All upcoming Art & Architecture programs

A day-long visit to the Brandywine Museum of Art led by art historian Bonita Billman brings the landscape of Pennsylvania’s Brandywine Valley to life and offers an opportunity to explore a trio of special exhibitions, featuring works by Andrew Wyeth, Jamie Wyeth, and Karl J. Kuerner—plus the Andrew Wyeth house and studio and Kuerner Farm (open to public tours for only a few days of the year). (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

In the early 20th century, a group of Italian artists sought to embrace modernity in all its glorious messiness and contradictions. The result was Futurism, not a style but a way of looking at life. Its adherents called for abrupt change and the replacement of reason and order with vitality and force of will. Art historian Mary Ann Calo examines Futurism as both an idea and a development in the visual arts. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Despite its name, the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo in Florence, Italy, is not a music museum but a museum containing extraordinary artwork commissioned by the opera, or building committee, of Florence Cathedral. Renaissance art expert Rocky Ruggiero explores the collection, which includes the reconstructed original 13th-century Gothic façade of the cathedral; Lorenzo Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise,” the original bronze doors of the Florence Baptistery; and Michelangelo's second “Pietà,” which he carved at age 75 and left unfinished. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Founded over nine centuries ago, this medieval masterpiece has been cherished by monarchs and admired by Londoners. Historian Lorella Brocklesby explores Westminster Abbey’s Gothic magnificence and important royal patronage from the Middle Ages. She discusses additions including extravagant Tudor adornments and towers designed in the Baroque era, as well as the myriad of rare and royal treasures that abound within the spectacular soaring interior. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Art historian Joseph P. Cassar takes a close look at the brief period in the late 1880s when Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin shared the Yellow House in Arles, where van Gogh planned to develop an artists' colony. The union between the two artists would end after nine weeks, with a tragic episode in which van Gogh threatened Gauguin with a razor after a disagreement. Several works by both artists are studied and analyzed, highlighting similarities and differences to illustrate how van Gogh and Gauguin, despite their many disagreements, influenced each other. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Art historian Sophia D’Addio of Columbia University offers an introduction to the visual culture of Renaissance Italy from the 14th through 16th centuries in a five-part series of richly illustrated programs on varying types of images, objects, and structures. She examines some of the most influential and fascinating works of the period, exploring their formal innovations and the relationships between powerful patrons and skilled artists that resulted in their creation. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)

Dubbed “The Queen of the Washington Suburbs” in 1903, Cleveland Park is one of the District’s most beautiful and architecturally eclectic neighborhoods. With a rich history, the neighborhood boasts fanciful Victorian mansions, gorgeous gardens, and the National Cathedral, the second-largest in the United States. Carolyn Muraskin leads a visit to the National Cathedral’s grounds and explores Cleveland Park highlights including the site of President Grover Cleveland’s summer home, Red Top, and the McLean Gardens apartment complex, built on the grounds of the estate of an owner of the Hope Diamond.

Dubbed “The Queen of the Washington Suburbs” in 1903, Cleveland Park is one of the District’s most beautiful and architecturally eclectic neighborhoods. With a rich history, the neighborhood boasts fanciful Victorian mansions, gorgeous gardens, and the National Cathedral, the second-largest in the United States. Carolyn Muraskin leads a visit to the National Cathedral’s grounds and explores Cleveland Park highlights including the site of President Grover Cleveland’s summer home, Red Top, and the McLean Gardens apartment complex, built on the grounds of the estate of an owner of the Hope Diamond.

Dubbed “The Queen of the Washington Suburbs” in 1903, Cleveland Park is one of the District’s most beautiful and architecturally eclectic neighborhoods. With a rich history, the neighborhood boasts fanciful Victorian mansions, gorgeous gardens, and the National Cathedral, the second-largest in the United States. Carolyn Muraskin leads a visit to the National Cathedral’s grounds and explores Cleveland Park highlights including the site of President Grover Cleveland’s summer home, Red Top, and the McLean Gardens apartment complex, built on the grounds of the estate of an owner of the Hope Diamond.

Frank Lloyd Wright left an indelible signature on the American Midwest: a legacy of buildings that trace the arc of his career as one of the world’s most significant and innovative architects. This 5-day tour led by historian Bill Keene offers a one-of-kind opportunity for a close-up look at a wide range of Wright’s designs in Illinois and Wisconsin, as well as visits to seminal works by other architects of the early and mid-20th century. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)