Monday, June 16, 6 – 8pm
Left: Paul Cézanne. The Large Pear (detail), 1895–98. The Barnes Foundation, BF190. Public Domain. Right: Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The Artist's Family (detail), 1896. The Barnes Foundation, BF819. Public Domain.
$90; members $81
(2-hour workshop)
About the Series
Our Looking and Listening series explores the relationship between visual art and music. Join us in the Barnes galleries, where Albert Barnes often used music in his teachings. Surrounded by Matisse, Picasso, Renoir, and Cézanne, we will listen to various recordings—from Stravinsky and Ravel to African American spirituals—and discuss how perception changes when the visual and aural intersect. Some sessions will be rooted in history, focusing on the stylistic conventions of a particular era; others will be more loosely conceived, with time devoted to pure sensory exploration.
About the Class
Impressionist Pioneers in Art and Music
This session explores the powerful connections between impressionist art and music. What painters like Monet, Renoir, and Cézanne did in art, composer Claude Debussy, the father of musical impressionism, did in music. Debussy turned away from the established academic approach to composition and created a new style of music that would influence generations of composers. Debussy and his followers rejected rigid structures and forms in favor of music that emphasized color, texture, and counterpoint.
For music as for art, the term “impressionism” was initially meant pejoratively by critics, but later adopted by the creators themselves. The parallels between the impressionist artists and composers were recognized by their contemporaries. Debussy wrote to a friend: “You do me a great honour by calling me a pupil of Claude Monet.” Paul Gauguin said that “color . . . is vibration just as music is.” Celebrated flutist Mimi Stillman will perform examples from the music of the impressionist period while guiding attendees through Barnes Method–inspired looking and listening exercises.
Capacity: 60
Barnes classes will:
- Sharpen your observational and critical thinking skills.
- Improve your ability to communicate about art.
- Deepen your appreciation for cultures and histories outside your own.
Instructor
Mimi Stillman
An acclaimed flutist, Stillman is an internationally recognized solo, chamber, and recording artist who the New York Times has called “not only a consummate and charismatic performer, but also a scholar. Her programs tend to activate ear, heart, and brain.” She is the founding artistic director of the Dolce Suono Ensemble. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music with a MA in history from the University of Pennsylvania, she is a published author on music and history, with a focus on late 19th- and early 20th-century French culture.
Recent Barnes Class Testimonials
“Naina Saligram is the professor everyone hopes to have. She is knowledgeable and open to listening to her students.” The Classical Tradition in Modern Art with Naina Saligram
“Joe Tokumasu Field was a wonderful instructor—very patient, caring, and skilled at interacting with students’ questions and comments.” The Japanese American Century with Joseph Tokumasu Field
“Kaelin got us involved in the conversation in a way that made it engaging and fun. I learned so much and didn’t feel like I was just being lectured at the whole time. The class was well paced and covered the basics without oversimplification.” The Language of Painting with Kaelin Jewell
“I love these close-looking classes; [it’s great] to see the details of each painting and to have an instructor lead our eyes in how best to look at a work of art.” Close-Looking Immersion: Glackens’s The Raft with William Perthes
“The instructor was amazing! She was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and open to questions. She brought in outside resources and made herself available via email for questions between classes. I would take anything she teaches.” The Impressionists: Friends and Family with Caterina Pierre
Go Further
Workshop: Art, Well-Being, and Medicine
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Matisse, Morocco, and The Seated Riffian
Learn about Matisse’s fruitful winters in Morocco while studying this stunning portrait. Instructors: Jeff Koehler, Martha Lucy
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.