Take a Closer Look: Online Art Appreciation Courses 2026

Take part in these very special online courses – wherever you are in the world.

These 8-week courses are the perfect way to learn more about art. Discover little-known works from the National Gallery of Ireland's collection, get to know old favourites in more depth, and explore other great collections of the world with our expert art historians and guest speakers. Each course takes place online using ZOOM webinar and includes time for a question and answer session, where you can put your questions and comments to the facilitators.

Can’t make the live sessions? All sessions are recorded and made available to participants for the duration of the course and three weeks afterwards to allow you to catch up, or watch again.

Spring 2026

The Sublime and the Beautiful: Romanticism and Irish Art with Jessica Fahy 

Time: Tuesdays, 6pm-7pm (GMT)
Dates: 24 March - 19 May (excluding Tuesday 7 April, when there will be no class) 

Tickets available here

• Tickets: €150
• 20% discount for Friends of the Gallery
• 10% discount Over 65’s/unwaged/students

About the course: 

“It is beauty and ugliness. It is art for art’s sake, and art as an instrument of social salvation. It is strength and weakness, individualism and collectivism, purity and corruption, revolution and reaction, peace and war, love of life and love of death.” This definition of Romanticism expresses the contradictions of a movement that revolves around the individual and each person’s own subjective experience. While it is not easily classified, and not a cohesive movement, there are some common threads to be found when exploring Romanticism in art. There is often a sense of the artist putting emotion and intuition before, or at least on an equal footing with, reason, almost as a reaction against aspects of the Enlightenment. This might also account for the belief that there is more to being human than the rational mind, and that there are areas of experience that cannot be easily explained or categorised. 

Through close analysis of major works in painting, sculpture, and architecture it is possible to examine how Romantic artists responded to the anxieties and aspirations of their time. This course situates Romanticism within its broader cultural context, considering intersections with literature, music, nationalism, and colonialism, and addressing how themes like individuality, the gothic, and the exotic shaped visual culture. There will be a focus on the impact of Romanticism on Irish art and discussion of the many excellent examples in the National Gallery of Ireland's collection. Artists discussed will include: Francisco Goya; Eugène Delacroix; J.M.W. Turner; Caspar David Friedrich; and Théodore Géricault, 

About the tutor:

Jessica Fahy is a freelance Art Historian. She is on the lecturer and guide panels for the National Gallery of Ireland, UCD Access and Lifelong Learning Centre and the Hugh Lane Gallery. She gives talks and tours across Ireland, abroad and online on all areas of Western Art from the 14th century to the present day.  She is a regular contributor on RTÉ Radio One's Arena. She has an MLitt in Art History from Univeristy College Dublin, where she also received her undergraduate degree, with English as her joint major. She completed her MA in Italian Renaissance Art at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London in 2007.

Buying this course as a gift? 

Once you have purchased the ticket, contact [email protected] to confirm the name of the recipient, and we will ensure they are sent all correspondence. If you would like us to send them an e-mail confirming that this was purchased as a gift for them, we can also do this.

Autumn 2026:

Eternal Images: Exploring Greek Myths in European Art with Dr Sarah Wilson

Tuesdays, 18.00-19.15
6 October to 1 December 
(6, 13, 20 October; 3, 10, 17, 24 November; 1 December – note there is a break on 27 October)

Tickets available here.

• Tickets: €150
• 20% discount for Friends of the Gallery
• 10% discount Over 65’s/unwaged/students

Buying this course as a gift? 

Once you have purchased the ticket, contact [email protected] to confirm the name of the recipient, and we will ensure they are sent all correspondence. If you would like us to send them an e-mail confirming that this was purchased as a gift for them, we can also do this.

About the course: 

For thousands of years, Greek myths have served as a cornerstone of artistic inspiration. First written down in the 8th century B.C., these stories have been retold and reimagined by successive generations; from the epic Baroque cycles of Peter Paul Rubens and Velázquez, to the quiet beauty of Hugh Douglas Hamilton, and the enigmatic Symbolism of Gustave Moreau. Yet through all these transformations, the essential mythological imagery developed in antiquity endured.

This 8-week course will trace those continuities and adaptions. We will begin by establishing the original ancient imagery of each myth, before exploring how later artists reshaped it to reflect their own worldviews. Along the way, we will consider what happens when the gods of war collide, Athena’s strategy vs. Ares’ bloodlust; the temptations and anxieties of being struck by Cupid’s arrow; the dire consequences of offending the gods; and an epic Odyssey. 
 

About the tutor:

Dr Sarah Wilson is an art historian specialising in Roman antiquity and religious identity. She has an undergraduate degree in Fine Art (DIT) and completed her postgraduate studies in Art History (UCD). She has developed several lecture series for the National Gallery of Ireland that encompass a broad range of topics from Classical influences to Japanese and Aboriginal art.