Art Appreciation: Power and Influence: Great Artists

This is an online art appreciation course taught by an experienced, enthusiastic and supportive tutor who will display artists’ paintings on screen as you learn more about each one. If you have an open-minded interest in art, the course will help you to understand and recognise the impact made by these seven artists - Titian, Albrecht Durer, El Greco, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Velazquez and Goya - on the work of subsequent artists. You will be able to ask questions and provide feedback if you wish. You will learn to identify some of the key characteristics of the work of artists under discussion, for example Rembrandt’s use of light and dark contrasts to deepen a sense of realism; the impact of the different developments and innovations initiated by the artists under discussion; the meaning of terms used to describe artists’ work such as “mannerism” to describe the elongation and exaggeration of form developed by El Greco; and you will also learn to identify the influences – social, cultural and/or political – on the work of the artists, such as the Counter-Reformation and the work of Caravaggio. After the course you may wish to study the artists independently or enrol on a further WEA course.