Courtauld

The best place in the world to study History of Art 🥇⁠ ⁠ We're delighted to be ranked #1 in the @topunis Global Rankings for the study of History of Art, out of fifty prestigious institutions worldwide.

We are delighted to announce our plans to create a new world-class campus at Somerset House, a major development which will strengthen the Courtauld’s position as a leading global centre for the visual arts. As we approach our centenary in 2032, this once-in-a-generation project will: 🖼 Transform our historic Grade 1 listed building at Somerset House and create a flexible, state-of-the-art campus that will bring the Courtauld Institute and Gallery together under one roof, securing our legacy for the next 100 years. 📚 Develop new teaching programmes and academic centres of excellence, increasing our focus on global geographies. ✨ Launch the Courtauld Next Generation Fund, an ambitious bursary and scholarship scheme that will enable the most talented students to study with us, whatever their background. Thanks to transformational funding from Reuben Foundation, Blavatnik Family Foundation, Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, Clore Duffield Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Oak Foundation, The Julia Rausing Trust, Wolfson and Rothschild Foundation, and many others who made this possible. Find out more at the link in our bio.

Sabrina is a student on our MA Art and Business programme, a one-year programme for the research and study of art and business from contemporary and historical perspectives.⁠ ⁠ In our latest blog, Sabrina shares her learnings from the commercial art fair TEFAF Maastricht: how the market is evolving, how art collecting differs across generations, and how quickly commercial fairs are reflect these changes. 📈⁠ ⁠ Link in bio 🔗

Get to know one of Parmagianino's earliest works 🎨⁠ ⁠ Italian artist Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, nicknamed Parmigianino ('the little one from Parma'), was only 20 years old when he painted this work. ⁠ ⁠ His growing talent was already evident in the graceful figures of the angel and the Holy Family. However, their lack of interaction and the strange perspective of the ancient building behind them reveal his youthful inexperience.⁠ ⁠ This scene depicts the biblical story of the Virgin Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus on their journey to Egypt to escape persecution. It's not currently on display, but you can zoom into high definition on our collections website, and explore the rest of our collection - link in bio.⁠ ⁠ 📷️Parmigianino (1503-1540), Rest on the Flight into Egypt, 1523-1524, oil on panel. Courtauld Gallery, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) ©️ Courtauld

Study at the world’s top institution for History of Art (QS 2026) 🎨⁠ ⁠ Join our Undergraduate Open Day on Saturday 6 June, 14:00–16:30.⁠ ⁠ Meet current students, visit the campus, explore the curriculum and application process, and experience academic life through a taster lecture with Professor Jo Applin.⁠ ⁠ Book your place 🔗 link in bio

In 1635, after a long and successful career, Peter Paul Rubens purchased Het Steen, a castle in the countryside outside Antwerp.⁠ ⁠ There, away from the demands of the wealthy patrons, he painted a number of magnificent landscapes for his own pleasure - including this one, currently on display in The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection 🌲⁠ ⁠ Rubens did much to advance landscape as an independent genre. This painting is a meditation on nature's splendour, into which people intrude only in the small figure of a herdsman guiding his flock. A dazzling cloudscape occupies over half the canvas, with the sun breaking through a passing rain shower, bathing the scene in a shimmering, serene light.⁠ ⁠ 📍Visit The Barber in London: Highlights from a Remarkable Collection on the third floor of the Courtauld Gallery to explore highlights from the @barberinstitute collection, including Rubens, Degas, Vigee le Brun, Turner, and much more.⁠ ⁠ ⏰️Open until 31 August 2026⁠ 💛 Included with Gallery Entry. Courtauld Members go free⁠ ⁠ 📷️Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), A Landscape near Het Steen, around 1635-40, oil paint on wood. The Henry Barber Trust, The Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham

Investigating the post-communist art world 🌍⁠ ⁠ Aistė studied MA History of Art at the Courtauld Institute. In our latest blog, she writes about exploring the post-communist art world, encountering art from Central Asia, a class trip to Paris - and the impact that her studies had on her career. ⁠ ⁠ Read via link in bio 🔗

Gainsborough was said to have painted his wife, Margaret, annually to mark their wedding anniversary 🎨❤️ Explore this portrait, on loan from the @courtauld —praised as “immensely sympathetic” and “supremely tender”—in our special exhibition “Gainsborough: The Fashion of Portraiture,” on view through May 25 ✨ #FrickFocus — Thomas Gainsborough (1727–88), Margaret Gainsborough, ca. 1778. Oil on canvas, The Courtauld, London © The Courtauld / Bridgeman Images; video by George Koelle

A fleet of fishing boats leaving the safety of the harbour and heading out to the open sea 🌊 After staying in Paris for the summer of 1887, Georges Seurat returned to the Normandy coast in 1888, this time settling in Port-en-Bessin. The six remarkable paintings he produced there are brought back together for the first time since February 1889, when they were first unveiled. In this work, Seurat captures the harbour, with boats coming and going. Instead of houses in the foreground, Seurat’s painting opens on to a large expanse of sand and low vegetation, rendered in a mix of multicoloured dots of varying sizes and shapes. ⏰ The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Seurat on the Sea closes Sunday 17 May General tickets are now sold out. Join as a Courtauld Member today to access The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition: Seurat and the Sea in its final week, and enjoy a year of free, unlimited entry to our exhibitions and displays, and our world-famous permanent collection. 📷 Georges Seurat (1859-1891), Port-en-Bessin, Entrace to the Harbour, 1888, oil on canvas. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Lillie P. Bliss Collection, 1934

Not to be missed – Living by the Rule: Contemporary meets Medieval, opening at @sainsburycentre in Norwich.⁠ ⁠ Curated by Dr Jessica Barker, Senior Lecturer in Medieval Art at the Courtauld, and Dr Ed Krčma, a new exhibition is opening at the @sainsburycentre , Norwich (16 May to 4 October 2026), Living by the Rule places contemporary artworks alongside objects from medieval monastic contexts, reflecting on how we live and organise our lives.⁠ ⁠ Included in the exhibition are The Etheldreda Panels, which only survived the Reformation as cupboard doors in a cottage in Ely. Technical analysis for the panels was undertaken at the Courtauld Conservation department by MA Conservation of Easel Paintings student Ursula Griffith, under the supervision of Pippa Balch, Senior Lecturer on the course. ⁠ ⁠ A new publication, Living by the Rule: Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery, co-authored by Dr Jessica Barker and Dr Ed Krčma, is published by Lund Humphries on 5 May 2026, alongside the exhibition. ⁠ ⁠ Images: ⁠ ⁠ St Michael and the Dragon, c.1220 CE - 1240 CE. Photograph © The Fitzwilliam Museum ⁠ ⁠ Detail from Painting of the Life of Saint Etheldreda, 1455. Panel A. Courtesy of Society of Antiquaries ⁠ ⁠ Detail from Painting of the Life of Saint Etheldreda, 1455. Panel B. Courtesy of Society of Antiquaries ⁠ ⁠ Front cover Living by the Rule: Contemporary Art and the Medieval Monastery published by Lund Humphries.

The artist that has inspired generations, and the views that inspired him 🌊⁠ ⁠ in summer 1886, Georges Seurat packed his art supplies for his second annual trip to the northern coast of France, settling in Honfleur, a historical port town on the estuary of the Seine in Normandy.⁠ ⁠ The striking site of Honfleur's lighthouse and hospital had been inspiring painters for decades, as well as its medieval streets and picturesque port.⁠ ⁠ Using real historic postcards, see where Seurat stood and the techniques he was working on, in our latest blog post - link in bio ☝️⁠ ⁠ ⏰ Book now for The Griffin Catalyst Exhibition Seurat and the Sea. Closes 17 May. Open for five evenings in the final week.⁠ ⁠ 💛 Courtauld Members go free⁠ ⁠ 📷 Georges Seurat (1851-1891), Entrance to the Port of Honfleur, 1886, reworked c.1890, oil on canvas. The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia⁠ ⁠ Postcard of Honfleur, 'The Estuary of the Seine', late 19th century. Private collection⁠ ⁠ Georges Seurat (1851-1891), The Lighthouse at Honfleur, 1886, oil on canvas, 66.7 x 81.9cm. Collection of Mr and Mrs Paul Mellon, National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Jane Fletcher as the first Director of Open Courtauld, a new department dedicated to radically expanding access to the study and appreciation of art, through bold and innovative approaches to lifelong learning. ⁠ ⁠ The Courtauld was recently recognised as the world’s leading institution for the study of History of Art (QS World Rankings 2026), and this new department will build on our distinguished university-level courses and public gallery, delivering an ambitious programme of short courses, schools’ outreach, and global public engagement. ⁠ ⁠ Jane joins us from her current role as a consultant advising leading cultural, media, and not-for-profit organisations on new product development, audience growth, digital transformation and revenue generation. Jane was previously Acting Digital Director for the National Theatre, where she led the operational and commercial delivery of its digital products, including National Theatre at Home and NT Live. ⁠ ⁠ Find out more at the link in bio. ⁠ ⁠ Photo: @lhschiefer