One Week Holiday Course // Drawing from the National Gallery

Over five days you will experience an in-depth analysis of the historical background, materials and processes employed by the old masters. The National Gallery has an extraordinarily efficient and comprehensive website which offers a detailed overview of each room and all individual works on display in the highest definition. Unlike the familiar experience of hurrying through exhibitions, you will have time to enter into a deep study of one or two key paintings each day and express your encounters with them. Drawing these works - in your own way, and your own style uses a different part of your brain, to walking through the gallery looking or photographing. You will never forget what you draw; ideas spring to mind and structure, colour and composition will unfold before your eyes. We will make drawn transcriptions from a selection of the renowned and less well-known masterpieces from the collection including Dürer, Poussin, Cezanne, Zurbarán, Degas, Titian, Giovanni di Paolo and Mantegna. This procedure of drawing directly from the classical tradition has always been the bedrock of art education, enabling us to understand the technical and emotional legacy of some of the greatest creative minds. You do not need any specific art background to join but enthusiasm and a willingness to reflect are essential. All levels welcome.