Drawing in the art history classroom: Why is it not enough to listen and look?

Inspired by the student-centred, experiential, affective and sensory approaches of recent art history, this article discusses the integration of drawing activities in the classroom as an important part of the multimodal art historical pedagogy. It presents as its case study a module on Raphael and His Reception, which incorporates a practice-based seminar entitled ‘Drawing like Raphael’. The discussion considers this pedagogical method in theory and practice and reflects on its benefits, challenges and students’ feedback. Incorporating drawing in the classroom develops students’ sensitivity to the variety of media, grounds and their combinations, giving them an experiential understanding of the meaning of materiality. This article argues that drawing is a creative and fun way to build skills in visual expression and interpretation, but also one that brings affects and emotions to art historical inquiries and encourages students to bring their own thoughts and lived experiences to their art historical studies.