architecture and the philosophical movement of Scholasticism, the impact of the great minds of the Middle Ages on the choices of its architects.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
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