Drawing on what is considered one of the greatest post-impressionist and early modern art collections in the world, Barnes Foundation educator Penny Hansen guides a series of live virtual tours that examine in depth the paintings of three artists who helped shape a truly revolutionary period in the history of art.
Using high-definition Deep Zoom technology developed by the Barnes, she leads participants through the Philadelphia museum’s galleries and provides astonishingly close-up views of the canvases, revealing their paint surface, brushstrokes, and details in ways that bring the art and the artist vividly to life. All programs provide the chance to interact with Hansen in a Q&A session.
Please Note: Individual sessions are available for purchase.
March 9 Matisse
Henri Matisse is considered a cornerstone of 20th century modernism. He developed a monumental approach to decorative art, innovative in his treatment of the human figure and the expressive and constructive role he accorded to color. The Barnes holds 59 of his works, representing pieces from throughout his long career. They include his fauvist masterpiece of 1906, Le Bonheur de Vivre, and The Dance, a huge work commissioned by collector Albert Barnes in 1930 that spans the length of the main gallery of the foundation.
March 16 Renoir
Albert Barnes amassed 181 works by Pierre-August Renoir—the world’s largest collection. Renoir was a founding member of the impressionist movement in the early 1870s, and good friends with Monet, Manet, Cézanne, and Degas. In close-up views of his paintings on the walls of the Barnes Foundation, Hansen examines his stylistic changes over the years, as well as Barnes’ great affinity for Renoir, especially for his late works.
March 23 Cézanne
The Barnes Foundation holds the world’s largest collection of works by Paul Cézanne, some 69 pieces including his masterworks The Large Bathers and The Card Players. Picasso spoke for a generation in declaring, “Cézanne is the father of us all: Without Cézanne there would be no modern art.” Hansen explores Cézanne’s career, his reclusive life, his style, his characteristic brushstrokes, and his deep influence on 20th-century art.
World Art History Certificate elective: Earn 1/2 credit (per session of this series)*
3 sessions
General Information
*Enrolled participants in the World Art History Certificate Program receive 1/2 elective credit. Not yet enrolled? Learn about the program, its benefits, and how to register here.
