London's smaller galleries: Dulwich Picture Gallery
- Course Code: VB976
- Dates: 05/06/24 - 05/06/24
- Time: 14:00 - 16:00
- Taught: Wed, Daytime
- Duration: 1 session
- Location: Off Site
- Tutor: Julie Barlow
Course Code: VB976
Duration: 1 session
Please note: We offer a wide variety of financial support to make courses affordable. Just visit our online Help Centre for more information on a range of topics including fees, online learning and FAQs.
What is the course about?
The oldest public art gallery in England, the Dulwich Picture Gallery opened its doors in 1817 in a purpose-built building designed by Sir John Soane, architect of the Bank of England. The collection has over 650 works of art from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries including paintings by Rubens, Van Dyck, Velazquez, Canaletto, Rembrandt and Poussin.
The core of the Dulwich collection was put together by two London art dealers Sir Francis Bourgeois (1753-1811) and his business partner, Frenchman Noël Desenfans (1744-1807). Their collection took them five years to assemble and represents a microcosm of Old Master collecting at the end of the eighteenth century. Their contribution resulted in another unusual feature: Dulwich has its own mausoleum Bourgeois and Desenfans are buried there.
In this course we explore the history of the collection and examine some of its finest artworks.
In this course we explore the history of the collection and examine some of its finest artworks.
What will we cover?
• The architecture of the Dulwich Picture gallery
• Highlights from the collection
• The history of the collection.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of Sir John Soane’s design for the gallery
- Describe 3 key works from the collection
- Discuss how the Dulwich collection reflects late eighteenth-century art collecting.
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, and will be invited to take part in group discussion.
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?
The course fee does not include the museum fee. You will be prompted to purchase your museum ticket within a week of the course start date. Museum admittance will not exceed £15.
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:
• VB144 / VB884 - London's smaller art collections
• VB624 - London's smaller galleries: Apsley House
• VB884 - London's smaller galleries: Leighton House
• VB803 - A grand day out: the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge
• VB805 - A grand day out: Ashmolean and Christchurch Picture Gallery.
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.
