Twentieth-century London was characterised by profound change as the emergence of new superpower nations, world wars, and the end of empire caused profound shifts in the nation’s social, economic and political status. Architects played a significant role in responding to these changes and stepped up to the challenge of transforming a Victorian city into a

This course will explore the mutually enriching intersection between art and the garden. Often seen as works of art in and of themselves, great gardens have always inspired and delighted those who make and appreciate them.  Crossing time periods and cultures, we will explore some of the finest examples of actual gardens full of art

Today the Nordic countries are considered to be politically stable, their populations among the happiest on the planet. This short course will highlight past conflicts and traumatic events, and will follow their search for national identity among one sector of the population – their artists.

With an eye to important paintings, musical instruments and pictures with musical content, this series explores the world of music found in a range of country houses, museums, and art galleries around Europe. Venues include the Mauritshuis in the Hague, the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Hatfield House in Hertfordshire, the Dulwich Picture Gallery in London,

What, if anything, has characterised English art over the centuries? What lies behind some of its spectacular periods of success or failure? Through painting, architecture and Nature, this course considers the creativity of a nation.

The Early Medici and Their Artists: Church & Monastery Commissions The Medici family, led by Cosimo de’ Medici in the early 1400s, wielded immense economic and political power in Florence. Their patronage extended across architecture, sculpture, painting, and humanist scholarship that defined Renaissance culture. For the Medici, art was more than ornamentation; it was a

How do we determine which artist might have painted what, hundreds of years ago? The old documents are rarely specific, and not always trustworthy, even when we still have them, which in most cases we don’t. So, we usually have to reason it out, by trusting our eyes; or, to be more precise, by trusting the

Europe faces a pivotal moment in its history, where debates over unity and diversity hold renewed urgency. This lecture series is the second of two that examine the idea of Europe through some of its most distinctive cities, tracing the development of their urban forms, the lives of those who shaped them, and the architectural

‘Germanness’ and nationalism collided with modern movements and cosmopolitanism in the art of Germany from the mid-nineteenth century onwards.  Berlin’s Nationalgalerie, founded in 1861 collected only contemporary art unlike other similar European institutions. It, too, became a site of contested ideas about art and the spirit of nationhood.  We will focus on these themes through

Bankruptcy, murder, addiction or prosperity, monastic serenity and chess – for better or worse, the personal experience of the artist is reflected in their art. Taking a variety of artists, we will look first at their lives, from the monastery of Fra Angelico to the mental asylum of Richard Dadd or the decadence of Montmartre

There are many strange figures over our heads: gods, monsters, great bursts of elaborate foliage. This course will introduce the (usually) sculpted embellishments of the buildings of London, some great and celebrated, others obscure. We will attempt to understand both what is represented and why. The lectures are arranged roughly chronologically, but the ancient heritage