- Thursday, 16 January 2025
- Thursday, 23 January 2025
- Thursday, 30 January 2025
About
Vincent Van Gogh’s career as an artist spanned barely ten years. Before he took up painting at 27, he was a preacher, before that a teacher, and before that an art dealer – professions that he first embraced then rejected; or rather, they rejected him. His letters reveal a rather intense young man, fuelled by a passion for art and literature, and desperate to forge close personal relationships whilst managing to fall out with many of the people that he met.
In order to comprehend Vincent, the painter of future fame, we must delve deeper into his past, and the places, people, and artworks that he knew. The three sessions of this course will focus on the middle years of the 1870s and take us from the Netherlands to London, from Paris back to Etten, and to Ramsgate, before his return to London. Through the rich resource of his poetic letters, we will discover the artists and writers who inspired him, and the works, sights and sounds that fuelled his imagination, shaping the man, and artist, that he was to become.
Week 1: Letters home, London life
A look back at Van Gogh’s early life and upbringing explains how he became an art dealer, a profession that took him from The Hague to Paris in 1873, and from there to London. What did he do, and what did he see and experience? How might these early experiences have shaped the man – and painter that Van Gogh became? Van Gogh visited London’s Dulwich Picture Gallery, the Royal Academy and the National Gallery. In this session, we will also consider what great artworks he stored in his memory to stoke future imagination and ideas.
Week 2: From dealer to teacher
In 1875, we find Vincent in London and Paris, forging friendships and enriching his knowledge of art. By 1876 he finds himself at a crossroads with his profession as an art dealer at an end. In search of a new direction (literally and figuratively) he finds himself in Ramsgate, on the south-eastern tip of England. Here he sees the sea in everything and looks forward to fulfilling his newfound vocation as a teacher at the small run-down school described so graphically in his letters.
Week Week 3: From teacher to preacher
We gain valuable insights into the months that Vincent spent in Ramsgate from his detailed and poetic writing. We engage with depictions and descriptions of this attractive coastal resort and find out more about fellow Victorian visitors, such as artists Frith, Dyce, and Tissot. We end with a consideration of the ways in which Van Gogh was inspired by Charles Dickens - who also spent time in this corner of England – and the links between the life and death of this famous author, and ideas behind Vincent’s famous painting ‘The Yellow Chair’.
Your Tutor
Jacqui Ansell is a former Education Officer at the National Gallery who has devised and delivered courses, scholarly study days, and tours based on the collection for many years. A specialist in dating and decoding paintings through details of dress, she lectures on aspects of art and dress history for the Wallace Collection, National Portrait Gallery and the Arts Society (formerly NADFAS). Until recently she was a Senior Lecturer at Christie’s Education where she writing, presenting and tutoring courses on aspects of European art history, jewellery and the art world. She is now a freelancer offering tailor-made tours of London galleries.
Watch Again
Can't make Wednesday evenings 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 Friday 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 Tuesday 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 run. You will gain access to all the recordings until two weeks after the final session.
Van Gogh in Britain
- Thursday, 16 January 2025
- Thursday, 23 January 2025
- Thursday, 30 January 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.