Previous Study Tours

“I really love my mornings at The Course and am so grateful you let me dip in and out if I am around.
The different topics you cover are extraordinary – and all fascinating. You go to such lengths to make it all so perfect and the atmosphere you create is full of friendship and fun. Thank you, thank you for such happy times.”

“How do you do it? Just when I think the series just ended is the best yet, along comes another which is even better. This has been a marvellous mix of the aesthetic and informative and remains in the memory. Marie-Anne’s lightness of touch belies remarkable erudition – a delight to listen to. The idea of wearing the subject colour is fun and starts you thinking about the lecture long before it begins. Notes exemplary”

“I love the series of lectures on offer so far. I think the organiser has taken a lot of thought and attention in selecting the topics, certainly the lectures I have attended since 2021. Highly recommended!!”

“I’d like to congratulate on another successful year’s lecture series especially given the background of the Coronavirus pandemic. I for one have truly appreciated the switch from physical to digital presentations as a means of continuing access to your wonderful lecturers. I know it cost you a lot of worry and headaches but it really has paid out in full!”

“Sadly, I have just finished your last lecture on the Art of Venice. It is difficult to truly express how much I enjoyed being transported to the Venetian lagoon each week (especially while in isolation) and being enveloped in the art and magnificence of the Basilica, churches, the Scuole, the Palazzi, Fondaci, and the country side villas. What an incredible journey and time travel over 7 centuries! Again, your presentation was incredibly informative and an absolute joy to listen to, more a performance than a lecture. This series exceeded all my expectations and my expectations were fairly high after taking two or three of your other series”

“An exceptionally well-structured course with excellent slides that facilitated side-by-side comparisons. Very thought-provoking.”

“I have just completed Nicole’s online course on the Art of Venice. It was truly fascinating, extremely well put together and I really appreciated the linear style which has helped me arrange the artists and their styles into relevant time frames. She has aptly demonstrated and explained why and how Venice is a city like no other, and how even its artists couldn’t help but celebrate it in their epic works. I have always thought of it as a sort of female city and now I think I know why! Epic! A tour de force!”

“Very insightful course, thought provoking. Loved looking at how different cultures handle same/similar materials.”

“A series and speaker of Olympian quality. I had never previously appreciated the immediacy and richness of a lecture in which the speaker did not refer to notes. Confiding rather than didactic. This series will remain in my memory for a long time.”

“Absolutely fascinating approach, which I have never seen before”

“I do not think The Course could be improved. The organization, lecturers and venue are all first class”

“This has been a hugely enjoyable series. Leslie’s breadth of knowledge is amazing but it is lightly worn and he shares it with modesty and an original wry humour.”

“A revelatory, microscopic look at some of the world’s most iconic art works, providing insights as to the artist’s intent. Outstanding! Your best course yet, Leslie.”

“Thank you for making my week so much more interesting and fulfilling. I am SO enjoying the course and already look forward to next term”

“It’s good to see that you are keeping ahead of things. I think it sends a very positive sign that there’s some normality in the country and that business owners (such as yourself) are continuing despite Covid19 doing everything in its power to disrupt us! I’m not a student but I follow your great website regularly.”

“Interesting, challenging and well run”

“Anyone who is interested in art history, culture, literature and architecture will be bowled over by the range and content of the courses planned by Mary Bromley and delivered by her team who are the most amazingly erudite, learned people you could meet but who provide fascinating insights into the world of art in easy to digest informative ways. If this person is you, make haste and look at The Course curriculum a.s.a.p. The Courses change each year and are not repeated! So hurry! Let The Course open up a brand new way of looking at and appreciating the amazing works of art that surround us here and abroad.”

“Fabulously insightful to the artists and their lives. Wonderfully articulated. Nicole gives Vasari a run for his money.”

“Marie-Anne Mancio’s Print and Print-Making course was excellent. Give any topic to Marie Anne and she seems to be able to bring it to life! A subject as dry as printmaking must have been a challenge but as always she rose to the challenge. I feel it’s as though she was tasked with ‘Your mission should you accept it is to do a four part lecture series on Prints and Printmaking and make it interesting!’ She did just that! She has shown how enriched we all are as a result of innovations in print, etching, engraving and lithography. Her inclusion of videos was also ingenious. I really enjoyed the emphasis on British artists and their political, moral and social takes on life.”

“A captivating study of the art world through the prism of colour. You have given me a new dimension to appreciating art”

“Please thank Marie Anne for her amazing series on the Cote D’Azur. It was like a ‘Through the Letterbox’ look at the lives and loves of some of the most well-known artists and writers of the 20th century. I feel as though she brought us into their homes as guests so we too could experience the highs and lows of the Belle Époque! I was amazed at how many stories there were to tell. The Cote D’Azur may be relatively contained in size but what a wealth of treasure she has inspired!”

“Outstanding lecturer with a rich knowledge, excellent slides and well delivered. Superior to any lectures on my degree courses.”

“I found the series thrilling in its inventiveness. Clearly art can’t be divorced from social context but Andrew Spira’s judicious choice of images and commentary created for me a wholly new strand of appreciation.”

“Thank you so much for enabling these lectures to happen on line. Not quite the same as being there but nevertheless still wonderful. I have enjoyed every minute of them and at least there is the consolation of being able to listen again and look at the images as many times as you like. It’s been lovely to have something so enjoyable to put in the structure of the week. To hear Nicole Mezey’s great expertise put across in such a clear and interesting fashion has been a real privilege and I have been able to join up my scattered bits of knowledge into a greatly expanded whole.”

“Exceptional courses and lecturers.”