With Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary Rome omnipresent, Arts classes at St. Stephen’s stimulate and nurture the student’s aesthetic sense. Placing contemporary artistic trends in a long-term historical, social and aesthetic perspective comes naturally to students whose everyday experience, though constantly connected to the present day world of computers and the internet, nevertheless contains persistent visible reminders of more than 2000 years of artistic accomplishment – of the attention humanity has paid to form and detail in its eternal quest to express the contemporary spirit.

The aims of the Arts courses at St. Stephen’s are:

• to promote the student’s aesthetic sense;
• to develop each student's familiarity with and confidence in his or her own artistic ability;
• to foster the student's acquisition of the fundamental skills and experience necessary for artistic expression;
• to stimulate the student to think “outside the box” while combining technique and control with a personal voice or vision;
• to encourage the student's appreciation of both the pursuit of perfection - the "job well done" - and of the personal patience and perseverance such a goal requires.