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Please select the Key Stage for Group X.

Choose a theme for your session
Themes on offer are suited to particular age group. Please go back to step 1 of group booking and choose the key stage of the group in order to see available themes.
Students will be given an overview of their chosen period which will place it in the context of the wider history of art and help make connections across time. By looking at a small number of paintings in depth, they will explore the style, themes, materials and techniques of the time and how the art of the period fits into broader social and political developments.
Pupils will be introduced to the richness of the nation’s, and therefore their collection. They will practise their observational and visual literacy skills by focusing on three paintings from across the Gallery.
Students will be introduced to the richness of the nation’s, and therefore their collection. They will practise their observational and visual literacy skills by focusing on three paintings from across the gallery.
The National Gallery represents a slice of history (Western European History, 1250–1912), and paintings can be a good and useful record of a different time and place – such as Renaissance paintings, for example. The materials artists had available and as a result, the way paintings look, can tell us about changing times. For example, portraits can show us how wealth, power, and status were understood and conveyed, at different times, places and political contexts; changes in fashion and etiquettes can be explored as well as the effects of significant cultural and technological changes such as the coming of the railways and photography.
Pupils will explore how a painting is made, both physically and compositionally. They will be introduced to the differing materials and processes artists have used over time. Through guided looking they will examine how artists have composed the painting, used colour, light and tone and how effects such as texture and perspective have been created.
Students spend time exploring different materials and processes that are used in the making of paintings, and their different properties. A specialist educator will investigate visually with your students how artists create, for example, perspective, pattern, colour and light.
Pupils will explore the ways in which artists have told stories in paint; how they have plotted complex narratives, created atmosphere, introduced characters and swept the viewer along in the emotion of the story, all in a single canvas. They will be encouraged to work through the story as it is portrayed in the painting, using the visual clues the artist has included, and give their own opinions and interpretation. This session is therefore suitable both as an introduction to the topic, and for those groups who already have a working knowledge of myths and legends.
Students explore a selection of myths and legends through the visual language of paintings and gain more of an understanding of the genre. Specialist educators will encourage students to express their opinions and ideas about the stories explored. These narratives never fail to engage young people. They can be a good way of encouraging looking at paintings, but specific links can also be made for students studying Homer and Virgil.
Though the religious works in the collection are essentially Christian, pupils will be encouraged to think more generally about how artists have portrayed the sacred, imagine the spaces they were commissioned for and what they meant to people at the time. Through large-scale altarpieces and smaller works for private devotion, pupils will investigate how artist have used symbols, colour, and composition to represent stories and key beliefs. Sessions may act as a general investigation or focus on particular festivals such as Christmas or Easter.
Students will consider how religious narratives can be represented in paintings – particularly in the comparison of two treatments of the same subject (e.g. The Annunciation). Pupils will be guided in thinking about how artists represent moral ideas in Christian art – ideas of good and bad behaviour, the demands of family, sacrifice and duty. Sessions may act as a general investigation or focus on particular festivals such as Christmas or Easter.
Pupils will be given an overview of their chosen genre, looking at how it has been approached by different artists working across the periods covered by the collection. Gallery educators will guide them through the key elements of composition in either Still life, Landscape or Portraiture, encouraging comparisons of style and technique.
Students will explore chosen genre across the periods covered by the collection, looking at how it has been approached by different artists. Gallery educators will guide them through the key elements of composition in either Still life, Landscape or Portraiture, encouraging comparisons of style and technique.
See paintings come to life through storytelling on this lively virtual trip through the Gallery, specially tailored for Early Years learners.
Available from Thursday 19 October 2023. The Take One Picture focus painting in 2023/2024 is 'The Courtyard of a House in Delft' by Pieter de Hooch. Pupils will explore the painting along with two others chosen to complement their understanding and observational skills. This online session will work either as an introduction to Take One Picture, or to enhance and consolidate knowledge for those who have already worked on the project.
This session searches through the collection finding hidden symbols in paintings. Specialist educators guide pupils in looking for clues and making connections between objects in the paintings explored. Students develop their visual literacy whilst building their confidence in describing and discussing what they see.
Pupils will be introduced to the ways in which artists have represented the natural world and the built environment. During virtual investigations they will discover for themselves the artistic techniques that bring the painted world alive. Sessions may focus on depictions of Water, Weather, Plants and animals, or Buildings considering how artists have represented their chosen element and created a world the viewer can inhabit.

Choose a topic for your theme
Some themes cover different topics. Please go back to theme selection of group booking and choose the main theme for your session to see the available topics (if applicable for the theme selected).

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1. School type

2. School details

3. Your contact details

4. Finance contact details

Group X details

1. Key stage

2. Theme

3. Topic (only for some themes)

4. Date preference 1

5. Date preference 2

6. Date preference 3

7. SEND students

8. Group size

9. Group lead contact details

10. Any other information

Thank you

Your unique reference number is:

Thank you for submitting a booking request for a Talking Paintings Talk with The National Gallery. 

We will carefully review the details and email you within the next five working days. 

If the date and time slot options you provided are available, we will book the session for you as soon as possible. Once the booking is processed, you and the group leaders will receive a confirmation email. 

If none of the options are available, we will get in touch with you about finding some alternatives. 

Should you have any questions in the meantime, please email us at schoolbookings@nationalgallery.org.uk, quoting your unique reference number. 

 

Kind regards,
School Bookings Team
The National Gallery