Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art history
Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.
Learning modes and locations may be different depending on the course start date. Please check the location of your chosen course and read our guide to learning modes and locations to help you choose the right course for you.
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Drawing has long been a favoured medium for artists, offering not only a means to plan an artwork but also a way to study or record a subject and an outlet of expression.
Drawing has long been a fundamental tool in artistic practices and offers us a fascinating way to explore hidden histories of practices and purposes of art. A key tool for training young artists, drawing offers us the chance to understand artistic education. Similarly, preparatory drawings offer us a valuable means to trace how artists evolved a finished work. Equally, we can follow an artist’s fascination with a subject, either through their careful studies or rapid sketches made to quickly record a place or event. The varied qualities of drawing mediums, from charcoal and chalk to pen and ink, offer artists a personal outlet of expression. The possibility of viewing an artist’s thought process in their drawings has long been prized by writers including Vasari and collectors, prompting artists to make finished drawings to serve a growing demand for collecting drawings.
This course will chart the significance of drawing in Europe from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Considering how artists, including Dürer, Goya and Gaugin have experimented with different techniques in their art, using it to record a subject, prepare an artwork, or to create autonomous artworks in response to the growing interest in collecting drawings, this course will explore the importance of drawing as an art form and how, closely entwined with art history, its key role in understanding art history.
What will we cover?
• Drawing’s role in artistic training
• Techniques and their characteristics and the allure of drawing as an outlet of expression
• Different roles of drawing: studies, records, preparatory and autonomous works
• Reception of drawing as works of art
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
· Describe the different roles of drawing
· Understand the role of drawing in relation to a finished work of art
· Identify different techniques of drawing
· Understand the growing importance of drawing to collectors
· Recognise different periods of art
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 and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion.
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 for future study
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
'Through Venetian Eyes': Canaletto in London
Art of the Grand Tour: a Cultural Education: c.1660-1800
Art and the Studiolo: Collecting practices in Renaissance Italy
Bryony Bartlett-Rawlings gained her MA and PhD at the Courtauld Institute of Art, where she specialised in early print culture. She has worked as Assistant Curator of Paintings and Drawings and Assistant Curator of Engraved Ornament at the V&A, Print Room Assistant at the Courtauld Institute and the Image Researcher for the revised edition of Taste and the Antique. She has lectured at the V&A, Courtauld Institute, and University of Buckingham, and published extensively on the graphic arts. Her co-edited volume of essays Placing Prints was published in 2025.
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.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/study-day-master-drawings-from-michelangelo-to-cezanne-a-hidden-art-history2945001Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art historyhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/s/t/study-day-master-drawings-from-michelangelo-to-cezanne-a-hidden-art-history-vb280-1080.jpg7979GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Introductory & general art history courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities22851136113711771228511771136<p>Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.</p>003036544Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art history7979https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/s/t/study-day-master-drawings-from-michelangelo-to-cezanne-a-hidden-art-history-vb280-1080_2.jpgInStockDaytimeSunKeeley StreetAvailable coursesOne-off onlyWeekend2026-11-15T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allNov 2026Culture, history & humanitiesVB2807979Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art history635179Bryony Bartlett-Rawlingsstudy-day-master-drawings-from-michelangelo-to-cezanne-a-hidden-art-history/vb280-2627<p>Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.</p>0000-Available|2026-11-15 00:00:00<p>Drawing has long been a favoured medium for artists, offering not only a means to plan an artwork but also a way to study or record a subject and an outlet of expression.</p><p>Drawing has long been a fundamental tool in artistic practices and offers us a fascinating way to explore hidden histories of practices and purposes of art. A key tool for training young artists, drawing offers us the chance to understand artistic education. Similarly, preparatory drawings offer us a valuable means to trace how artists evolved a finished work. Equally, we can follow an artist’s fascination with a subject, either through their careful studies or rapid sketches made to quickly record a place or event. The varied qualities of drawing mediums, from charcoal and chalk to pen and ink, offer artists a personal outlet of expression. The possibility of viewing an artist’s thought process in their drawings has long been prized by writers including Vasari and collectors, prompting artists to make finished drawings to serve a growing demand for collecting drawings.</p><p>This course will chart the significance of drawing in Europe from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Considering how artists, including Dürer, Goya and Gaugin have experimented with different techniques in their art, using it to record a subject, prepare an artwork, or to create autonomous artworks in response to the growing interest in collecting drawings, this course will explore the importance of drawing as an art form and how, closely entwined with art history, its key role in understanding art history.</p><p>Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.</p><p>• Drawing’s role in artistic training</p><p>• Techniques and their characteristics and the allure of drawing as an outlet of expression</p><p>• Different roles of drawing: studies, records, preparatory and autonomous works</p><p>• Reception of drawing as works of art</p><p>· Describe the different roles of drawing</p><p>· Understand the role of drawing in relation to a finished work of art</p><p>· Identify different techniques of drawing</p><p>· Understand the growing importance of drawing to collectors</p><p>· Recognise different periods of art</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.</p><p>You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion.</p><p>You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided for future study</p><p>'Through Venetian Eyes': Canaletto in London</p><p>Art of the Grand Tour: a Cultural Education: c.1660-1800</p><p>Art and the Studiolo: Collecting practices in Renaissance Italy</p>Art historyIntroductory & general art history coursesvirtual637951VB280NONESun15/11/2610:30 - 16:3010:3016:301 session1One-off onlyDaytimeWeekendKSKeeley StreetBryony Bartlett-RawlingsBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allAvailable courses2026-11-15T00:00:00+00:00Nov 2026Culture, history & humanities7979Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art historystudy-day-master-drawings-from-michelangelo-to-cezanne-a-hidden-art-history/vb280-2627<p>Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.</p>0000-Available|2026-11-15 00:00:00<p>Drawing has long been a favoured medium for artists, offering not only a means to plan an artwork but also a way to study or record a subject and an outlet of expression.</p><p>Drawing has long been a fundamental tool in artistic practices and offers us a fascinating way to explore hidden histories of practices and purposes of art. A key tool for training young artists, drawing offers us the chance to understand artistic education. Similarly, preparatory drawings offer us a valuable means to trace how artists evolved a finished work. Equally, we can follow an artist’s fascination with a subject, either through their careful studies or rapid sketches made to quickly record a place or event. The varied qualities of drawing mediums, from charcoal and chalk to pen and ink, offer artists a personal outlet of expression. The possibility of viewing an artist’s thought process in their drawings has long been prized by writers including Vasari and collectors, prompting artists to make finished drawings to serve a growing demand for collecting drawings.</p><p>This course will chart the significance of drawing in Europe from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century. Considering how artists, including Dürer, Goya and Gaugin have experimented with different techniques in their art, using it to record a subject, prepare an artwork, or to create autonomous artworks in response to the growing interest in collecting drawings, this course will explore the importance of drawing as an art form and how, closely entwined with art history, its key role in understanding art history.</p><p>Uncover hidden histories in art through the universal medium of drawing. Explore drawing’s significant role in shaping art and how artists including Leonardo, Rembrandt and Cezanne have been drawn to its expressive possibilities to make personal studies and autonomous works of art.</p><p>• Drawing’s role in artistic training</p><p>• Techniques and their characteristics and the allure of drawing as an outlet of expression</p><p>• Different roles of drawing: studies, records, preparatory and autonomous works</p><p>• Reception of drawing as works of art</p><p>· Describe the different roles of drawing</p><p>· Understand the role of drawing in relation to a finished work of art</p><p>· Identify different techniques of drawing</p><p>· Understand the growing importance of drawing to collectors</p><p>· Recognise different periods of art</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. You should be willing to read the assigned texts as they will be key to certain aspects of our lectures and discussions.</p><p>You will be taught by lecture with slide images and you will be invited to participate in group discussion.</p><p>You might wish to purchase a notebook for taking notes. You might wish to buy some of the books on any reading list provided for future study</p><p>'Through Venetian Eyes': Canaletto in London</p><p>Art of the Grand Tour: a Cultural Education: c.1660-1800</p><p>Art and the Studiolo: Collecting practices in Renaissance Italy</p>Art historyIntroductory & general art history coursesconfigurable
11371136Introductory & general art history courseshttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/art-history/introductory-general-art-history1/2/285/1177/1136/11371/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Introductory & general art history courses
Gods and heroes from Classical to Renaissance artFull fee £199.00 Senior fee £159.00 Concession £129.00