LeisureCourses.net – short courses & residential study breaks in great locations

This course will trace the development of Christian Rome as a major artistic and religious centre from Constantine (AD 306-337) to the time of Pope Gregory the Great (590-604), looking at the material evidence of churches, sculptures and mosaics, but also at the surviving historical evidence.

During the Renaissance society became more self-imaging, resulting in the establishment of the various formats and iconography associated with portraiture even today. We will examine how status, individuality and perception of self are portrayed through the work of both Italian and Northern artists including Leonardo, Titian, Raphael, Dürer and Holbein.

It is hard to imagine but most of our great artistic institutions are very young indeed. Some of our most famous such as the Royal Ballet, the Royal National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company being created only after the Second World War. This course will explore the history of music, theatre, literature, publishing, the visual arts, museums, cinema and broadcasting. It will examine the crucial role of private business, personal philanthropy and artistic vision - plus the involvement of…

Hieronymus Bosch is a medieval painter on the threshold of the Renaissance. His startling visions of Hell are part of late-medieval religion, rather than evidence of heresy or witchcraft. Proverbs are another important feature of his work, but it is its enigmatic and individual quality that continues to intrigue us.

The Burgundian Dukes were the real winners of the Hundred Years War between England and France. With lands from Burgundy to the Low Countries, the Dukes were wealthier than the French Crown and from their courts came the most extraordinary arts of the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance.

Landscape is everywhere; an obvious subject for painters and one which has inspired many of our greatest masters, from Gainsborough, Constable and Turner to the Pre-Raphaelites and Stanley Spencer. Come and spend a weekend exploring their struggles, their triumphs, and the passion that drove them to change the ways we look at nature forever.

Art was a key element in the 17th-century Dutch Republic's process of self-definition, with domestic life pictures clarifying the values that underpinned the emerging culture. By the time of Dutch independence from Spanish rule in 1648 the United Provinces had the highest standard of living in Europe, so who were the people who had achieved this remarkable development in European culture?

Religion is fundamental to defining Victorian England. The Anglican Church was characterised as 'the Tory Party at prayer', and religion was 'the opium of the people'. This course explores geographic patterns of belief and how the established church and nonconformist groups faced the twin challenges of industrialisation and urbanisation.

Have you ever seen a 'desco da parto' (birth tray)? What is it and what was it used for? And why is goddess Flora so often shown in paintings with a bare breast? For what special occasions were these things commissioned? All these objects are linked to the female sphere of Renaissance women. Through this course you will be questioning and learning about one of the most complex and contradictory chapters of our history.

We follow the artistic fortunes of Richard Nevinson, John Currie, Mark Gertler, Edward Wadsworth and Adrian Allinson, the five young artists portrayed in John Currie's 1912 painting 'Some Later Primitives and Madame Tisceron'. On this journey, we will encounter triumph and despair, fame and obscurity, and study some of the greatest British art of the 20th century.

The Romanesque period represents the first truly European wide international style, since the fall of the Roman Empire. Its spread alongside the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church is no coincidence, as both the Catholic faith and the nascent political ambitions of new nation states combined to create a heady mix of militant Christianity, politics, nationalism and a resurgence of culture. With its origins in the Byzantine, Merovingian, Carolingian, Ottonian and Moorish empires, we shall see how each of these…

Suitable for everyone: newcomers to art history, as well as those with a passionate interest in particular periods. Richard will introduce you to the objective, emotional and spiritual manifestations of Western art from the 14th century to the present day, exploring many aspects of paintings and sculptures through an adventure of nearly a thousand years of Western art. Not only will the techniques of fresco, tempera and oil painting be discussed, but also, the mysteries of iconography and symbolism, as…

Suitable for everyone: newcomers to art history, as well as those with a passionate interest in particular periods. Richard will introduce you to the objective, emotional and spiritual manifestations of Western art from the 14th century to the present day, exploring many aspects of paintings and sculptures through an adventure of nearly a thousand years of Western art. Not only will the techniques of fresco, tempera and oil painting be discussed, but also, the mysteries of iconography and symbolism, as…

From Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal, to Lord Frederick Leighton and Dorothy Dene, the work of many Victorian artists was influenced by their models, many of whom became their muses, mistresses or wives. In this course we will investigate the often complex relationships between Victorian artists and their models and celebrate the spectacular works of art resulting from these relationships.

How did a humble miller's son in 16th-century Italy become the most influential architect in the world? If you are interested in architecture then this introduction to Andrea Palladio's life and work is for you. We will examine the buildings Palladio produced in his lifetime, and you will discover how his architecture gained a global audience. No previous knowledge of architecture is required.

Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) is one of the most influential artists in the history of twentieth-century painting, inspiring generations of modern artists with his unique method of building form with colour and his analytical approach to nature. Both Matisse and Picasso are said to have remarked that Cézanne "is the father of us all." All-comers welcome.

Vincent's short life and artistic achievement is remarkable by any measure. Largely self-taught, we know that his individual vision of the world was born from his intense humanity and a passionate belief that painting could make a difference. In this course we will look deeply and critically at his extraordinary life, his work and legacy. We will examine the difficult relationship with his family and the importance of those close to him. Using the letters to his brother we will…