Art History for Beginners

This ten-week evening course has been designed for people who are intrinsically attracted to Fine Art, but may never have been formally educated or inducted into this fascinating and rich discipline of aesthetic tradition. For many, enjoyment of Fine Arts is often associated with a privileged and higher educational background. Our view, and the genesis for this course, is that this perception is increasingly less relevant and indeed, more importantly, wrong and unnecessarily elitist.

Our mantra is simple - “Art is for All” – to which the basis of this course transcends to, irrespective of educational attainment or background. Art is probably the oldest form of human expression. Accordingly, the motive behind this course is to provide those who may visit galleries and exhibitions, but who have little formal knowledge of Fine Art, with an opportunity to learn rapidly about its context and content. This course intends to enhance your enjoyment of experiencing original works as art forms, such as painting, drawing, printmaking and sculpture. The key to our approach is to distil the salient points of each art movement, within its history, in such a way that it allows the course participants the opportunity to further develop their understanding of art from a foundation.

The course takes the world of Western European Art and divides it into its eras of development.

Course Content

WEEK 1: OVERVIEW

• What is fine art?
• Why is it so important?
• Key art periods and movements
• Important terminology associated with great art works – form, content, purpose and provenance and other terminology of compositions, its manufacture and history
• Methodology and theory of art history development from Vasari to Panofsky

You will learn:

• Form, content, purpose and provenance and other terminology of compositions
• Manufacture and history
• The developments of art history

WEEK 2: TECHNIQUES AND COMPOSITION

• Portraits
• Stories, narratives, action
• Life drawings
• Still life, landscape
• Abstract
• Perspective and light
• Techniques and pigments

You will learn:

• The themes and concepts relating to old and modern master paintings
• The different techniques associated with fine art
• How certain techniques defined periods of history and their influence

WEEK 3: MEDIEVAL TO EARLY RENAISSANCE

Depictions of Patronage from the Nobility and Church within Europe

• The Gothic Style and the rise of commissioned artist
• Art form transitions (Italian and Netherlandish schools)

You will learn:

• The different art practices within Europe
• The changing attitudes of using tempera and oils on panel to oil on canvas
• The development away from earlier Medieval forms and into Early Renaissance

WEEK 4: HIGH RENAISSANCE

• Schools of Florence, Rome and Venice
• The International Style in the latter part of the Middle Ages
• Developing traditions for European artists
• The Master artist and his studio workshop

You will learn:

• The various styles of Italian schools during the renaissance and their impact
• To identify styles of artistry and their corresponding eras and influences

WEEK 5: 17th CENTURY BAROQUE

• Art as political leverage during the 17th Century Baroque period
• How politics and earlier traditions influenced architecture and interior design
• Counter Reformation in Italy, France and Spain

You will learn:

• How aristocracy and royalty used art for diplomacy
• The cultural influences of fine art and why they are still used today
• About the masters and how they became masters

WEEK 6: 18th CENTURY BAROQUE

• The Eighteenth Century British Grand Tour of Mediterranean Europe
• Collections and classical antiquities
• The emergence of Rococo decorative design movement

You will learn:

• How to identify paintings from the 16th to 18th century in terms of school, style, manufacture and relevance
• How and why collecting antiques developed a culture
• How interior design was influenced by Rococo and what this meant

WEEK 8: THE 20th CENTURY

• Paris and London Schools
• New York school and its international status
• Fauvism, Cubism, Constructivism, Bauhaus, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art

You will learn:

• The growth of Art Schools and their reputations
• Various movements that influenced the Modern era

WEEK 7: THE 19th CENTURY

• The Academy (UK and France)
• The salon and the art market
• Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Arts and Crafts, and Post-Impressionism

You will learn

• The developments of art within the UK and France
• The introduction of the salon and the art market and their influences
• Movements that emerged during the 19th century that defined the Modern era

ASSESSMENTS

Delegates will tackle hands-on exercises at the end of each section to cement their learning, and personal achievement will be assessed throughout the 10 weeks.

Graded Assessment:

• In-class exercises and homework
• Exam counting as 75% of final grade

AWARD & RECOGNITION

This course is approved by the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Certification Service. On successful completion of a course, delegates are awarded a certificate to demonstrate completing and passing an examination or producing a successful assessment.

*Please note: A marking fee of £50 is to be paid directly to the tutor at the end of the course, for the marking of the examination. Please contact us on 0207 221 3399 for details, or complete the enquiry form.

Please contact us on 0207 221 3399 for details, or complete the enquiry form.

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