Online Early Modern World Courses
Explore the transformative art, culture and ideas of the early modern world with City Lit’s online courses. From the brilliance of the Renaissance to the innovations of the Enlightenment, our expert-led courses offer insight into the artists, thinkers and movements that helped shape the modern era.
Discover the work of masters such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio and Rembrandt, and learn about the social, political and religious contexts that influenced their creations. With flexible online learning, live interactive sessions and supportive tutor feedback, you’ll deepen your understanding of this fascinating period — all from the comfort of your own home.
Our courses are open to all adults, whether you’re new to art history or looking to build on existing knowledge. Join a community of curious learners and enjoy the chance to explore the richness and complexity of early modern art and culture.
Explore our online early modern world courses today and step into one of history’s most creative and influential periods.
25 courses available
Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breughel – wondrous artists and their legacyWelcome to the weird and wonderful world of Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Breughel the elder - two northern Renaissance artists, and their influence on 20th-century artists known as the Surrealists. Artists divided in time by 500 years, but who share many similarities with their strange and curious subjects and objects conjured up to ignite amazement, wonder, discussion and even outrage.
Online
Tue 6 Oct 2026Emma Rose BarberFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00- The Renaissance print: inventing a new object
This lecture will explore the key techniques, subjects and roles of early prints. Looking at the prints of Mantegna, Dürer, Parmigianino, Raphael and Marcantonio Raimondi, we will see how early prints were made and used by different audiences, including courtly and scholarly circles. This lecture is part of the 2026 Art History Festival organised by the Association for Art History.
Online
Wed 7 Oct 2026Bryony Bartlett-RawlingsFull fee £0.00 - Friday lates: Art in England transformed - the court of Charles I
The art collection of King Charles I (1600-1649) was magnificent and hugely influential. Explore the artists, craftsmen, agents and connoisseurs who shaped one of the most important European art collections and learn about how objects and artists from across Europe made their way to London.
Online
Fri 9 Oct 2026Sophie RhodesFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £19.00 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in 17th century Europe
The 17th century produced some of the greatest artists of all time: Rubens, Rembrandt, Velázquezand Bernini to name but a few. Explore the work of these key artists and understand the history, styles and ideas that shaped the century.
Online
Mon 12 Oct 2026Leslie PrimoFull fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £123.00 - Focus on: iconographyEver wondered whether there’s a hidden meaning behind paintings? Discover why there are signs and symbols in paintings and how to find and interpret their meanings in medieval and Renaissance art.
Online
Wed 4 Nov 2026Leslie PrimoFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Focus on: the art of Siena
The golden panels of the Sienese masters are immediately identifiable but why was their work so different? Today we explore the art of Siena, its world, its symbolism and how it was made.
Online
Thu 12 Nov 2026Leslie PrimoFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Jan van Eyck's Bruges
Explore early 15th century Bruges through the life and work of Jan van Eyck. This lecture uses Van Eyck's art and biography to be better understand the vibrancy of this important cultural capital.
Online
Wed 6 Jan 2027Sarah JaffrayFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Focus on: Vermeer
Master of stillness and light, author of only 35, maybe 36, known works, Vermeer’s art continues to fascinate. Discover his life and works in the context of the Dutch Golden Age.
Online
Wed 13 Jan 2027Leslie PrimoFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Friday lates: Caravaggio - a short life in the fast lane
Caravaggio’s reputation as an artist was for many years tainted by his criminal record, but for his contemporaries he was an influential innovator. We’ll explore his life, the events that tainted his reputation, and the development of his style.
Online
Fri 22 Jan 2027Julia MusgraveFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £19.00 - Understanding contemporary art: from installation to performance art
This course will look at contemporary art that invites audiences to touch, see, taste, smell, and hear in order to experience the environment and the tangible effects of climate change. We will explore sensory experience in the environment through the lens of installation art, performance art, participatory art, site-specific art, socially engaged art, and landscape architecture in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Online
Wed 3 Feb 2027Xinrui ZhangFull fee £129.00 Senior fee £129.00 Concession £84.00 - Focus on: Holbein
Explore the art and life of Hans Holbein the Younger. From his early career in Basel, Switzerland to his influential work in England during the reign of Henry VIII, this course provides a close look at this artist who reshaped Northern European painting.
Online
Wed 3 Feb 2027Leslie PrimoFull fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Lunchtime lecture: Proximity to power – the equestrian sculpture in the Italian Renaissance
An introduction to a lesser studied, yet significant subject of the Italian Renaissance: the equestrian monument. We'll look at examples from Leonardo, Donatello and Verrocchio to explore the technical challenges introduced by the subject and how it was used to bring artistic splendour to public places while also commemorating military heroes and powerful leaders.
Online
Tue 9 Feb 2027Bryony Bartlett-RawlingsFull fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Friday lates: The East India Company and the passion for chintzExplore the story of how Indian painted and printed cottons became an important trade commodity for the Western domestic market, and the far-reaching impact of their design and manufacture.
Online
Fri 12 Feb 2027Anita ChowdryFull fee £29.00 Senior fee £29.00 Concession £19.00 - Jan van Eyck and the altarpiece in Northern Europe
The Northern Renaissance altarpiece is a thing of beauty: exquisitely painted in oil, full of rich, sumptuous decorative details, a broad, vivid and brilliant colour range, artistically innovative, conventional and experimental, distinctive and complex. Come and find out more about these works of art on this five-week online course, where we cover some of the altarpieces made by highlight artists such as Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden.
Online
Tue 23 Feb 2027Emma Rose BarberFull fee £159.00 Senior fee £127.00 Concession £103.00 - Art of the Spanish Golden Age
Discover the drama, realism, and beauty of Spanish Golden Age painting. From El Greco to Velázquez and Murillo, explore the lives and masterpieces of Spain's greatest artists, while gaining insight into the history and culture behind this remarkable artistic era.
Online
Wed 24 Feb 2027Caroline LevisseFull fee £139.00 Senior fee £111.00 Concession £90.00
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