Art Appreciation Courses
See art through history, ideas, and interpretation.
Explore major artworks, artists, and movements across different periods and styles. These courses focus on understanding visual culture and developing confidence in discussing and interpreting art in context.
Art and Philosophy
Available Classes
Art and Philosophy
<p>This course looks at the reciprocal relationship between Western art and philosophy. Artists are often been inspired by the thinkers of their time and philosophers have reflected on the meaning and
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Available Classes
From French Royalty to Empire - Art and decorative elegance from Louis XIV's Versailles to Napoleon
<p>French monarchs managed their images as carefully as any self-branded celebrity today. How did Louis XIV use the artisans and artists of the day through his patronage to enhance and dazzle his
...Approximately 4 hours
Available Classes
Portraits of Russia: Rublëv, Pushkin, Turgenev, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky
<p>This course, focussed on the life and work of some of Russia’s most outstanding personalities, will begin with the work of Andrey Rublëv, Russia’s most famous icon painter, and his circle, and the
...Approximately 6 hours
A Celebration of 400 Years of Women Artists
Available Classes
A Celebration of 400 Years of Women Artists
<p>In every century there have been outstanding women artists who have achieved a reputation that has tested time and sat well-earned, alongside their male colleagues. Often their life stories are
...Approximately 5 hours
WEA Sydney Art Exhibition 2026
Available Classes
WEA Sydney Art Exhibition 2026
<p><strong>Discover. Connect. Be Inspired.</strong></p>
<p>Celebrate creativity, curiosity and community at the WEA Sydney Art Exhibition 2026.</p>
<p>This special exhibition showcases the
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The 10 Most Famous Paintings in the World - and Why
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The 10 Most Famous Paintings in the World - and Why
<p>What makes a painting famous? Is it the image itself, the story behind it, the artist’s reputation, or the powerful response it still provokes? This course explores ten of the best-known paintings
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Caravaggio: The "Bad Boy" Genius of Italian Baroque
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Caravaggio: The "Bad Boy" Genius of Italian Baroque
<p>Learn about the historical significance of Counter Reformation Art as propaganda, and how Caravaggio revolutionised Baroque Art in the late 16th early 17th century. We will discover that churches
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Romanticism to Realism: Friedrich, Menzel and Kollwitz
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Romanticism to Realism: Friedrich, Menzel and Kollwitz
<p>This course follows the evolution of German art across three generations through Caspar David Friedrich, Adolph Menzel and Käthe Kollwitz. Together, these artists reveal a powerful shift from
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The Golden Age of British Landscape Painting (c.1750-1850)
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The Golden Age of British Landscape Painting (c.1750-1850)
<p>No genre of art has defined Britain like landscape. Emerging at the very dawn of the Industrial Revolution, British landscape painters not only integrated the earlier stylistic conventions of the
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Scandals, Intrigue and Rivalry in Renaissance Rome: the Re-making of the Vatican
Available Classes
Scandals, Intrigue and Rivalry in Renaissance Rome: the Re-making of the Vatican
<p>This course takes you behind the scenes to witness the scandals, intrigues and rivalries at the heart of three masterpieces of Western Art: the Sistine Chapel, Jullius II”s private apartments (aka
...Scandals, Intrigue and Rivalry in Renaissance Rome: the Re-making of the Vatican
<p>This course takes you behind the scenes to witness the scandals, intrigues and rivalries at the heart of three masterpieces of Western Art: the Sistine Chapel, Jullius II”s private apartments (aka
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