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Monday
Monday
10 March 2025 - 24 March 2025 ( 6 hours, 3 weeks )
View course timetable
Off-site location
Discover how art and society developed in Europe by looking at paintings in the National Gallery with Dr Carlo Corsato. Each week, we will focus on different artworks by various artists from the 15th to 19th centuries. We will be investigating some lesser-known paintings with incredible stories. We will understand how well-renowned masterpieces became such iconic images. We will talk about great masters such as Van Eyck, Leonardo, Dürer, Titian, Artemisia Gentileschi, Rembrandt, Velazquéz, Poussin, Vigée Le Brun, Turner, Gainsborough, Rosa Bonheur, Cezanne, Monet, and many others. Most importantly, we will have a great time enjoying some of the most significant national treasures, made available to the public free of charge. Join a friendly group of people passionate about art and curious about the world around us. Provide yourself with the tools to understand and enjoy paintings beyond specialist knowledge. Learn how to read images, the rules of visual language, the vocabulary you may use to describe what they represent and how they make you feel.
Sessions will be taught in an informal lecture/discussion format with group activities, mindful observation and interactive Q/A. Your tutor Dr Carlo Corsato has over ten years of experience in adult education and student-led learning. Learners will be encouraged to offer their views, ask questions, and contribute to conversations, maintaining a high level of engagement at all times. Unexpected views and challenging questions are more than welcome and treated with respect. History and art-historical facts are presented with great expertise without unnecessary technical jargon or a scholarly lecture style.
No previous knowledge of art history is needed or expected for this course, just a visual curiosity and a sense of enquiry for the ideas circulating around art and society in Europe. We welcome students from any background and walks of life. Over the years, this course proved to be particularly stimulating and thought-provoking for young people and practitioners. Dr Carlo Corsato believes that diversity always makes a learning experience fuller and more meaningful.
The course is taught onsite at the National Gallery. We meet every week in the Sainsbury Wing Foyer at 1.50 pm, and we make our way up to Level 1 at 2 pm sharp. If you cannot attend, please get in touch with your tutor in advance. A room list for each session will be provided a week in advance to allow latecomers to catch up with the group. Although a certain stamina level may be required, we will avoid long walks and try not to stand in front of paintings for too long. The Gallery also provides a limited number of free stools, and benches and sofas are available in a few rooms.
You may wish to bring a pencil/pen and paper for making notes. You may also like to use your phone or a non-professional camera for taking pictures without the use of flash. More information on the National Gallery website: https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/visiting/visitor-photography
