This course picks up the story of Western European art from c.1600 to early 19th century. It looks at how politics and religion, institutions and artists shaped art, and how local circumstances favoured different genres, such as landscape, narrative 'histories' or portraits. This was the era of Vermeer, Rembrandt and Ruisdael in the Netherlands during the Dutch 'Golden Age'; Poussin, Charles Le Brun and Claude in Louis XIII and Louis IV's France; and Hogarth, Reynolds and Gainsborough in Britain as the Royal Academy opened. We will use visual analysis techniques to look closely at selected paintings. Each session will include small group exercises and everyone makes a (very) short end-of-term presentation. Please make sure you can attend the first session. A visit to the Fitzwilliam Museum's collection will also be arranged. (This course follows 'Looking at art: 1300-1600', offered last year).