Art & Art History

This course spans three centuries, focusing on artists associated historically with Liverpool, from George Stubbs and Jean Jacques Audubon to Adrian Henri and the Singh Twins. It will cover a range of genres, styles, processes and techniques, tracking the development of painting as a practice and culminating with a close examination of the exciting Refractive Pool exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery which explores new directions for contemporary painting in the city.
Nb the final session will take place in the Walker Art Gallery.

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Julie Robson

CRN 25905 / CEPD4000

Course Fees

This course is the first in a series entitled ‘Painting Modern Life’.This series explores how artists utilize the medium of painting to respond to the world around us.
We begin by exploring the key themes, concepts and methods of Impressionism in nineteenth century France. We consider the often radical and avant garde works of key artists such as Manet, Monet, Cezanne, Cassatt and Morisot through close study and interpretation of their creative techniques, social influences and critical reception of their work.

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Dr Judith Walsh

CRN 25885/ CEPD4000

Course Fees

This course offers the opportunity to study some of the key aesthetic concepts relating to the making and understanding of art. The study of aesthetics is fascinating and challenging. It offers insight into the reasons why artists make what they do and what viewers think and feel when they look at art and design.
The history of aesthetics is bound up with philosophical ideas about the nature and function of art and design and how the past has influenced current theories of art. Given the extensive nature of this subject, the course aims to act as a catalyst to further study and thought rather than providing a comprehensive history of aesthetics.

To provide participants with opportunities to engage with the aesthetics of contemporary and modern art through the lens of philosophical thinking.
It also aims to equip participants with the knowledge and analytical tools to ‘read’ artworks in the gallery.

This is a classroom based course. There will be a weekly reading in advance of each session but no prior knowledge is required.

Number of Meetings

6

Course Leader

Dr Judith Walsh

CRN 25490/ CEPD4000

Course Fees

This course seeks to engage students with perhaps the most dynamic period in the history of art, the so-called long Nineteenth Century. A period which saw visual art change so dramatically, mirroring the most long lasting social, industrial, economic and political changes witnessed in human history.

Students will be encouraged to see beyond the stereotypes of ‘Victorian Art’ and embrace the radicalism and revolutionary approaches of artists during this period.

From neo-classicism to post impressionism and with a comprehensive survey of everything in between this course aims to introduce students to forgotten figures and styles whose contributions have either been overlooked or forgotten. In addition students will also consider how the changes to our built environment and the so-called ‘battle of styles’ remains cogent to our understanding of the interplay between art and architecture.

This course features a session in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, in week 7, during which we will explore some key works of art in detail

Number of Meetings

10

Course Leader

Ed Williams

CRN 25365/ CEPD4000

Course Fees

William Powell Frith was one of the most popular and renowned artists of his day. His paintings depicting modern life in the mid nineteenth-century recorded and reflected Victorian society, its fashions, ideals and social concerns. Frith’s social panoramas, representing a cross-section of characters and types from all levels of society captured the British public’s imagination, and echoed the writings of Charles Dickens and George Eliot. This course explores Frith’s career, considering him alongside other artists of the day, such as George Elgar Hicks and Augustus Leopold Egg, who also engaged with modern life subjects.

Number of Meetings

1

Course Leader

Dr Anna Maddison

CRN 25367/ CEPD4000

Course Fees