Early modern world
Art History Courses Online & In London
Would you like to get to grips with the Italian Renaissance, explore the energy of 17th century London or the ‘serenity’ of 18th century Venice? Our courses on the early modern world cover the art, culture, political happenings and artist biographies of the 15th-18th centuries. Join us online, in the classroom, in the gallery or out and about in London.
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.
- Love and marriage in Renaissance art
Course start date: Tue 18 Nov 2025Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Lydia GoodsonGain a new perspective on the Renaissance by exploring the material culture of love, marriage, and childbirth in Renaissance Italy. Join us for a fascinating dive into the world of the Renaissance family.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £63.00 Concession £51.00 - Painted worlds: Renaissance landscapes north and south Course start date: Wed 26 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Carlo CorsatoExplore how Renaissance artists transformed landscape from simple backdrop to powerful storytelling element. Over three weeks, we'll journey through portraiture, religious imagery, and narrative art to discover how these natural settings evolved to shape meaning across Northern and Southern European traditions.
Full fee £79.00 Senior fee £79.00 Concession £51.00 - Friday lates: Cook must fall! Portraits of Captain James Cook, new and old Course start date: Fri 28 Nov 2025
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.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Study day: portrait miniatures - 500 years of intimate art Course start date: Sun 30 Nov 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Sophie RhodesIn this study-day, explore the rich history of portrait miniatures, from the jewel-like works of Hilliard to 18th and 19th century innovations. This study day examines key artists, techniques, and the miniature’s role in love, memory, and identity. It will also include an in-depth look at the role women artists had in shaping this genre.
Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Representing David: a brief introduction to Florentine Renaissance Sculpture from Donatello to Michelangelo Course start date: Tue 2 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Bryony Bartlett-RawlingsThis course will take the case study of four statues of David produced in Florence during the Renaissance by Donatello, Verrocchio and Michelangelo, to chart the developments in sculpture at this time.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Friday lates: Artemisia Gentileschi: power, identity and ambition in paintingCourse start date: Fri 5 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Elisa StafferiniExplore the life and work of Artemisia Gentileschi, a leading Baroque painter whose bold depictions of women and artistic self-fashioning challenged expectations. This session examines her major works, self-portraits and legacy within the context of seventeenth-century art and society.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00 - Study day: Rembrandt and 17th century printmaking Course start date: Sun 7 Dec 2025
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Caroline RaeRembrandt, one of the most famous painters of the Dutch Republic, was also an innovative printmaker. He produced a large oeuvre of printed works, which in their expressive effect and astounding use of light can be considered artworks which rival his paintings. This course will offer a deep dive into Rembrandt’s practice and the seventeenth century Netherlands to explore how he experimented with the medium. Rembrandt as a collector of prints will also be discussed.Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Art and empire: in the early modern era Course start date: Tue 6 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
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’.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Teatime talks: The varied styles of the Italian Renaissance: through the lens of Pontormo and Masaccio Course start date: Tue 6 Jan 2026
Location 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.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Italian Renaissance drawing: design, form and function Course start date: Wed 7 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoBehind every great Renaissance painting is an equally astounding, some would say greater, Renaissance drawing. Indeed artists were judged firstly not by the quality of their paintings but by their grasp of, and skill in, drawing. Discover more about why and how great Renaissance works were created.
Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00 - Arts of the empire-builders: Timurids, Safavids and Mughals Course start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Anita ChowdryPatronage under the Timurids, Safavids and Mughals marked a definitive period in the development of the arts and culture of the Islamic world. This course looks at the visual ‘brands’ that characterised these important empires.Full fee £309.00 Senior fee £247.00 Concession £201.00 - Michelangelo, the High Renaissance to MannerismCourse start date: Wed 14 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elisa StafferiniDiscover Michelangelo’s 'genius' across sculpture, painting, architecture, and poetry. This course traces his artistic journey within the dynamic world of 16th century Italy from the High Renaissance to Mannerism. It explores his encounters with contemporaries like Leonardo and Raphael, and examines how Vasari and Condivi’s biographies shaped his enduring reputation as Il Divino.
Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - The art of the Burgundian Netherlands c. 1360-1480 Course start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Julia MusgraveExplore how the extravagant lifestyle of the Burgundian court provided opportunities for an opulent Burgundian style to be developed and disseminated across Europe in the late middle ages and into the renaissance.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - An introduction to the art of seventeenth-century Europe: 1590–1690 Course start date: Thu 15 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Elizabeth EyresOften referred to as “the Baroque”, the seventeenth century embraces some of the most dramatic, dynamic and acclaimed artworks ever produced, yet also some of the most tranquil and gentle. We will explore a wide range of paintings and sculptures from this period, discover why they look as they do, and investigate the powerful religious and historical contexts that influenced its artists.Full fee £259.00 Senior fee £207.00 Concession £168.00 - Portraiture in early modern Europe: 1600-1800 Course start date: Tue 20 Jan 2026
Location on this date: Keeley Street
Tutors: Caroline RaeEarly Modern portraits will be examined from a number of viewpoints, to gain a holistic understanding of their original significance/ function, and to develop skills in visual analysis. Depiction of status, likeness, memorialisation, the impact of colonialism and movement of artists, will be considered in relation to self-portraits, court portraits, miniatures and family portraits, amongst others.
Full fee £219.00 Senior fee £175.00 Concession £142.00
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