Examine the tension between nature and artifice in constructions of feminine beauty. She will lead an interactive discussion of Under the Cherry Blossoms, an early 16th-century illustration for The Tale of Genji by Tosa Mitsunobu, and two sculptures by women: Daphne (1930) by Renée Sintenis and Nature Study (1986) by Louise Bourgeois.
Participate in the Arnold Arboretum’s 2021 Tournament of Trees! Get to know this year’s Sweet Sixteen contenders (March 3–9) and cast your votes in this fun bracket style tournament. Let the March Tree Madness games begin.
Nature has long inspired we humans to imagine and create art. Dancers, designers, musicians, painters, and sculptors—they are all found in the natural world. Take this virtual journey through the exhibit galleries of the Harvard Museum of Natural History, where we will reveal intriguing, and often surprising, sources of creativity and connection between the realms of nature and art.
Mei Tercek ’21 explores works that are shaped by decay and generated through destruction. This interactive tour looks closely at the beauty that remains in the wake of decay in the Thai sculpture The Standing Buddha (7th–8th century), the bronze ...
To quote artist Mel Bochner, “Color is what color does.” In this tour, Adam Sella ’22 explores the action of red, yellow, and blue in three works of art. For red, it’s a panel from Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals (1962); for yellow, the painting A Nayika and Her Lover (c. 1660–70) by an unknown artist from India; and for blue, Pablo Picasso’s Blue period painting...
Franklin Hang ’21 explores how artistic periods and traditions have had an impact on the world in ways that exceed bodily limitations. He will lead an interactive discussion of a portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart, Emperor Napoleon I by Jacques-Louis David, ...
Sophia Mautz ’21 examines the tensions between nature and artifice in the construction of feminine beauty. She will lead an interactive discussion of the sculptures Nature Study by Louise Bourgeois and Daphne by Renée Sintenis as well as the painting Under the Cherry Blossoms (an illustration for the Tale of Genji) by Tosa Mitsunobu.
Vlad Batagui ’21 explores the relationship between art and the origins of its creation, looking at different ways in which art objects and artists get removed from their original cultural contexts. This interactive tour looks closely at the mural painting Eight Men Ferrying a Statue of the Buddha (from Mogao Cave 323, in Dunhuang, China), the sculpture Torso of a Young Girlby Constantin Brancusi, and...
Alexis Boo ’22 explores works of art that incorporate and manipulate light, rendering it as their medium. This interactive tour featuresLight Prop for an Electric Stage by László Moholy-Nagy, Gare Saint-Lazareby Claude Monet, and Fish and Turtles by Maruyama Ōkyo.
Maeve Miller ’22 will investigate forms of intimacy across the history of art and the tensions between them by looking closely at Summer Scene [Bathers] by Jean Frédéric Bazille, the sculpture Prince Shotoku at Age Two, and The Vanity of the Artist’s Dream by Charles Bird King.
Join the Harvard Art Museums live on Zoom for a Student Guide Tour!
Sophia Mautz ’21 examines the tensions between nature and artifice in the construction of feminine beauty. She will lead an interactive discussion of the sculptures Nature Study by Louise Bourgeois and Daphne by Renée Sintenis as well as the painting Under the Cherry Blossoms (an illustration for the Tale of Genji) by Tosa Mitsunobu.
Join us live on Zoom for a Student Guide Tour! Vlad Batagui ’21 explores the relationship between art and the origins of creation, looking at different ways in which art objects and artists get removed from their original cultural contexts. This free tour will take place online via Zoom.
Creature Feature, a new online series from the Harvard Art Museums, offers a chance for families with children ages 6 and up to explore magical creatures across the collections through close-looking and curious exploration with museum staff. In this talk, take a (virtual) trip to the sea! Join curatorial assistants Casey Monahan and Heather Linton on Zoom to discover sirens and merpeople in Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s "A Sea-Spell" and Edward Farrell’s "Pair of Rutland Tazzas."
This online talk is free and open to all, but registration is required. To register, please complete...
Since the early 20th century, plastic has been a popular material for many artists due to its ability to be transformed—bent, shaped, molded, stretched. However, when works made with plastic enter a museum collection, they bring numerous challenges. Join conservation scientist Georgina Rayner and conservator Susan Costello to learn more about the materials, condition and treatment issues, and the demands this material poses for storage and display.
Led by: Susan Costello, Associate Conservator of Objects and Sculpture, Straus Center for Conservation and...
Mesopotamian Monuments is a 60-minute live-streamed museum visit to investigate monuments from Sumer, Babylonia and Assyria exhibited at Harvard University. Guided by a museum educator, visitors at home observe sculptures in the gallery to understand the characteristics of these ancient river civilizations. The tour introduces the Sumerian ruler Gudea, Hammurabi of Babylon and the Assyrian Kings Ashurnasirpal II and his son Shalmaneser III. The experience includes the monument of Hammurabis' code and some ancient music with time for questions and discussion.
Join us for a virtual field trip to an artist's studio! We will visit contemporary ceramic artists for a guided tour of their space, a demo of their process, and discussion about their work and how it has progressed throughout their career. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the discussion.
You are going to flip your lid during this very special 2-hour event with Denny McLaughlin at the Harvard Ceramics Program in Allston, MA. Denny, being one of the few staff who have access to our facility due to COVID-19, will be working in our studio...
Adam Sella ’22 will consider different ideas of spirituality and how these are reflected in artwork we might not immediately consider to be spiritual.
The Ho Family Student Guide Program at the Harvard Art Museums trains students to develop original, research-based tours of the collections. These tours, designed and led by Harvard undergraduates from a range of academic disciplines, focus on select objects chosen by each student guide and provide visitors a unique, thematic view into collections.