From sleigh bells and sugarplums to the mystical beauties of the Nativity, every December our senses are filled with the music of Christmas. In a 2-session celebration of the festive season, popular speaker and concert pianist Rachel Franklin explores how classical Western composers created a canon of both secular and sacred experiences that are now deeply rooted in our collective seasonal expectations.
Chinese culture has a long, rich history. In this series, historian Justin M. Jacobs delves into the sweeping changes enacted in the realms of gender, language, education, and architecture during the Mao years.
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 spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Judith Leyster’ Self-Portrait.
If you’ve always wanted to learn the language and elements of musical notation and composition, this interactive online course led by music educator and conductor Ernest Johnson offers the perfect opportunity. Johnson guides exercises and assignments geared to developing the foundation every musician needs: the aural and visual understanding of pitch, rhythm, harmony, and form.
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 spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Hale Woodruff’s Georgia Landscape.
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 spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Hughie Lee-Smith's Confrontation.
Since the beginning of the talkies, directors have turned to classical music for their soundtracks. Whether it’s Beethoven, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Richard Strauss, Mascagni, Puccini, or Bach, opuses of almost every famous composer have added emotional depth to hundreds of films. With clips, commentary, and piano demonstrations, concert pianist and movie fanatic Rachel Franklin delves into the magic of some of the greatest film music ever composed (even when it was unintentional).
The ability to derive meaning from what we see is an essential skill in a culture saturated with images. Once you understand this visual language, reading images, particularly art, is not only simpler but infinitely more gratifying. Using works from the history of art and from popular culture, art historian Nancy G. Heller focuses on how art communicates, how to analyze and interpret it, and how we can see it as a cultural product that reveals something about the society that produced it. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
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 spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Mary Cassatt’s The Boating Party.
Franz Josef Haydn (1732–1809) proved that music could be both serious and joyful—at the same time. In an engaging series, classical music and opera expert Saul Lilienstein demonstrates the range of Haydn’s innovative genius in almost every field of musical endeavor. Each session is highlighted by music recordings and video performances of Haydn’s great works.
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of three virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as far-flung as Morocco, New Zealand, Israel, Belgium, and the East Coast of the United States. In vibrant visuals they explore how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on gardens located in Morocco and Israel.
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 spotlight a diverse range of visual art chosen to inspire writers of all experience levels to deepen their process and practice. This writing session is inspired by Berthe Morisot’s The Mother and Sister of the Artist.
The evolution of Russian art is inextricably bound to the rich cultural exchanges between East and West. In a 4-part series, art historian Aneta Georgievska-Shine traces this fascinating blend of diverse visual languages and styles, from the late-medieval icons and frescos indebted to Byzantium to the great avant-garde experiments of the early part of the 20th century that developed alongside the currents of European modernism. (World Art History Certificate core course, 1 credit)
Though it lasted for only 50 years, the Japanese empire forever changed the geopolitical balance in Asia and left a complex legacy that endures to this day. In a winter series, historian Justin M. Jacobs takes you on a thematic tour of five fascinating topics in the history of the Japanese empire. This session's focus will be on Japan’s feudal castles and its politics.
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of three virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as far-flung as Morocco, New Zealand, Israel, Belgium, and the East Coast of the United States. In vibrant visuals they explore how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on gardens located in Belgium and Pennsylvania.
Though it lasted for only 50 years, the Japanese empire forever changed the geopolitical balance in Asia and left a complex legacy that endures to this day. In a winter series, historian Justin M. Jacobs takes you on a thematic tour of five fascinating topics in the history of the Japanese empire. This session's focus will be on Japanese tourism.
Indulge in a colorful midwinter escape as horticultural experts lead a series of three virtual visits that highlight the beauty of notable botanical gardens in settings as far-flung as Morocco, New Zealand, Israel, Belgium, and the East Coast of the United States. In vibrant visuals they explore how each garden has taken a unique approach to design and interpretation as they celebrate plant collections, conservation, education, and the distinctive environments and landscapes in which they bloom. This session focuses on gardens located in New Zealand and Virginia.
Though it lasted for only 50 years, the Japanese empire forever changed the geopolitical balance in Asia and left a complex legacy that endures to this day. In a winter series, historian Justin M. Jacobs takes you on a thematic tour of five fascinating topics in the history of the Japanese empire. This session's focus will be on Japanese baseball.
Anatolia’s colorful history has left a windfall of riches—ancient ruins, ornate Byzantine churches, supremely elegant mosques, and splendid Ottoman palaces. In an illustrated series, Serif Yenen, a Turkish-born tour guide and author, highlights the heritage and splendor of ancient Turkey through an examination of some of its cultural gems.
Is it possible that Neoclassicism, with its focus on order and the enduring values of Greece and Rome, can co-exist with Romanticism, with its emphasis on exotic scenes, and studies of sublime nature? Yes it can—and did—in the 18th- and 19th-century art world. Art historian Joseph Paul Cassar explores the artistic and cultural highlights of Neoclassicism and Romanticism from the Enlightenment to the Age of Revolution and the movements’ lasting impact on Western artists. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Though it lasted for only 50 years, the Japanese empire forever changed the geopolitical balance in Asia and left a complex legacy that endures to this day. In a winter series, historian Justin M. Jacobs takes you on a thematic tour of five fascinating topics in the history of the Japanese empire. This session's focus will be on the Tokyo Zoo.
Though it lasted for only 50 years, the Japanese empire forever changed the geopolitical balance in Asia and left a complex legacy that endures to this day. In a winter series, historian Justin M. Jacobs takes you on a thematic tour of five fascinating topics in the history of the Japanese empire. This session's focus will be on Japanese video games.
