Short course

Connoisseurship summer school: who painted what, when and how to tell

25 June 2024 10am - 5pm26 June 2024 10am - 5pm27 June 2024 10am - 5pm28 June 2024 10am - 5pm29 June 2024 10am - 5pm

The Benjamin West Lecture Theatre | Burlington Gardens

courses and classes

£1,800. Includes all materials, light refreshments each day and drinks receptions throughout the week.

Friends of the RA book first

Join art historian and dealer Dr Bendor Grosvenor, along with guest speakers, for a week-long summer school on connoisseurship: the art of authenticating and dating paintings.

Connoisseurship – the ability to tell which artist painted a painting, when they painted it, and how – is a crucial skill in the art trade, one that can make or break reputations and fortunes. In this intensive week-long summer school, Dr Bendor Grosvenor and guest speakers explore the process. Participants are introduced to the history, criticism and evolution of connoisseurship, the latest scientific techniques, as well as current best practice - bringing this art historical method up-to-date.

Through hands-on experience, access to great masterpieces and site visits around London, course participants learn how to assess the quality and status of a painting: is it an original, a copy, or even an outright fake? Learn how to assess a painting’s condition and the extent to which later interventions can either hide a painting’s true quality or flatter it.

Above all, the course encourages confidence, knowledge and curiosity when looking at artwork and paintings. While connoisseurship is something that takes time to perfect, the basic elements are easy and enjoyable to learn.

Dr Bendor Grosvenor is an art historian and dealer, best known for discovering a number of lost works of art by artists such as Van Dyck, Rubens and Gainsborough. He worked for ten years in the London art trade, but is now based in Scotland, where he focuses on writing and broadcasting. He presents the BBC4 series, Britain’s Lost Masterpieces, did specialist research for and appeared in BBC 1’s Fake or Fortune?, and writes regularly for publications such as the Financial Times and The Art Newspaper. He has for many years been a passionate advocate of both Old Masters and connoisseurship.

If the course is sold out, please contact public.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk to join our waiting list.

Minimum age 18. Please note this course will include some site visits, and as such some walking. If you have any questions or concerns, or would like to discuss any accessibility needs, please contact public.programmes@royalacademy.org.uk.

Terms and conditions

£1,800. Includes all materials, light refreshments each day and drinks receptions throughout the week.

Friends of the RA book first

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