A history of Spanish art: from Al-Andalus to Picasso
Weekend art history course
18 March 2023 10am - 5pm19 March 2023 10am - 5pm
The John Madejski Fine Rooms, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts
£420. Includes light refreshments and a wine reception at the end of day one.
Friends of the RA book first
Spain and the Hispanic World
Terms and conditions
As a landmark exhibition of treasures from the Hispanic Society goes on display at the Royal Academy, we take a weekend to trace a millennium of Spanish art and culture.
Please note: this is an on-site event only
Taking the Islamic state of Al-Andalus on the Iberian peninsula as a starting point, this course explores the extraordinary breadth of art produced in Spain and Latin America over the last thousand years. From the thirteenth century Christian Reconquista, to the rise and fall of the Spanish Habsburg Empire, we use art history to consider Spain’s difficult relationship with power, and particularly with the New World of Colonial Spanish America.
The course contextualises the works of the Spanish Baroque masters, El Greco, Murillo and, of course, Velázquez. Participants study the work of Goya, looking both at his role as Spanish Court Painter, and as revolutionary. Alongside this, we maintain a global perspective, considering the transatlantic influences created by the Spanish Empire and the impact on Spanish and Hispanic art.
We head into the 20th century and explore the vital role Spanish artists played in the development of modernism, particularly focusing on the architect Gaudí. Finally, the course considers Picasso’s complicated relationship with his home country, and we delve into the divisive politics sweeping Spain at this time.
Students are taught by a series of art historians, curators and experts on the art of Spain and the Hispanic World, and are encouraged to engage in debate and discussion. No prior knowledge is required.
Minimum age 18. If you have any accessibility needs, please contact academic.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk.
£420. Includes light refreshments and a wine reception at the end of day one.
Friends of the RA book first
Spain and the Hispanic World
Terms and conditions
About the speakers
Dr Xavier Bray is an art historian specialising in Spanish art and is Director of The Wallace Collection, London. He completed his PhD in 1999 at Trinity College, Dublin, on Goya as a painter of religious imagery. He was Chief Curator at Dulwich Picture Gallery, London and the Museum of Fine Arts, Bilbao, as well as Assistant Curator at the National Gallery. He has curated a wide range of exhibitions including El Greco, Velazquez, The Sacred Made Real: Spanish Painting and Sculpture 1600-1700, Murillo & Justino de Neve: The Art of Friendship, Goya: The Portraits and Ribera: The Art of Violence.
Laura Bruni is currently Assistant Curator at Tate Liverpool, where she has curated or co-curated a number of exhibitions and collection displays, including the forthcoming JMW. Turner with Lamin Fofana: Dark Waters and the recently opened Radical Landscapes co-curated with Darren Pih. She was previously Assistant Curator at Tate Modern, where she worked on the exhibition The EY: Picasso 1932 Love, Fame, Tragedy (2018) and has also worked at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Dr Jacqueline Cockburn is Managing Director of Art and Culture Andalucía. She runs residential courses in Andalucía in the art and culture of the region and is a course leader at the V&A. She has recently published A Taste of Art, London.
Gijs van Hensbergen is a Dutch art historian, food critic and Hispanist. Van Hensbergen’s projects and TV work include his collaboration with John Richardson on A Life of Picasso 2010-12. He scripted the award winning South Bank Show on Sir Antony Caro-Sculptor, and the series Raiders of the Lost Arts for the Discovery Channel. His book The Sagrada Familia: The Astonishing Story of Gaudí's Unfinished Masterpiece was published in 2017.
Professor Claudia Hopkins is Director of the Zurbarán Centre for Spanish and Latin American Art at Durham University, and Associate Editor of the Getty-funded journal Art in Translation. She has published widely on nineteenth- and twentieth-century Spanish art and curated the exhibition La España romántica. David Roberts y Genaro Pérez Villaamil (Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, Madrid, 2021-2022). Her forthcoming book discusses Spanish art in relation to attitudes to al-Andalus and Morocco (from Romantic liberalism in the 1830s, to colonial discourse before Moroccan independence in 1956).
Isabelle Kent is an art historian, writer and lecturer specialising in Spanish art. From 2017 to 2019 she worked as the Enriqueta Harris Frankfort Curatorial Assistant of Spanish Painting at the Wallace Collection. Isabelle is currently editing a volume on the collecting of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo’s work in Britain.
Dr Mariam Rosser-Owen is a Curator in the Middle Eastern Section at the Victoria and Albert Museum, specialising in the arts of the Arab world, in particular the Islamic Mediterranean and North Africa. She is the author of Islamic Arts from Spain (V&A, 2010), and has written widely on ivory and ceramics from Islamic Spain. Her book Articulating the Ḥijāba: Cultural Patronage and Political Legitimacy in al-Andalus. The ʿĀmirid Regency c.970-1010 AD was published Open Access by Brill in 2021.
Colin Wiggins was Special Projects Curator at the National Gallery until 2016. He worked with artists such as Paula Rego, Peter Blake, Ana Maria Pacheco and Michael Landy on the Associate Artist scheme. He has also curated exhibitions of Frank Auerbach, Anthony Caro, RB Kitaj, Ed and Nancy Kienholz and Bridget Riley.
Our courses and classes programme
Our varied programme of short courses and classes provides an opportunity to explore subjects ranging from life drawing to the history of exhibitions and arts management, led by expert tutors and practising artists. These courses introduce traditional art-making processes, as well as perspectives on art history, theory and business.
Give this course as a gift
All of our courses can be purchased as a gift for a friend or family member – giving the gift of education and a remarkable experience. To arrange a personalised Gift Voucher, please contact the Academic Programmes Team, by calling 020 7300 5641 or email academic.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk
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