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High Renaissance to Baroque: Caravaggio to Bernini (Online)
Year course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Explore the world of art during the late sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Expert lecturers will bring to life artists of the Reformation and Counter Reformation, including El Greco, Bernini and Caravaggio.
To support your learning, lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials will be made available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 10 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. While you're there, you can join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
If you would prefer to join this course in-person at V&A South Kensington, you have two options: attend the lectures live, or upgrade your experience with five complementary gallery talks.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
To support your learning, lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials will be made available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 10 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. While you're there, you can join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
If you would prefer to join this course in-person at V&A South Kensington, you have two options: attend the lectures live, or upgrade your experience with five complementary gallery talks.
This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
V&A Academy Course Leader
Dr Kathy McLauchlan
Dr Kathy McLauchlan, graduated at Oxford University and the Courtauld Institute. In 2001 she completed a PhD thesis on French painters in Rome during the 19th century. A lecturer specialising in 19th-century art history, she is currently a course director at the Victoria & Albert Museum and lecturer with the Arts Society, Morley College and Oxford.
Totally fantastic course - really well structured and presented and excellent subject matter and presenters. Previous V&A Academy Course Attendee
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 BST on Wednesday 08 October. General Booking will open at 10.00 BST on Tuesday 21st October 2025.
Our courses are built using the latest Microsoft software. Tune in to expert lectures live or catch up on demand. Join discussions and continue your learning with downloadable handouts and presentations. Find out more >>
Course overview
The Reformation wrought havoc with the established order and a century of war and revolution followed. By the mid seventeenth century Europe was divided into Roman Catholic and Protestant states. We consider the impact of these changes in painting, sculpture and architecture, tracing the emergence of a new Baroque style – most spectacularly in the work of Bernini and Borromini in Rome, but spreading rapidly to other parts of Europe. In France strong ties developed between the court and the arts, while England under the Tudors saw a flowering in portraiture, architecture and the luxury arts. With the Stuarts, ties between England and Europe became closer, and consequently continental artists and sculptors came to London and the English court. Flemish artists such as Rubens and van Dyck were patronised by the crown, and Charles I built up a fine art collection.
Enrol now
Year course: High Renaissance to Baroque: Caravaggio to Bernini (Online)
21 January 2026 - 25 March 2026
£300.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
