A collaborative MA: King's College London and the National Gallery
The Gallery offers a collaborative MA in Christianity and the Arts, taught in association with the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at King’s College London – one of the most distinguished departments of theology and religious studies in the country.
This exceptional programme enables students to work across disciplinary and specialist boundaries, exploring art-historical and theological dimensions of Christian art in tandem. The wealth of religious pictures at the National Gallery makes it an ideal forum for exploring various issues surrounding the visual arts and spirituality. Much of the teaching therefore takes place in the Gallery, in front of original works of art, and is taught by curatorial staff.
About the programme
Co-ordinator of the programme, Professor Ben Quash – King’s College London’s first Professor of Christianity and the Arts – describes the unique opportunity it provides:
"There are rich Catholic and Orthodox traditions of visual imagery that are alive and well today, and it is a much remarked-on phenomenon that the traditional Protestant churches have in recent years abandoned their traditional distrust of images and begun to embrace the possibilities of visual culture.
"Many departments of theology and religious studies seek to study these ancient traditions and new developments. What few of them have, however, is the phenomenal resource of London’s artistic heritage on their doorstep."
The National Gallery is one of the greatest art collections in the world, spanning five centuries of Western European painting, including many masterpieces. A large proportion of its paintings treat specifically Christian themes and subject matter. This MA is designed to encourage theological reflection on these great works of visual culture.
Further information about the MA and of how to apply can be found on the King's College London website:
Prospectus: Christianity and the Arts MA – Part Time, Full Time [External link]
About King's College London
King’s College London is:
- one of the top 10 UK universities (QS World University Rankings, 2020)
- the fourth oldest university in England
- research-led and based in the heart of London.
- King’s has over 31,000 students (including more than 12,800 postgraduates) from some 150 countries and over 8,500 employees.
- King’s provides world-class teaching and cutting-edge research:
- In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework (REF) King’s was ranked 6th nationally in the ‘power’ ranking, which takes into account both the quality and quantity of research activity, and 7th for quality according to 'Times Higher Education' rankings
- 84 per cent of research at King’s was deemed ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ (3* and 4*).
Find out more about the Art and Religion research theme
Image above: Detail from Vincenzo Catena, Saint Jerome in his Study, probably about 1510