High Renaissance and Baroque: Rembrandt to Wren (Online)

Year course

+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Tickets available from 10.00 on Wednesday, 4 February 2026
Explore the world of art during the seventeenth century.  Expert lecturers will bring to life artists, designers, and architects of the Baroque period, including Rembrandt, Velázquez, and Hawksmoor.

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.

For more details, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A

This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
course photo
Portrait of V&A Academy Course Leader Dr Kathy McLauchlan

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
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Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Wednesday 4 February. General Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Thursday 12 February 2026.

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

During the seventeenth century Europe was dominated politically and artistically by France, and Louis XIV’s palaces, gardens and court life would be widely imitated.  Spain also saw a flowering of art and architecture for both church and state, while the Netherlands developed a new type of market, with buyers going to shops and auctions rather than commissioning works directly from artists. In the same period England’s leading Baroque architect, Christopher Wren, designed palaces for the Stuart kings, while his church buildings combined Baroque grandeur with Protestant simplicity. Across Europe luxury goods such as lacquer, textiles, and ceramics, started to arrive from the East in great quantities. Imported tea and coffee became fashionable drinks and fine wares were produced to serve them. 

Enrol now

Year course: High Renaissance and Baroque: Rembrandt to Wren (Online)

22 April 2026 - 24 June 2026

£300.00

Tickets not available yet

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)

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