Learning to Look at the Visual Arts

Overview

In this Learning to Look at the Visual Arts course at University of Oxford you will learn about the qualities that make up a picture including composition, space, form, tone and colour, why each element is important, and how they relate to each other to create the aesthetic appearance of the image. You will also learn to understand the importance of subject matter, original function and setting of a picture in appreciating its visual meaning.

Teaching and learning will be through guided reading and by interaction and question and answer sessions to promote visual understanding through appreciation of a series of paintings from the fifteenth century to the present day. A key element of the course is art criticism where you will take part in guided viewings of paintings and then have the opportunity to put your new visual vocabulary into practice working on tasks with your fellow students.

Course aims

The course aims to:

• Teach students to look at painting from a more visual and analytical point of view.
• Teach the necessary visual vocabulary or language of looking.
• Provide a method for looking at paintings, drawings and prints which is both flexible and clear.
• Generate understanding of pictorial qualities and their integration for the aesthetic appearance.
• Create a feeling for the integration of the aesthetic appearance with the subject matter and period of the picture.

Course Objectives

The course will enable students to:

• Learn how to look in a more objective and analytical way.
• Learn the visual vocabulary and glossary of terms.
• Understand pictorial qualities and what they mean, that is Composition, Space, Form, Tone, Colour, Subject Matter.
•  Think critically.

Accreditation

FHEQ level 4, 10 CATS points