Giotto to Van Gogh: Colour in Art

Online course

+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Tickets available from 10.00 on Wednesday, 24 June 2026
Colour plays a vital role in our understanding and enjoyment of painting and sculpture. Explore how colours were made and used by artists and sculptors, and learn their hidden meanings through expert-led online teaching. 

Painting and sculpture have long been rich in colour. This course explores pigments from the Middle Ages to the late nineteenth century, examining their origins and how artists produced them. Colour shapes composition, meaning, and narrative across fresco, tempera, oil, pastel, and watercolour, guiding the viewer’s eye and intensifying impact. Hues like red, green, blue, and yellow can symbolise ideas or identify figures in religious scenes. Subtle brushwork can suggest texture and form. Scientific advances introduced new pigments, while artists from Monet to Van Gogh to Matisse experimented with colour to create atmosphere, drama, and expressive innovation in modern artistic practice. 

This course runs online every Tuesday for 5 weeks. Not able to join live? You can also enjoy all of the course content on catch up at a time to suit you - plus you'll get an extra 5 weeks to catch up once the course ends.
 
For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.

This course is suitable for participants aged 18 and over.
course photo
Portrait of Course Leader Clare Ford-Wille

Course Leader
Clare Ford-Wille

Clare Ford-Wille is an independent lecturer. Previously associate lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London she also lectures regularly for many other institutions including the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Wallace Collection, the National Trust, and the NACF as well as leading groups to places of art historical interest in Europe.

I have already booked onto my next V&A course online. I love the fact you can participate from home. The presentation, speakers and subject matter are always fascinating and excellent. Previous V&A Academy Online course attendee

Course overview

Ready to unlock the secrets of colour? Join us to reveal the vital role colour plays in how we see and understand art. 

Weekly lecture topics include: 
Frescos from Giotto to Michelangelo 
Oil from Jan van Eyck to Pieter Bruegel the Elder 
Gold in Tempera from Duccio to Ghirlandaio 
…and many more! 

By the end of this course, you’ll understand where paints come from, and the different ways in which artisans made pigments. Through expert-led teaching, you’ll learn how the placing of distinct colours throughout the composition can create visual effects, and how advances in chemistry, botany and minerology enhanced both painting practice and our understanding of art history. 

Ready to dive deeper? Take a look at the full course programme by clicking ‘download programme’ below.
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Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 BST on Wednesday 24 June 2026. General Booking will open at 10.00 BST on Wednesday 8 July 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 >>

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Online course: Giotto to Van Gogh: Colour in Art

6 October 2026 - 3 November 2026

£125.00

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)

Header image: Still Life with Fruit, Lobster and Silver Vessels, Willem Van Aelst, Oil Painting, 1660-1670 (painted)