The concept of the solitary male genius has been a dominant theme of Western art histories. Wives, mistresses, partners and collaborators have often been chased into the shadows, even if they too were practicing artists in their own right.  We will explore the complexities of some of these notable artistic relationships, with an emphasis on

Ever since its inception two-hundred years ago, the National Gallery has been open to the public free of charge. Starting with a small collection, it has grown to just over 2,500 paintings including some of the greatest masterpieces in Western European art.  Each week, this gallery-based course will tell the story of the National Gallery

Over the centuries, composers and painters have often drawn inspiration from the same subject matter – a crow on a dead branch, a lonely traveller, a man contemplating the moon, are common themes, for example, in both the songs of Franz Schubert and the canvases of Caspar David Friedrich.  However, the worlds of music and paintings

Portraits, piety, the classical world – it is the great celebratory themes which dominate our perception of the history of art, but the artist’s familiar world, both personal and social, filters in around the edges, creating vivid images of contemporary experience. Certain themes, like feasting and friendship, are constant over the centuries, but we will

This course will study the influences from East to West, and West to East, on the East Asian cultures of Cambodia and Vietnam, Japan and China, from Classical times to the Modern era.  China was the most influential culture in East Asia. Its influence is seen everywhere, from the complex writing system to its elegant

Performance of all kinds – from opera and dance to the spoken-word and many other manifestations in between – has been a site of fascination for artists. With the advent of the ‘stage reform movement’ in the late-nineteenth century and the emergence of significant European empresarios, the drive to make theatre anew became ever more

London of the Victorian and Edwardian period is all around us, so much so that we scarcely register the scale of building, and the ambition and inventiveness of the architecture of the period. The shops and pubs we use, great swathes of housing, as well as a number of new suburbs were developed during this

In 1863, a 31year old artist exhibited a masterpiece, Luncheon on the Grass (Déjeuner sur l’Herbe) at the notorious Salon des Refusés in Paris. From that moment on, Edouard Manet was as celebrated by younger artists, the future Impressionists, as he was deplored, mocked and excluded by the art establishment. Rejecting a comfortable life of

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,