Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.
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.
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.
This course offers an introduction to history of Western art and will include a study of works of art from Antiquity to the present day. We will look at the history of art thematically, covering different ideas and concepts that have been used in the discipline. We will explore how art has been made, understood, and valued across different time periods, from the idealised sculptures of the ancient world to contemporary art practices.
Rather than following a purely chronological approach, the course is structured around key themes that shape the discipline: standards of beauty, the myth of the artist, formal analysis, the rise of the art market, the role of institutions, cultural heritage and repatriation, gender and representation, and the power of art criticism. Each theme is grounded in selected case studies that move through major periods in art history-including the Renaissance, Baroque, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism.
Throughout the course, learners will be introduced to foundational skills in visual analysis while engaging with critical perspectives that question the canon and examine institutional power. A range of artists will be discussed, from Titian, Artemisia Gentileschi and Vincent Van Gogh to the Guerilla Girls, alongside debates on restitution, the art market, and feminist and global approaches to art history.
Whether you’re new to the subject or returning with fresh curiosity, this course invites you to see art with greater insight, awareness, and imagination
What will we cover?
- What is art history? Introduction to the key methods
- The materials used to make works of art and what they tell us
- Artistic intent and the social and cultural contexts which inform a work of art
- Art criticism and the art market
- Questions over restitution of art
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
- Describe some of the different ways in which art historians talk about art
- Discuss how cultural and social contexts can shape how art is made, used and valued
- Identify major artists, artworks, and debates which have influenced the discipline of art history
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. This course takes place on Zoom and uses a Google Classroom to share materials.
Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, pleaseclick here.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions. Handouts will be provided by your tutor to support your learning on the course via a Google Classroom. You will be invited to join the Google Classroom within a week of your course start date.
Please note: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.
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.
Sophie Rhodes's interests and research lie in early modern British art, with a particular focus on watercolour and portrait miniature painting. She holds an MA in History of Art from Birkbeck, University of London, and completed a PhD at the University of Cambridge and the National Portrait Gallery, where she researched the seventeenth-century artist Peter Oliver. She has published on the commissioning and collecting of portrait miniatures at the court of Charles I, and has an interest more generally in transnationalism and immigration to early modern Britain. She has taught history of art survey courses at the University of Cambridge and the University of Edinburgh.
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/ways-into-art-history2490532Ways into art historyhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/w/a/ways-into-art-history-1080.jpg199199GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Art history/Introductory & general art history courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Online courses228511361137117717311228511771136<p>Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.</p>003046324Ways into art history199199https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/product/w/a/ways-into-art-history-1080_4.jpgInStockDaytimeFriOnlineAvailable courses5-10 weeksWeekday2026-10-30T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allOct 2026Culture, history & humanitiesVB902199199Ways into art history199129199Sophie Rhodesways-into-art-history/vb902-2627<p>Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.</p>0000-Available|2026-10-30 00:00:00<p>This course offers an introduction to history of Western art and will include a study of works of art from Antiquity to the present day. We will look at the history of art thematically, covering different ideas and concepts that have been used in the discipline. We will explore how art has been made, understood, and valued across different time periods, from the idealised sculptures of the ancient world to contemporary art practices.</p><p>Rather than following a purely chronological approach, the course is structured around key themes that shape the discipline: standards of beauty, the myth of the artist, formal analysis, the rise of the art market, the role of institutions, cultural heritage and repatriation, gender and representation, and the power of art criticism. Each theme is grounded in selected case studies that move through major periods in art history-including the Renaissance, Baroque, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism.</p><p>Throughout the course, learners will be introduced to foundational skills in visual analysis while engaging with critical perspectives that question the canon and examine institutional power. A range of artists will be discussed, from Titian, Artemisia Gentileschi and Vincent Van Gogh to the Guerilla Girls, alongside debates on restitution, the art market, and feminist and global approaches to art history.</p><p>Whether you’re new to the subject or returning with fresh curiosity, this course invites you to see art with greater insight, awareness, and imagination</p><p>Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.</p><p>- What is art history? Introduction to the key methods</p><p>- The materials used to make works of art and what they tell us</p><p>- Artistic intent and the social and cultural contexts which inform a work of art</p><p>- Art criticism and the art market</p><p>- Questions over restitution of art</p><p>- Describe some of the different ways in which art historians talk about art</p><p>- Discuss how cultural and social contexts can shape how art is made, used and valued</p><p>- Identify major artists, artworks, and debates which have influenced the discipline of art history</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information. This course takes place on Zoom and uses a Google Classroom to share materials.</p><p>Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, please<a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions. Handouts will be provided by your tutor to support your learning on the course via a Google Classroom. You will be invited to join the Google Classroom within a week of your course start date.</p><p><strong>Please note</strong>: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.</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.</p><p>Looking at paintings</p><p>A history of art in 100 objects</p>Art historyIntroductory & general art history coursesvirtual199199129VB902NONEFri30/10/26 - 11/12/2610:30 - 12:4510:3012:457 sessions (over 7 weeks)75-10 weeksWeekdayOnlineOnlineSophie RhodesBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allAvailable courses2026-10-30T00:00:00+00:00DaytimeOct 2026Culture, history & humanities199199Ways into art historyways-into-art-history/vb902-2627<p>Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.</p>0000-Available|2026-10-30 00:00:00<p>This course offers an introduction to history of Western art and will include a study of works of art from Antiquity to the present day. We will look at the history of art thematically, covering different ideas and concepts that have been used in the discipline. We will explore how art has been made, understood, and valued across different time periods, from the idealised sculptures of the ancient world to contemporary art practices.</p><p>Rather than following a purely chronological approach, the course is structured around key themes that shape the discipline: standards of beauty, the myth of the artist, formal analysis, the rise of the art market, the role of institutions, cultural heritage and repatriation, gender and representation, and the power of art criticism. Each theme is grounded in selected case studies that move through major periods in art history-including the Renaissance, Baroque, Romanticism, Impressionism, and Modernism.</p><p>Throughout the course, learners will be introduced to foundational skills in visual analysis while engaging with critical perspectives that question the canon and examine institutional power. A range of artists will be discussed, from Titian, Artemisia Gentileschi and Vincent Van Gogh to the Guerilla Girls, alongside debates on restitution, the art market, and feminist and global approaches to art history.</p><p>Whether you’re new to the subject or returning with fresh curiosity, this course invites you to see art with greater insight, awareness, and imagination</p><p>Do you enjoy looking at art but want to understand it more deeply? This introduction to art history course will help you build confidence in interpreting art by exploring topics such as beauty, the role of the artist, gender, the art market, and global art history-giving you fresh insight into what you see in galleries and museums.</p><p>- What is art history? Introduction to the key methods</p><p>- The materials used to make works of art and what they tell us</p><p>- Artistic intent and the social and cultural contexts which inform a work of art</p><p>- Art criticism and the art market</p><p>- Questions over restitution of art</p><p>- Describe some of the different ways in which art historians talk about art</p><p>- Discuss how cultural and social contexts can shape how art is made, used and valued</p><p>- Identify major artists, artworks, and debates which have influenced the discipline of art history</p><p>This course is suitable for all levels.</p><p>You should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, hand-outs and health and safety information. This course takes place on Zoom and uses a Google Classroom to share materials.</p><p>Please be familiar with or be willing to learn how to operate elements of Zoom, specifically camera, microphone and chat functions. For more on how our online learning works, please<a href="https://help.citylit.ac.uk/hc/en-gb/articles/11273523970845-What-is-your-City-Lit-student-IT-account" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">click here</a>.</p><p>You will be taught online with slide presentations and group discussions. Handouts will be provided by your tutor to support your learning on the course via a Google Classroom. You will be invited to join the Google Classroom within a week of your course start date.</p><p><strong>Please note</strong>: this is a live lecture course and will not be recorded for playback for reasons of copyright, digital infrastructure and data protection.</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.</p><p>Looking at paintings</p><p>A history of art in 100 objects</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
