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Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks

Unpack the essential themes and principles of Western art in this enthralling course, and experience masterpieces that rank among the most beloved creations of our civilization.
 
 
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent course I have seen just about every art history course offered by The Great Courses. Although I have enjoyed all of them, Understanding Western Art is my favourite. The. presenter was very engaging and the format he used, comparing two major works to discuss various aspects of art, was very interesting.
Date published: 2025-11-20
Rated 5 out of 5 by from What the Great Courses are all about! Finally! a new course with excellent pedagogy and content. Worth watching more than once. Delightful learning with a lecturer whose pedagogical skills are top notch. A new perspective on an old topic. Bravo and encore. Thank you!
Date published: 2025-11-17
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Sign me up for his next lecture series. I think Dr. Charney can give a series of lectures on "Staring at a Wall" and make it interesting and informative. In this case, he's got a much more stimulating subject. Dr. Charney has an ability to explain what is relevant and representative about a vast range of artworks, styles, and techniques. His approach is ecumenical and somewhat idiosyncratic, not a timeline of great works, not specifically based on predominant styles or movements. Rather, his lectures are based around 2 seemingly discordant representative artists or artworks, such as Kandinsky with Tres Riches Heures, or Durer and Warhol, and what may seem to be an atypical topic for an art survey -- there's one on animals, for example. But within each lecture on a specific topic the lesson is expansive, and Dr. Charney does an exceptional job of making coherent and absorbing a wide range of art. While yoking Durer and Warhol, he concisely explains the history of print making, with side trips to the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, America's Uncle Sam recruiting poster, and modern advertising, and ties it all to broader themes of Western art. Although I know a fair amount about the general subject, there isn't a single lecture here where I didn't discover a new artist or artwork, and didn't gain an insight into themes and connections across the ages. After I started watching this series, I immediately added his series "Lost Art" to my watch list. Dr. Charney hinted, in one lecture, on creating a series on Western masterpieces. Sign me up for that.
Date published: 2025-11-16
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Outatanding! I have taken almost all of the lectures on art history offered by The Great Courses. This is the best of them all. I looked forward to every lecture. His presentation was captivating. I liked the theme approach rather than by chronology. The visuals were excellent. It was truly an outstanding course.
Date published: 2025-11-14
Rated 5 out of 5 by from We've learning a lot from this excellent course We've previously enjoyed several Art courses from Great Courses, but this one is probably our favourite. We especially appreciate the relaxed pace of this presenter. He makes it possible to really piece together what is being said. (Some Great Courses have been had such rapid-fire delivery that it all becomes a flood of indigestible information.) We also really like the way he has organized the course around specific themes: one theme for each lecture, typically bringing together works from very different periods and styles. It makes for fresh and interesting insights.
Date published: 2025-11-10
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent presentations from start to finish. This course is simply first rate. The presenter is knowledgeable and interesting. The lectures are beautifully and creatively organized. I look forward to any new courses he may choose to do in the future.
Date published: 2025-11-07
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Excellent examination of Western Art I enjoyed the selections of art presented in this course and the information about the artists and culture that surrounds them. Dr. Charney's presentation style is awesome and I looked forward to each lecture.
Date published: 2025-11-05
Rated 5 out of 5 by from Beautiful Course I came across this course last week and was immediately drawn to episode 12, Light and Dark. It was incredibly informative, with a pleasant narration and rich visual examples. A week later, I happen to visit a museum—and it’s no exaggeration to say that the 30-minute lecture transformed how I looked at the paintings, and the change in the treatment light over time. I’m excited to continue exploring the other episodes.
Date published: 2025-10-31
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Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks

Trailer

What Is Art? Duchamp and the Venus Figures

01: What Is Art? Duchamp and the Venus Figures

Begin the course by exploring the criteria we use to define art. Look at what art does and chart the Renaissance “invention” of the artist as a singular creative genius. Consider two key works: Marcel Duchamp’s controversial Fountain (a urinal displayed as an artwork), and the Venus figurines (Neolithic sculptures), as they highlight fundamental questions about the nature of art.

33 min
Capturing Form: Laocoön & Michelangelo

02: Capturing Form: Laocoön & Michelangelo

Starting in the ancient world, trace how the human form was perfected over the centuries. In examples of Cycladic, Sardinian, and Greek sculpture, follow the increasing sophistication of the portrayal of both the body itself and states of emotion. Study the famous Laocoön Group, an icon of emotionally expressive sculpture, and Michelangelo’s David, one of Western art’s towering masterworks.

30 min
Order and Symmetry: The Parthenon and David

03: Order and Symmetry: The Parthenon and David

Examine the visual aesthetics of the Greeks and Romans, as they applied mathematical principles to art and architecture to create balance and symmetry. See these principles in action in the Parthenon temple of ancient Athens, and the neoclassical Oath of the Horatii by 18th-century painter Jacques-Louis David. Observe how classical aesthetics have influenced Western art for millennia.

30 min
Symbols in Art: Ravenna and Chartres Cathedral

04: Symbols in Art: Ravenna and Chartres Cathedral

Discover how the use of symbols in Christian painting and architecture began a new chapter in the language of Western art that has shaped it ever since. Look at key Christian symbols, such as the halo, and animal imagery, as they communicate ideas through recognizable motifs. See symbols displayed in the stunning mosaics of the churches of Ravenna and in the stained glass of Chartres cathedral.

30 min
Coloring the Rainbow: Kandinsky and Très Riches Heures

05: Coloring the Rainbow: Kandinsky and Très Riches Heures

Learn how the search for color has shaped Western art. Beginning with prehistoric art, witness the challenges artists faced in recreating the colors seen in nature, and trace the history of mineral and plant pigments, leading finally to synthetic colors. See the dazzling use of color in the Très Riches Heures, a sublime 15th-century book of hours, and in Kandinsky’s masterwork, Yellow-Red-Blue.

31 min
Textiles and Women Artists: Bayeux and Judy Chicago

06: Textiles and Women Artists: Bayeux and Judy Chicago

Textile production played a significant role in the early history of Western art. Travel into the fascinating story and politics of embroidery and tapestry making in the Middle Ages, arts that were largely the domain of women. See this legacy embodied in the medieval Bayeux Tapestry, illustrating the Battle of Hastings, and The Dinner Party, a contemporary textile masterpiece by Judy Chicago.

31 min
The Renaissance: Giotto and Van der Weyden

07: The Renaissance: Giotto and Van der Weyden

Here, survey the major shifts in artistic techniques, freedoms, and humanist thinking that came with the Renaissance. Visit the glorious Scrovegni Chapel, designed by Giotto, whose innovative frescoes changed hundreds of years of artistic tradition. Explore the revolutionary development of oil painting, and its breathtaking use by Rogier Van der Weyden, in his Descent from the Cross.

31 min
Perspective and Illusion: Holbein and Cézanne

08: Perspective and Illusion: Holbein and Cézanne

Delve into the use of perspective and illusionistic techniques in art, and how we perceive the three-dimensional world in two dimensions. Encounter landmark deceptions in art, that give the illusion of depth and distance or fool our eyes into seeing things which are impossible. See the brilliant use of these methods in Holbein’s The Ambassadors and the groundbreaking still lifes of Cézanne.

32 min
Stories and Allegories: Matejko and Ossawa Tanner

09: Stories and Allegories: Matejko and Ossawa Tanner

Investigate storytelling and narrative as a major feature of Western art through the centuries. Unpack the means artists use to convey information, concepts, and events without the use of words, in the long tradition of art drawing on history, myth, and Biblical narratives. View powerful storytelling in Polish painter Matejko’s iconic Retjan, and in two stunning versions of the Annunciation.

32 min
Rivalry and Competition: Titian and Anguissola

10: Rivalry and Competition: Titian and Anguissola

Take a long look at competition in art, as it fueled innovation and change. Uncover fascinating stories of artistic rivalry, such as the dramatic enmity between Caravaggio and Baglione. See how Sofonisba Anguissola ingeniously comments on competition in her masterful Game of Chess (1555), and how Titian led Venice in its artistic duel with Florence in his magnificent Bacchus and Ariadne.

32 min
Portraiture: Jan van Eyck and Wyeth

11: Portraiture: Jan van Eyck and Wyeth

Enter the rich and diverse world of portraiture and trace its evolution from ancient times. Study the effects and meanings of profile, three-quarters, and frontal portraits, and the vital roles of clothing, setting, framing, and accuracy of depiction. View Jan van Eyck’s Arnolfini Portrait, laden with symbolism, and Andrew Wyeth’s uniquely expressive portrait from the back, Christina’s World.

30 min
Light and Dark: Monet and Goya

12: Light and Dark: Monet and Goya

The use of light is one of the core themes of Western art. Explore the portrayal of light in painting, from the pre-Renaissance artists who bathed their scenes in light to the spectrum of later approaches using light in realistic ways, contrasting light and shadow. Compare the dramatic difference in the effects of light in Monet’s Woman with a Parasol and Goya’s Man Mocked by Two Women.

32 min
Puzzle Pictures: Caravaggio and Carpaccio

13: Puzzle Pictures: Caravaggio and Carpaccio

Take note of paintings which contain intriguing puzzles or mysteries for viewers, sometimes quite intentionally. Examine the enigmatic imagery of Christus’s Our Lady of the Dry Tree and decode the identity of the figure in Carpaccio’s Young Knight in a Landscape. In Caravaggio’s remarkable Saint Matthew Cycle, observe how the artist ingeniously confounds the viewer’s expectations.

29 min
Mass-Produced Art: Dürer and Warhol

14: Mass-Produced Art: Dürer and Warhol

Grasp the ways in which techniques of mass production revolutionized Western art, from prints and engraving to etching and lithography. Note how some of history’s most celebrated artists, such as Rembrandt and Toulouse-Lautrec, found valuable outlets in mass producing their work. Experience the rich imagery of Dürer’s print Melancolia I and unpack Andy Warhol’s iconic Campbell’s Soup Cans.

32 min
Depicting Everyday Life: Repin and Brueghel

15: Depicting Everyday Life: Repin and Brueghel

“Genre” painting depicts real people involved in daily activities. Witness its flowering in the late Renaissance, and study the sprawling, dazzlingly detailed scene in Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s Children’s Games from 1560. Encounter the Realist movement brought by the Industrial Revolution, in the example of Ilya Repin’s Religious Procession, capturing the social reality of 19th century Russia.

31 min
Love and Lust: Bernini and Klimt

16: Love and Lust: Bernini and Klimt

The tension between romantic love and sexual desire runs through the history of Western art. Explore two distinct traditions: the Medieval-inspired portrayal of idealized, “courtly love,” and the depiction of the sensual and erotic aspects of human nature. Contemplate Bernini’s renowned sculptures depicting religious ecstasy, and the ambiguous romantic/erotic imagery of Gustave Klimt’s The Kiss.

34 min
Death and Sorrow: Bosch and Kollwitz

17: Death and Sorrow: Bosch and Kollwitz

Explore the portrayal of death, loss, and grief in art, from ancient death masks, and the depiction of death in Christian art, to its many expressions in the modern era. View the powerful imagery of Hieronymus Bosch’s The Seven Sins and the Four Last Rites, as it serves as a warning to Christians. See the universality of grief and sorrow in Kathe Kollwitz’s affecting Woman with Dead Child (1903).

34 min
Collectors and Markets: Teniers and Van Gogh

18: Collectors and Markets: Teniers and Van Gogh

Reckon with the transactional side of art, in the world of art markets, patrons, and collectors. Trace the history of art patronage, from the church and royalty to later private patrons, auctions, museums, and art as commerce, as reflected in David Teniers’ imposing The Archduke and His Collection (1651). Consider Van Gogh’s Irises vis-a-vis the artist’s posthumous rise to global superstardom.

32 min
Water and Watercolor: Turner and Blake

19: Water and Watercolor: Turner and Blake

Assess the challenges to the artist in portraying water and track the tradition of the waterscape over the centuries. Focus on J.M.W. Turner’s poignant The Slave Ship, as he masterfully evokes the sea swelling and surging. Then, turn to the medium of watercolor, including its techniques and its history in art. See the intense and dramatic use of watercolor in William Blake’s Great Red Dragons series.

32 min
Self-Portraits: Velázquez and Kahlo

20: Self-Portraits: Velázquez and Kahlo

In a second look at portraiture, investigate the ways in which artists have used self-portraits to accomplish many things, from showing their skill and promoting themselves to deep self-reflection. In Las Meninas (1656), see Velázquez’s ingenious melding of a self-portrait with a royal portrait. In the 20th century, experience the raw intimacy and vulnerability of Frida Kahlo’s The Two Fridas.

32 min
Photography and Art: Cameron and Gursky

21: Photography and Art: Cameron and Gursky

In tracing the birth of photography, grasp how the new medium changed how people saw the world, and opened new pathways for visual artists. Learn how artists used cameras to envision their works, and how photography came of age as an art form. Study the celebrated work of Margaret Cameron, one of the earliest fine-art photographers, and the visionary contemporary photography of Andreas Gursky.

33 min
Modernism and Abstraction: Picasso and Sobel

22: Modernism and Abstraction: Picasso and Sobel

Two forces radically changed Western art in the early 20th century. Assess the complex factors that gave rise to the birth of modernism, and the artists and artistic movements that trailblazed modern art. Grasp why Picasso’s Les Desmoiselles d’Avignon was a cornerstone of modernism, and track the artistic currents that produced abstract art, seen in Janet Sobel’s groundbreaking Milky Way.

35 min
Animals in Art: Audubon and Muybridge

23: Animals in Art: Audubon and Muybridge

Examine Western art’s diverse portrayal of animals, beginning with their use in religious symbolism and in Medieval bestiaries depicting both real and fictitious creatures. Then see their use in early scientific illustration, highlighting Audubon’s superlative Birds of America, and trace the horse in art, culminating with the pivotal The Horse in Motion by pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge.

33 min
Conservation and Authenticity: Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt

24: Conservation and Authenticity: Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt

How do we preserve masterworks? Look into the ways in which artworks inevitably degrade, and the techniques conservators use to restore them, and follow the centuries-long efforts to restore Leonardo’s The Last Supper. Then investigate the intriguing subject of authenticating art, and the roles of provenance, connoisseurship, forensics, and AI, noting the case of Rembrandt’s The Polish Rider.

34 min
A Final Masterwork: Bronzino

25: A Final Masterwork: Bronzino

Conclude the course with a single, extraordinary painting: Agnolo Bronzino’s An Allegory with Venus and Cupid (1545). Contemplate its complex narrative and enigmatic imagery, and the attempts by art historians to explain it over the centuries. Explore its remarkable visual richness, and Noah’s fascinating interpretation, as they illustrate the sublime beauty and mystery of great art.

37 min

Overview Course No. 70090

Western art, with its lineage from the ancient world to the present, has given us works of genius by the likes of Phidias, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Monet, Van Gogh, and many more. In the 25 engrossing lectures of Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks, you’ll explore the larger themes, principles, and expressive currents that tell the story of Western art, and which shed light on its deeper meanings. As you explore this expansive tradition, you’ll delve into elements of the artist’s world such as:

  • The Magic and Brilliance of Color. Relive the story of color in Western art and see the resplendent use of color in different eras, from Medieval manuscripts to the visions of Wassily Kandinsky.
  • Perspective and Illusion. Travel into the artist’s means of recreating the 3D world in two dimensions; witness the creative use of perspective by major artists such as Holbein and Cézanne.
  • Genres of Art. Take a penetrating look at the history of artistic genres, from statuary to still life, in glorious works by Bernini, Raphael, Caravaggio, Velázquez, and many others.
  • Symbols and Symbolism. Decode the visual symbols used by artists. See how symbols flowered in Christian art, which you’ll find in magnificent church decoration in Ravenna and Chartres.
  • Modernism and Abstract Art. Take note of the social upheavals and changing times that gave birth to Modernism and abstraction in the early 20th century, in figures such as Pablo Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

Throughout the course, you’ll explore many artists and traditions, as well as investigate many of the human and social factors that played key roles in the development of Western art, including the history of women in art, the driving force of artistic competition, and the crucial influence of religion and philosophy. In Understanding Western Art: Stories, Styles, and Masterworks, you’ll travel deeply into the underlying elements of Western art, enriching your appreciation of these wonders of the human imagination.

About

Noah Charney
Noah Charney

Art is an act of creative expression, and it’s just so much fun following the clues to figure out all the things the artist wanted to express to you and why.

Noah Charney is an art historian who specializes in the study of art crime. He is the best-selling author of more than 25 books and the founder of the Association for Research into Crimes against Art. He received his PhD in Art History, Criticism, and Conservation from the University of Ljubljana. He has taught at Yale University, Brown University, and the American University of Rome and has presented lectures and courses at the Smithsonian Institution and the National Gallery in London. He is also an award-winning broadcaster and the host of several podcasts.

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