Philosophical approaches to art history
- Tuesday, 11 February 2025
- Tuesday, 18 February 2025
- Tuesday, 25 February 2025
About
Within Western art, luxury and leisure are deeply ambiguous concepts. Luxury is associated with pleasure and splendour, but also with corruption and excess. Leisure promises relaxation and peace but threatens to slide towards indolence and idleness. Over this three-week course, we will examine how these concepts are explored in paintings from the Gallery's collection - and how they might be applied to our own interaction with art. The three sessions offer a novel and illuminating way to approach the Collection, to forge new links between the artworks and contemporary questions, and to reflect on our own love of art.
Week 1: Luxury
We begin by investigating the politics of luxury, tracking its depiction as a symbol of authority, on the one hand, and a source of decadence, on the other. We will look at works by Cranach, Van Eyck, Tiepolo, and Thomas Cole among others, as they map the shifting boundaries of luxury and what our attitude towards it should be. We will also discuss contemporary ideas of ‘luxury’ in the arts and the line between art and luxury crafts, such as tailoring and fashion.
Week 2: Leisure
In the second session, we turn to leisure, considering works by Raphael, Van Dyck, Seurat and Sorolla. As we will see, these paintings map the emergence of a distinctive form of time – ‘leisure time’ – and they explore the opportunities and dangers it offers. We will be joined by art historian Aliki Braine to discuss the cultural history of leisure and the status of painting itself within it.
Week 3: Personal reflections
In the third session, we turn these questions back on to our own relationship to art. Do we think of artworks as luxuries? Do we think of gallery-going as leisure? We will examine some of the reasons why people often want to say ‘no’ to this question, and explore what that says about our attitudes towards art and its significance. We will also reflect on the lines between art as passion, profession and pleasure.
Your Tutor
Sacha Golob is Professor of Philosophy at King’s College London and Co-Director of the Centre for Philosophy and Art (CPA). He has published extensively on modern French and German Philosophy and the Philosophy of Art. His current research explores moral progress and decline. www.sachagolob.com
Watch Again
Can't make Tuesday afternoons but don't want to miss out? No problem, you can watch again.
Each session is recorded and made available to you for the duration of the course, up until 2 weeks after the final session.
A video of the week's lecture will be uploaded and available for you to watch via your National Gallery account on Thursday afternoons, in time for the weekend.
Format
Each session lasts for 2 hours and includes a lecture delivered by the course lecturer followed by a short break and further discussion.
Time will be allowed for questions and discussion via Q&A.
Handouts will be available via your National Gallery account on Monday mornings.
Optional homework is provided to help you prepare for the following week's session.
Format
Each session lasts for 2 hours and includes a lecture delivered by the course lecturer followed by a short break and further discussion.
Time will be allowed for questions and discussion via Q&A.
Handouts will be available via your National Gallery account on Monday mornings.
Optional homework is provided to help you prepare for the following week's session.
Booking Information
This is an online ticketed course hosted on Zoom. Please book a ticket to access the course. Only one ticket can be booked per account.
You will be emailed an E-ticket with instructions on how to access the course via your National Gallery account. All course information including your Zoom link, weekly handouts, and recordings will be available here.
Your link will be valid for the duration of the course.
Booking after the course has started
You are welcome to join the module at any point during its six-week run. You will gain access to all the recordings until two weeks after the final session.
Luxury and leisure
Philosophical approaches to art history
- Tuesday, 11 February 2025
- Tuesday, 18 February 2025
- Tuesday, 25 February 2025
Enrol
Standard: £45
Concessions: £42.75
Please book a ticket to access the event. You will receive an E-ticket with instructions on how to access your online events, films and resources via your National Gallery account.
Please note, only one ticket can be booked per account.
Concessions are for full-time students, jobseekers, and disabled adults.