Right here in Sydney, in the Grand Courts of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, hangs a remarkable story of European art. Join us on a guided gallery tour through four centuries of painting, from the glowing gold of the late Middle Ages to the elegance of the 18th century. We'll begin with a 15th-century Sienese altarpiece of the Madonna and Child with saints, exploring how artists painted with egg-based paint and gold leaf. From there we'll trace the flowering of Italian painting, and the dramatic influence of Caravaggio on 17th-century artists such as Ribera and Strozzi. We'll meet Jacques Blanchard, known as the 'French Titian', admire exquisite Dutch and Spanish still lifes, and travel to 18th-century Venice with Canaletto and Tiepolo. We'll finish with the great English portrait painters Reynolds, Gainsborough and Hogarth. Along the way you'll gain a clear 'big picture' of European art, its history, culture and techniques, as seen through Sydney's own collection.

Join fellow art lovers in a relaxed, friendly group. Look closely, ask questions, share your impressions, and see our state gallery's treasures with fresh eyes.

DELIVERY MODE

Face to face

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Meet outside the Art Gallery of New South Wales 10 minutes before tour starts. 

COURSE OUTLINE

• Join us on a captivating journey through the evolution of European painting, from the luminous beauty of the Renaissance to the drama and grandeur of the Baroque and the elegance of 18th-century art.
• We begin with the 15th-century Sienese painter San Pietro’s Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome, John the Baptist, Bernardino and Bartholomew, exploring its Byzantine, late Medieval and early Renaissance influences, including egg tempera, gold leaf and tooling.
• We then trace the evolution of Italian art through works by Prospero Fontana and Giovanni Battista Moroni, before discovering Caravaggio’s powerful influence on 17th-century Europe through Giuseppe Ribera, Giulio Cesare Procaccini and Bernardo Strozzi.
• We will encounter Jacques Blanchard, the “French Titian”, and his richly coloured Mars and the Vestal Virgin, followed by exquisite Dutch and Spanish still lifes by Laurens Craen and Juan de Zurbaran.
• Our journey concludes in 18th-century Venice with Canaletto and Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, and with the celebrated English portraitists Joshua Reynolds, Thomas Gainsborough and William Hogarth.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

• Have an overarching "big picture" of the evolution of European painting from the late Middle Ages to the conclusion of the 18th century, as seen in the Art Gallery of New South Wales collection.