A Journey Through Dutch Art

Take up residence in the beautiful city of Utrecht for four weeks and experience the highlights of over 400 years of Dutch art first hand. This course covers many of the country’s most renowned museums, artists and cities, and the interactive activities for a large part take place in front of the original artworks.

The first half of the course focuses on Dutch Art of the Golden Age, the time of legendary painters such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. Until recently, most art from this period was seen as technically good but just too realistic, where was the artists’ imagination? Today, the perspective has changed and the value of Golden Age artworks has soared. When you want to discover what is so special about Dutch Golden Age art, you will embark on a fascinating journey where nothing is what it seems.

The second half of the course focuses on Dutch modern art. In the 19th and 20th century there was no longer a fixed ideal of excellence for artists to strive towards. It is the period of the –isms, such as Impressionism, Cubism and Expressionism. But despite the obvious differences between the movements, each of them strove for the same thing: to create an art more truthful than ever before. Throughout this course, you will be encouraged to discover the various strategies Dutch artists used to attain this ideal of truthfulness, from architects and costume designers to painters and sculptors.

After covering over 400 years of Dutch art you will be able to recognise certain painters, art movements and hidden meanings without even looking at the name tag underneath the painting.

» Download the day-to-day programme (PDF)