Matisse and Picasso

About the Class

Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso shared one of modern art’s most famous rivalries. They admired and challenged each other, and they paid close attention to what the other was doing. Matisse once compared their relationship to a “boxing match.”

In this four-session online course, we’ll explore that creative rivalry through eight major paintings from the Barnes collection, spanning key moments in the artists’ early careers. We’ll examine how Matisse experimented with bold color arrangements while Picasso broke apart traditional ideas about space and form—and how each artist responded to the other’s innovations.

Through close looking and discussion, we’ll trace a creative exchange that pushed both artists in new directions and helped transform modern painting.

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

“Dr. Pierre brings the art alive with her inside stories, images, and how she interacts with the students. 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