Wednesdays, October 9 – October 30, 1 – 3pm
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Pablo Picasso. Harlequin (Léonide Massine) (detail), 1917. Museu Picasso de Barcelona. Gift of Pablo Picasso, 1919. Photo Credit: Manuel Cohen / Art Resource, NY
$220; members $198
(4 classes)
About the Class
It is remarkable how many famous modern artists also worked as designers for the stage. We will begin in 18th-century Europe, looking at painters like François Boucher, who was chief decorator for the Académie Royale de Musique in Paris, before fast-forwarding to the early 20th century, when the art world saw a burst of collaborative activity between painters and the theatrical arts. Sergei Diaghilev, of the Ballets Russes, commissioned artists such as Pablo Picasso, Natalia Goncharova, and Joan Miró to work as designers for the stage. Salvador Dalí created the decor and costumes for a 1919 ballet; and in Norway, Edvard Munch designed haunting stage imagery for a 1910 production of Henrik Ibsen’s Ghosts. We will then turn to the United States, exploring the stunning collaboration between sculptor Isamu Noguchi and dancer-choreographer Martha Graham, as well as the artists who worked with Merce Cunningham and John Cage in the 1950s and 1960s.
The class is online-only. More about online classes.
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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.
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Pablo Picasso. Harlequin (Léonide Massine) (detail), 1917. Museu Picasso de Barcelona. Gift of Pablo Picasso, 1919. Photo Credit: Manuel Cohen / Art Resource, NY
Instructor
Caterina Y. Pierre
Pierre is professor of art history at the City University of New York at Kingsborough Community College and visiting associate professor at the Pratt Institute, New York. She has taught about art and crime at CUNY Kingsborough, Pratt, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York. She is currently preparing a book on cemetery sculpture as political art in the late 19th century, as well as a book on Ernest Durig, a forger of the sculptor Auguste Rodin.
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
“I learned so much in this class, especially things I would not have considered or did not learn when taking art history classes in college.” Portraiture at the Barnes: From the 15th Century to Modernism with Laura Watts
“Kaelin is an amazing professor and has so much knowledge about the collection and the Barnes Foundation. She makes the content interesting and encourages your ideas and questions.” The Traditions of Art with Kaelin Jewell
“I love Cézanne’s art. I am a neuroscientist and always use Cézanne as an example of an artist when I teach vision and the art of seeing. This class helped me appreciate Cézanne’s work even more [and] was very engaging.” Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Ginger Jar 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