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Music in Art
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Music was an essential part of ecclesiastical and secular life in the art and sculpture of Europe, as a means of praising God and celebrating more earthly emotions. Led by popular lecturers Clare Ford-Wille, Sally Dormer and Paula Nuttall, this six week course will explore a wide variety of images of music-making in European architecture, sculpture, painting and the decorative arts from the 9th to the 19th centuries, from church portals, medieval ivories and manuscript illumination to the sculpture, tapestries, frescoes and paintings of later centuries.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 12 hours of study over 6 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 6 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with 12 hours of study over 6 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 6 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Course Leader
Clare Ford-Wille
Clare Ford-Wille is an independent art historian, well known for her courses at the V&A, Birkbeck, ARTscapades and Morley College, as well as a lecturer at the Wallace Collection, and for The Arts Society groups in Britain and Europe. She has led many tours abroad. Clare is a Vice-President of the London Art History Society.
V&A courses are wonderful and stimulating and I really enjoy them! Previous V&A Academy course attendee
Course overview
This course will explore representations of music-making ranging from Medieval sacred manuscripts and tapestries to the sculptures adorning church portals and capitals. The Renaissance saw the development of sacred polyphony and secular song, and representations of music-making occur in increasingly varied contexts from the sacred, Van Eyck’s Ghent altarpiece or Della Robbia’s Cantoria, to secular depictions in the work of Bosch or Bruegel. The seventeenth century saw fascinating variations in a wider social context from Caravaggio to Jan Steen and Vermeer. The fêtes champêtres of Watteau heralded a new subject, popular in the 18th century and in the 19th century music-making spread throughout the social classes from the Biedermeier family gatherings to the paintings of Renoir.
Membership Priority Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Wednesday 29 January. General Booking will open at 10.00 GMT on Monday 10 February 2025.
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 >>
Enrol now
Online course: Music in Art
1 May 2025 - 5 June 2025
£130.00
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)
