All upcoming Art & Architecture programs

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)

During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the emerging profession of architecture in America was very much a man’s world. But several talented and tenacious women created doorways into it. Lecturer Bill Keene examines the careers of three of these pioneering women—Louise Blanchard Bethune, Marian Mahony, and Julia Morgan—and their importance in the development of the profession of architecture. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

On April 15, 2019, the world watched as Notre-Dame de Paris withstood a devastating fire. But the great Gothic cathedral itself has watched over its city for nearly a thousand years, from the beginning of its construction in 1163 to the French Revolution when its statues of kings were beheaded to witnessing the adversities of World War II. With its reopening scheduled for December, Met Cloisters curator emerita Barbara Drake Boehm traces the history of this monument through times of turbulence and triumph.

Considered the most influential art school of the 20th century, the Bauhaus lasted merely 14 years, from 1919 to 1933.  Art historian Erich Keel traces the pressures that led to its formation, the changing aesthetic philosophies that guided the teaching of subjects as varied as architecture, weaving, and typography, and the inevitable exposure to political headwinds that questioned both the existence of a progressive art school and the very idea of a liberal republic following the defeat of Germany in World War I. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

Painting on the cusp of the medieval and Renaissance worlds, Hieronymus Bosch continues to fascinate with his fantastic imagery and densely symbolic compositions. Even after decades of research and close examination, many of his masterpieces remain as perplexing as they probably appeared to their original viewers. Art historian Aneta Georgievskia-Shine discusses ways of approaching the unique vision of reality and human nature contained within Bosch’s painted worlds. (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)

From the period after World War II through the late 1960s, the Mid-century Modern design movement swept through the United States and Europe, emphasizing functionality, clean lines, and simplicity. Design historian Elizabeth Lay Little leads a tour to eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey that explores how the movement took root in the region. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

More than any other creator, Piero della Francesca was responsible for the development of 15th-century painting in Florence and its crucial dissemination throughout Italy. His compositions marry art and science with cool precision and a sophisticated grasp of perspective. Join Renaissance art historian Elaine Ruffolo from her home in Italy as she follows Piero’s extraordinary career and his journey through Tuscany, Umbria, and Urbino. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)

The architecture and interiors of Scotland’s finest historic houses uniquely reflect the country’s heritage and culture. In a richly illustrated day-long journey into history, cultural historian Lorella Brocklesby explores more than 400 years of splendor from fortified 16th-century tower houses and palaces of Baroque extravagance to elegant 18th-century residences and exuberant revival styles of the Victorian period. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)

Discover the power of reflective writing inspired by art guided by the founding instructor of the National Gallery of Art’s Writing Salon, Mary Hall Surface. The work of two British artists, painter Evelyn De Morgan and poet and playwright Carol Ann Duffy, open participants to an exploration of Demeter, Greek mythology’s goddess of fertility and Mother Earth. Through close looking and imaginative writing, they reflect on the myriad meanings of mothering in their lives, in the natural world, and in the creative process.