Introduction to the Wallace Collection
This course has now started
Course Code: VB847
Choose a start date
Duration: 4 sessions (over 4 weeks)
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What is the course about?
The Wallace Collection is home to one of Europe’s finest collections of works of art, paintings, furniture, arms and armour, and porcelain. In this four-session course we look at how the different aspects of the collection reflect both the history of Western European art and also the tastes of its original owners in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries - the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace, the son of the 4th Marquess. We will be looking at how changes in painting styles are reflected in the decorative arts and vice versa.
A meeting point will be emailed to you within a week of the start date.
What will we cover?
We will focus on different aspects of the Wallace Collection each week, including:
- The history of the collection
- Renaissance paintings and Majolica
- Dutch Golden Age painting
- Arms and Armour
- Rococo - fine and decorative arts
- Neoclassical - fine and decorative arts.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
• Describe how the Wallace Collection came into being
• List at least three Old Master paintings held by the Wallace and describe why they are considered important in the history of collecting
• List three characteristics of the Rococo style – used across the fine and decorative arts
• List three characteristics of the Neoclassical style – used across the fine and decorative arts
• Give an example of how the design of arms and armour reflects other decorative arts.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is suitable for all levels.
You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
This is an interactive course, with a mixture of tutor-led learning and group discussion, with individual exploration very much encouraged.
Museum/gallery-based courses take place during public access hours. Tutors are not able to control sound levels or behaviours of visitors outside of the course group. Unless you are a wheelchair user, and have confirmed access details with us (as levels of access can vary between galleries), you will need to be able to walk between exhibits and stand for some time while looking at them (you may bring your own portable stool if you have one, but we cannot guarantee access to any gallery stools.) If you feel you may be impacted by these environmental variations, please inform the department on humanities@citylit.ac.uk before the course begins, to discuss reasonable accommodations we can make to assist your learning in the museum space.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
You might also be interested in:
Introduction to the V&A
National Gallery
Art & Revolution in the long 18th century.
Julie Barlow has a degree in Art History/History from the University of Hull and an MPhil (Fine Arts) from the University of Birmingham. She has worked in a variety of roles at Leighton House, V&A and Tate Gallery before studying for a PGCE and moving into Museum Education. Julie has over twenty years of experience as a freelance lecturer at the National Portrait Gallery working on all areas of the Education Programme and also for the first ten years at the National Gallery and in the last decade at the Wallace Collection.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
