Discover the elegant cabinets, salons, and boudoirs that formed part of the opulent apartments of French châteaux and townhouses. We’ll investigate some of the most luxurious French interiors of the 17th and 18th centuries – celebrated for the richness of their furnishings and remarkable for the diversity of their stylistic influences. Delving into the lives of the kings, queens, aristocrats, and courtesans who commissioned and inhabited these rooms, you’ll learn about the function that these interiors played, and how their decoration was used to convey the social rank of their owners.

Led by Dr Barbara Lasic is Lecturer in History of Art at Sotheby’s Institute of Art, London. She is an external examiner for the Open University and a regular Consultant Lecturer at the V&A. Prior to her academic career, Barbara held curatorial positions at the V&A, Wellcome Trust, and the National Maritime Museum. Barbara has published on the subject of French decorative arts, the history of taste, and the history of collecting. Her research interests include the production and consumption of French decorative arts, 1650-1900. 

Read the full course description here.

Joining Information and Format: This course will be taught through Zoom Webinar. Each course session duration is 120 minutes, including a five-minute break and Q&A session with the tutor.  

Tickets are for all dates of this course. Ticketholders will be emailed the Zoom link, Webinar ID and Passcode 24 hours in advance of the first-course session, which should be retained for accessing both sessions.   

Course Recording: This course will be recorded. Within 48 hours of each course session, ticket holders will be emailed a link to view the recording, which will be available for two weeks.