Discover how visual art can inspire creative writing and how writing can offer a powerful way to experience art. Join Mary Hall Surface, the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s popular Writing Salon, for five online workshops that explore essential elements of writing and styles through close looking, word-sketching, and imaginative response to prompts. This writing session is inspired by Antonio Martorell’s La Playa Negra I (Tar Beach I).
The life of Eleanor of Aquitaine is the stuff of legend. But what’s true? Tudor and Renaissance scholar Carol Ann Lloyd-Stanger considers some of the stories—such as going on a Crusade dressed as an Amazon—that have grown from the real life of the ambitious and powerful woman who managed to become queen consort of England and France and shaped the reigns of two of England’s most famous kings: Richard the Lionheart and King John.
Over the past 2,000 years, Samarkand—located in what is now Uzbekistan—has absorbed the wealth and labors of Sogdian merchants, Manichean priests, Islamic astronomers, Mongol khans, Timurid emperors, Russian czars, and Soviet officials, all of whom attempted to use the city as a base from which to conquer Central Asia. Historian Justin M. Jacobs analyzes the cultural achievements of each of these historical groups.
Oscar-winning composers such as Bernard Herrmann, Max Steiner, Ennio Morricone and John Williams have engraved iconic scenes into our collective memory with their extraordinary music. Just ahead of this year’s ceremony, concert pianist and film-music fanatic Rachel Franklin leads a journey through 90 years of award-winning movie scores, accompanied by her grand piano and a wide collection of fascinating film clips.
Over the centuries, major themes in art continue to reappear. The nude, animals, events in history, and depictions of fantasies are a few notable examples of categories that artists have interpreted in styles ranging from the naturalistic to the surreal. Art historian Joseph Cassar examines important masterworks within selected genres and the similarities among—and the uniqueness of—the artists and cultural norms that influenced their choices. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
The Academy Awards will be announced on March 2. Get ready by joining Washington City Paper film critic Noah Gittell for an evening that focuses on all things Oscar, from Academy Awards history and trivia to discussions of this year’s nominations and behind-the-scenes stories. He also sorts through all the story lines, rumors, and gossip.
Through classical texts and portrayals on vases and in marble, we can piece together the romantic entanglements of Greco-Roman deities such as Zeus and Leda, Eros and Psyche, and Apollo and Daphne. Despite their divine status, the gods of these myths grappled with feelings remarkedly human in nature, such as desire, jealousy, and the quest for revenge. Art historian Renee Gondek delves into Greco-Roman tales of love, lust, and woe as reflected in both ancient and contemporary artworks. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Overshadowed for many decades, women artists who made important contributions to the Abstract Expressionist movement are finally getting their due. Most notable were five painters whose work was featured in the groundbreaking Ninth Street Art Exhibition of 1951. Art historian Nancy G. Heller examines the art and lives of these “Ninth Street Women,” their relationships with their male counterparts, and the gender-related obstacles they had to overcome to claim their place in a changing art world. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)