This course is an amalgam of two day schools, so covers separate periods in art history. The first describes the life and works of the two best known Spanish court painters - Velazquez and Goya. Very different artists, very different times. Velazquez sees the end of the Hapsburg line on the throne, Goya, the end of the Bourbon line at the hands of Napoleon. The second visits the time when the Netherlands reigned supreme. Freed from the yoke of Spain they flourished as traders, explorers and artists. The major art figures of the time were Rubens, Vermeer and Rembrandt; very different artists, very different personalities. We shall set them all in time and place.
Course aim
This course will acquaint you first with the rarified atmosphere of the Spanish court and its stifling protocols. Then we shall discuss the relative freedoms to explore life and art as the world is opened up by trade in the Netherlands.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Evaluate the impact of the images discussed upon others both then and later.
- Relate the impact of the social context to the artist’s work.
- Understand how artists achieve the effects credited to their work and their influence on other artists
- Use new skills to selectively view items in galleries
What else do I need to know?
Nothing
View full course information sheet
Art History: Spanish Court Painters meet the Dutch Golden Age with Kate Phillips
