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.
- Focus on: Giotto
Course start date: Sun 22 Mar 2026Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoDiscover the life and work of Giotto, was one of the earliest artists to be written about within his lifetime, his genius held up as the ideal by Italian painting critics for the next five centuries.
Full fee £69.00 Senior fee £55.00 Concession £45.00 - Origins of the Italian Renaissance: the Primitivi Course start date: Thu 23 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Simone ChisenaDiscover the history, politics and intellectualism that fuelled the Italian Renaissance. Explore the art of Giotto and his peers from a new perspective.Full fee £199.00 Senior fee £199.00 Concession £129.00 - Arts of Imperial China Course start date: Wed 29 Apr 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Meitao QuExplore the arts of imperial China spanning across 13 dynasties and 2000 years. Study how painting, sculpture, and architecture were deeply shaped by its richly diverse culture, philosophy, and religion.Full fee £179.00 Senior fee £143.00 Concession £116.00 - Lunchtime lecture: From darkness to light - painting philosophy in the Italian RenaissanceCourse start date: Wed 6 May 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sarah JaffrayAn introduction art inspired by the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Come to understand how this philosophy was a driving force behind the art of some of the Italian Renaissance's most significant artists: Fra Angelico, Botticelli and Michelangelo.
Full fee £14.00 Senior fee £11.00 Concession £9.00 - Adam Elsheimer, his secret art Course start date: Wed 3 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberThis is about a German 17th-century painter who deserves to be better known. In fact, we might see him as the equivalent to Caravaggio for Germany. We shall also study him in relation to his contemporaries such as Rubens, Lorrain and Poussin. A consideration of new scientific endeavours, such as how light works will feature to try and explain the way in which he painted.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - Under-rated artists of the Renaissance Course start date: Wed 3 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Emma Rose BarberRenaissance artists are world famous. But only a very few of them. Come and hear all about other Renaissance artists, whom, we might conclude are just as good as those like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo. We will be looking at artists such as Gentile da Fabriano and Carlo Crivelli.
Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Britain and the world: art, travel and colonialismCourse start date: Fri 5 Jun 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie RhodesBetween 1550 and 1750, Britain’s expanding global encounters reshaped its art and material culture. Through maps, portraits, and decorative arts, this course explores how travel, trade, and colonialism influenced artistic production – revealing stories of power, identity, and cultural exchange that continue to shape Britain’s visual legacy today.
Full fee £149.00 Senior fee £119.00 Concession £97.00 - Fra Filippo Lippi and Fra Angelico – the two monastic painters Course start date: Tue 30 Jun 2026
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.Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £15.00 Concession £12.00 - The mirror of nature: art and culture in 17th century EuropeCourse start date: Mon 12 Oct 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 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.
Full fee £189.00 Senior fee £189.00 Concession £189.00 - Focus on: iconographyCourse start date: Wed 4 Nov 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoEver 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.Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Focus on: the art of SienaCourse start date: Thu 12 Nov 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Leslie PrimoThe 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.
Full fee £89.00 Senior fee £71.00 Concession £58.00 - Friday lates: Art in England transformed - the court of Charles ICourse start date: Fri 20 Mar 2026
Location on this date: Online
Tutors: Sophie RhodesThe 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.
Full fee £19.00 Senior fee £19.00 Concession £12.00
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