Booking Open Now

Summer & Autumn 2026

Golden Age of Dutch Art: The Era of Independence and Innovation (c. 1590–1650) (In-Person, Online and Replay)

Description: This ten-week course will explore the first half of the Dutch Golden Age (c. 1590–1640) which was defined by a surge of national pride, rapid economic expansion, and radical artistic innovation following the birth of the independent, Protestant Dutch Republic. With the sudden loss of traditional Catholic Church and royal court patronage, artists pivoted to a fiercely competitive open market, creating highly specialized consumer artwork for a rising middle class of merchants and civic guards. This foundational era rejected idealized Renaissance beauty in favour of a gritty, tactile realism and secular subject matter, brought to life through the dramatic chiaroscuro of Utrecht’s Caravaggisti, the loose, spontaneous brushwork of Frans Hals and Judith Leyster, and the theatrical, monumental early masterpieces of Rembrandt van Rijn.

Dates: 10 Wednesdays 11:15 am to 1:15 pm

Sep 30,

Oct 7, 14, 21 (No Class Oct 28)

Nov 4, 11, 18, 25, Dec 2, 9

Location: Newtownpark Pastoral Centre, Blackrock and Online

You can attend in-person, live online or catch up with the recordings which will be sent after each lecture and will remain available for two months after the end of the course.

Fee: €230 per person for 10 weeks            Click Here to BOOK

UCD AE-AN509 – Art and The Medici (In-Person)

Description: This course will explore the relationship between art and the powerful and influential Italian family, the Medici. Each week will provide an in-depth look at some of the central figures, starting with their humble beginnings on to Florence with Cosimo the Elder in the early fifteenth century, and concluding with Marie de’Medici who married the King of France in the seventeenth-century.

The Golden age of Florence and the significance of Lorenzo the Magnificent in its creation will be analysed in detail is will the impact of the Medici Popes. Understanding the power of art was vital to their success and understanding the Medici is vital to the History of European Art. Each member of Medici family covered in this course employed the greatest artists of their day including Donatello, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Raphael, Bronzino and Rubens.

Consequently, this course will cover the history of European art from the Renaissance through Mannerism to the Baroque. The family and the artist they patronised will be placed within the political, religious, economic and social context of their time.

Dates: 8 Tuesdays 14:00-16:00
Sept 29

Oct 6, 13, 20, 27

Nov 3, 10, 17 Nov

Location: Dundrum Pastoral Centre

Fee: €195 per person for 8 weeks  Click here to book

Online Pre-recorded

Brazilian Art: An Introduction

Join anytime!

Description: The history of Brazilian art is a rich and diverse narrative that reflects the country’s complex social, cultural, and political evolution. From indigenous craftsmanship to contemporary works, Brazilian art embodies a unique fusion of indigenous, African, European, and later, global influences. This series will cover the Early Influences and Indigenous Art before the arrival of Europeans, when Brazil was home to numerous indigenous groups, each with distinct artistic expressions. These ranged from intricate pottery and textiles to body painting, carvings, and featherwork. Indigenous art was deeply connected to rituals, cosmology, and nature. We will also look at Colonial Art (1500-1822), Independence and Early Nationalism (1822-1889) and Modernism (1920s-1960s). A great tie in to the upcoming highly anticipated exhibition in London in 2025 Brasil! Brasil! The Birth of Modernism.

Fee: €100

Booking: Click here to book