Making Sense of ‘The Classical’ in Art

Autumn School on Campus

Tuesday 8 – Friday 11 September 2026

Dr Katherine Dunleavy

£545

Course Description

The visual arts of classical antiquity have loomed very large in the development of Western art and architecture, and in its accompanying art history, since the Renaissance. Ideas of ‘the classical’ formed the basis for judgements on value and ‘taste’, and an agreed canon of classical sculptures provided an authoritative repository of master models for young artists to copy and emulate: cast collections of such classical statuary have been part of the essential equipment of the major workshops and art academies since the sixteenth century.

However, ‘the classical’ as formulated in this way represented only a very selective aspect of the depth of styles and developments in the arts of antiquity across the Mediterranean. Our course aims firstly to engage critically with the narratives that helped establish a certain type of ancient art as the archetype in the early modern and modern imagination. Secondly, we shall investigate a much more diverse range of art works in the Graeco-Roman world and the context of the social and political developments that influenced their production.

Using visual representations of mythological and historical figures to structure our sessions, we shall explore some of the misconceptions and misuses of both the relics of antiquity and the concept of ‘the classical’ – from Roman copies of Greek statuary to dubious Renaissance ‘restorations’, and from the deployment of classicism to promote an elite concept of ‘taste’ in the eighteenth century to the co-option of classical styles in fascist regimes of the twentieth century.

The ubiquity of classical styles and narratives in visual arts from the ancient world through to the present day allows us to use the classical as a lens to explore key themes and their relevance in different art historical movements. In interactive seminars and during afternoon visits to relevant London collections, students will become acquainted with some of the best-known examples of classical art across different art and craft media, including ancient statuary such as the Apollo Belvedere, Old Master paintings, and modern interpretations from artists such as Picasso.