Flowers in the Wilderness: Pennsylvania Dutch Art and Culture

About the Class

Visitors to the Barnes galleries encounter a puzzling idiosyncrasy: paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse, and Picasso shown next to Pennsylvania German calligraphy, metalwork, and furniture. Why juxtapose “rustic” artifacts of the early Pennsylvania hinterland with masterpieces of the Parisian avant-garde? In this four-session online course, we’ll puzzle through the curious case of Dr. Albert C. Barnes’s important but often overlooked collection of Pennsylvania German material culture, including treasures from Ker-Feal, his former country estate.

Together, we’ll go beyond the visual arts to explore the rich tapestry of Pennsylvania German culture, including religion, language, literature, music, history, and materiality. Following Dr. Barnes’s lead, we will also consider what we can learn by viewing Pennsylvania German artifacts alongside artworks from other cultures in the Barnes collection.

In the end, students will gain a deeper understanding of the Pennsylvania Germans, of whom Dr. Barnes was a descendant, and a new appreciation for a regional culture often categorized as kitsch.

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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What Our Students Say

“The instructor was not only knowledgeable but so accessible, and such an inviting presence. She provided great reading to supplement the course.” —Mary Cassatt: Art, Identity, and Independence with Larissa Bailiff

“Pierre brings the art alive with her inside stories and images and how she interacts with the students. She is always able to answer and follow up with more information at the next class.” —Exhibiting Modernism: From the Salon to the Avant-Garde with Caterina Pierre

“Alison Boyd was engaging and effective during the online instruction, and she offered well-selected background materials for further reading.” —Aaron Douglas from Harlem to Philly with Alison Boyd