Study day: master drawings from Michelangelo to Cezanne, a hidden art history

About this course

The course examines drawing in Europe from the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, considering its place in artistic training and its changing relationship with finished works. It explores drawings as studies, records, preparatory works and autonomous artworks, alongside the characteristics and expressive possibilities of techniques including charcoal, chalk, pen and ink. Examples involving artists such as Dürer, Goya and Gauguin are used to consider how drawings reveal artistic practice and why they became increasingly valued by collectors. Teaching is through lectures with slide images, supported by group discussion.

What you'll learn

• Describe the different roles drawing can play in artistic practice
• Explain how drawings relate to finished works of art
• Identify different drawing techniques and their characteristics
• Discuss the growing importance of drawings to collectors
• Recognise different periods of art

Is this course right for you?

The course is suitable for learners at all levels. Participants should be able to follow simple written and verbal instructions, demonstrations and hand-outs. The teaching combines lectures, slide images and group discussion, and learners should be willing to read assigned texts that contribute to some discussions.

• Includes group discussion alongside lecture-based teaching
• Assigned texts contribute to some aspects of the course

Before you go

• A notebook may be useful for taking notes.
• Learners may wish to buy books from any reading list provided for future study.