Art exchanges: between Europe and the East, 1400-1900

About this course

This course explores how diplomacy, travel, trade and scholarship shaped European and Islamic artistic exchange. It considers the movement of ideas and technology, including influences on decorative arts, craft industries, popular taste and 19th-century art and design. Teaching is centred on illustrated lectures, with slide images, tutor-provided handouts and opportunities for group discussion. Topics include European encounters with Persia and Central Asia, Venetian connections with Egypt and Syria, Islamic influence from Spain, the Dutch East Indies’ effect on 17th-century artists, and the work of French and British scholars and artists.

What you'll learn

• Identify three early European travellers or diplomats to the East.
• Describe an example of technological or intellectual exchange between the Islamic world and Europe.
• Explain how Eastern exchange affected two European craft industries.
• Identify two 19th-century designers whose work was influenced by Islamic art.

Is this course right for you?

The course is listed as suitable for all levels and combines illustrated lectures with group discussion. Participants should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations, handouts and health and safety information.

• Includes discussion in a group setting as well as lecture-based teaching.
• Uses Google Classroom to share course materials, so learners should be familiar with it or willing to learn how to use it.

Before you go

• Handouts and other course materials are shared digitally through Google Classroom.
• A notebook may be useful for taking notes.
• Books from any reading list may be purchased if desired.
• The live lectures are not recorded for later playback.