Main picture:

Antiquity has provided a standard by which all subsequent periods have tended to be judged. The Jenkins Venus was thought during the neoclassical period to be the embodiment of love and beauty, so fundamental to contemporary ideas of art appreciation.

Students examining 17th century inlay work with William Lorimer, in Christie’s warehouse, London. Annibale Carracci was one of the greatest draftsman of the late 16th century. His use dynamic controposto combined with fluidity of line were much admired by his patrons. Students in the Piazzo del Popolo with the twin churches of Santa Maria del Monte Santo and Santa Maria dei Miracoli built at the expense of Cardinal Gastaldi after 1662. This small bronze group of Venus and Adonis with Eroti was made by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi in Florence, circa 1700. The dramatic compositional structure which captures a fleeting moment of engagement between the two lovers is typical of Baroque sculpture.
Adele Bloch-Bauer was one of Gustave Klimt's most important patrons, and, it has been suggested, one of the artist's secret lovers. Dressed in a loose-fitting, Wiener Werkstatte gown, she is the first in a series of paintings of women set against decorative backgrounds in the manner of Japanese bjin-e executed after 1912. The internationalism of the art nouveau is epitomised by Charles Rennie Mackintosh whose work inspired many of the Vienna Secession artists after 1900, such as Gustav Klimt, and Peter Behrens. Ruhlmann’s designs absorbed the modernity of contemporary art movements such as cubism while also celebrating in the French tradition of Luxury cabinetmaking This teapot was designed by Christopher Dresser in 1880. Considered by many to be the first industrial designer, he produced radical designs that were 50 years ahead of their time.
The materials and methods of production and the creative forces behind the style and design of furniture help us to understand how the maker and designer transcended his craft to produce lasting works of fine art. The artist Jean-François de Troy was himself a member of the wealthy sophisticated Salon society of Paris in the 1720s. His tableaux de modes depict the luxuriously furnished interiors and rich textiles worn by the wealthy elite. Understanding a work of art sometimes requires more than agility of mind. This bearded mask of Heraclitus is part of a Régence ormolu-mounted and Boulle brass-inlaid clock, probably made by André-Charles Boulle himself, c,1720
Developments in print making, during the 19th century, including lithography allowed artists to explore new and bold methods of communication. Here Toulouse Lautrec’s La Troupe De Mademoiselle Eglantine epitomises both the gaiety and the exploitative nature of the era. Giuseppe de Nittis was invited by Degas to join Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and Cicely in the first Impressionist exhibition at the Nadar Gallery in Paris. Here, he is thought to show horses exercised before a race in Hyde Park, London, chronicalling the highlife and style in England and France during the Belle Epoque. Designed by Henri Guimard, the Paris métro sign is the epitome of Art Nouveau style, but Guimard also pioneered the industrial processes for mass production that would allow this new art to be disseminated to as wide a public as possible. The modern boulevards of Baron Haussman on a sleety autumn day were the inspiration for Béraud’s realistic depictions of modern Parisian life.
This painting is first recorded in the collection of Queen Christina of Sweden. It passed into the collection of the Dukes of Orléans and had only been seen in public once since 1844 before it was sold for a world record price by Christie’s in 1991 to the J. Paul Getty Museum, for over $13million. The maiolica technique was used in the Renaissance to promote classical historical scenes inspired by the new humanism, and made fashionable by the court at Urbino. Students on a study weekend at Harwood House examining the Giovanni Bellini Madonna and Child with Donor in the Gallery, an attribution which is in dispute. Titian was the greatest colourist of the Renaissance. This cross-section of vermillion pigment from Bacchus and Ariadne combined with x-radiographs and infra-red reflectography allow us to glimpse inside the workings of the master. Courtesy National Gallery, London.

The Christie's Part-time Course - Art, Style and Design

Course Content

  • Renaissance cultures in the North and South
  • Masters of the High Renaissance: Michelangelo, Leonardo,Raphael
  • Counter cultures – Mannerism in Painting and Architecture
  • Power and propaganda in the Baroque
  • Ceramics, Science and Industry
  • Rococo delights – pleasure, politics and style in 18th Century Europe
  • Furniture and interiors in early modern society
  • Neo-classicism: tourists, artists and amateurs
  • Regency: formality, informality and social mobility
  • Arts & Crafts movement: ethics and reform
  • Art Nouveau from Mackintosh to Gaudi and beyond
  • Art Deco: the luxurious face of modernism
  • Warhol and Pop: the threshold of contemporary art

Course Components

  • Core lecture series c.1450 – c.1960: provides the key information necessary for building a sound knowledge of the fine and decorative arts in Europe.
  • Study Trips: regular visits to UK sites throughout the year are included in the basic fee. Students can opt to join the two international Study Trips held each year for an additional fee.
  • Object-Based Study: students are given access to the public and commercial art worlds through regular visits to exhibitions, public and private galleries and auction previews.
  • Curatorial Studies: students are introduced to issues of display of art works in lectures and visits.
  • Journal: an opportunity for students who have opted in to assessed work, to create a yearbook of their experiences during the course based around the artworks they have studied. Students are invited to present their journal to the rest of the members of their programme at the end of the year.

Entry Requirements

Students must be over 21. There are no formal qualifications required to participate on this course but all students are interviewed to ensure that the course is appropriate for them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Christie's Part-time Course

Course Dates

Term 1

Thursday 30 September 2010
– Friday 10 December 2010

Term 2

Monday 10 January 2011
– Friday 18 March 2011

Term 3

Wednesday 27 April 2011
– Friday 1 July 2011

Course Fees

The Christie's Part-time Course: £8,800
With Certificate: £9,900

International Study Trips Fee: £1,600

Course Leader

Patrick Bade

Apply now

To apply for this course click here.