Colour in Art (Online)

Join us as we discover how colour has a vital part to play in our understanding and enjoyment of painting and sculpture.

This study day will explore which pigments were used from the Middle Ages to the end of the 19th century, where they came from and how artists made them. We will explore how careful placing of subtle and varying colours in brushstrokes, when seen from the correct distance, can appear as gold tassels, silver embroidery or facial expression in the work of artists such as Raphael, Velazquez, or Rembrandt. We will discover how, by the 18th century, with the advancement in chemistry, botany and minerology, new colours began to be discovered, such as Prussian Blue or Mauve. Artists, such as Monet and his contemporaries, continued to experiment with techniques and their use of colour in what is known as ‘impressionism’. Colour was used to create shock, drama and excitement, as in the work of Van Gogh or the Fauves, such as Matisse at the end of the 19th century. 

You can also attend this study day in person at V&A South Kensington. This study day will not be recorded.

For more details on how our courses work, see V&A Academy online questions · V&A.

This course is for participants aged 18 and over.