Looking at art through the work of Velázquez Diego Velázquez is one of the most renowned European artists and this online-course will introduce you to ten of his most celebrated paintings and the historical context that shaped them.

The course teaches key visual analysis skills and art historical research methods. These skills can be applied in a range of professional contexts such as academic study, curating, artistic practice, creative writing as well as the appreciation of art.

The five unit course will provide detailed study of 10 paintings and explores issues such as the genres of baroque art, naturalism, portraiture and Velázquez’s ingenious approach to depicting narrative. The recommended workload will be about 4 hours per unit.

Duration: You can start whenever you want, and you will have access to the course 180 days from the day you enroll.

Required learning resources: All resources are online and included in the course

Target group: The course combines the teaching of core skills for the analysis of art through the study of Velázquez. It is aimed at people with a range of backgrounds and a variety of long term goals: academic study of Velázquez and Spanish art, art practice, curating and working in museums, creative writing or simply the pleasure of looking at artworks in museums

Prerequisites: None

Certification: The submissions and the course will be graded with Completed/More work required. When all required coursework is completed, you will receive an open badge

Course description

The course comprises five units and the paintings to be discussed are the following:

Who was Velázquez? Who is Velázquez?
Painting 1: Las Meninas
Painting 2: Christ in the house of Martha and Mary

Naturalism and history, beauty and truth.
Painting 3. The Forge of Vulcan
Painting 4. Christ on the Cross

Portraiture and politics.
Painting 5. Prince Baltasar Carlos in the Riding School
Painting 6. The Surrender at Breda

The triumph of the portrait
Painting 7. The Buffoon Diego de Acedo, "El Primo"
Painting 8. Juan de Pareja

Erudition, curiosity and the late mythological paintings.
Painting 9. The Toilet of Venus
Painting 10. The Fable of Arachne