Take a Class
Study art history at the Barnes, a leader in art education since 1925. Come learn in our galleries, or take classes online using our immersive, state-of-the-art platform that brings you closer to the work than ever before.
Classes are streamed live via our VXP (visual experience platform).
Close-Looking Immersion: Vieira da Silva’s The Domestic Symphony
Using a meditative approach, this hour-long session offers an in-depth look at Vieira da Silva’s masterful composition. Instructor: Naina Saligram
Japonisme in Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Art
Learn how Japanese art transformed modern painting in this online workshop. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
Visions from the Nile: Art and Life in Ancient Egypt
Explore life along the Nile and how art shaped daily life, ritual, and belief in ancient Egypt. Instructor: Carl Walsh
Exhibiting Modernism: From the Salon to the Avant-Garde
Learn how exhibition culture shaped artists, audiences, and modern art. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
The Elements of Art
Discover the visual language of art through close looking and discussion centered on works from the Barnes collection. Instructor: William Perthes
The Traditions of Art
Learn how modern artists adapted earlier traditions and developed new visual languages. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
Post-Impressionism and the Making of Modern Art
Explore how Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Seurat transformed modern painting through radical new approaches to color and form. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire
Discover hidden details in this hour devoted to observing and discussing Cézanne’s Mont Sainte-Victoire. Instructor: Kaelin Jewell
James McNeill Whistler: An American Painter Abroad
Explore Whistler’s international artistic networks and his role in shaping modern art across France, England, and America. Instructor: Suzanne Singletary
Mary Cassatt: Art, Identity, and Independence
Discover how Cassatt reshaped modern art through intimate scenes, innovative printmaking, and radical depictions of women. Instructor: Larissa Bailiff
Thomas Eakins: American Realist
Examine Eakins’s powerful realism through portraits, photography, and scenes of modern American life. Instructor: Lea Stephenson
Aaron Douglas from Harlem to Philly
Explore Douglas’s connection to the Barnes Foundation and his role in shaping the visual language of the Harlem Renaissance. Instructor: Alison Boyd
Close-Looking Immersion: Glackens’s Beach at Dieppe
Spend an hour closely observing Glackens’s Beach at Dieppe through guided discussion and immersive digital viewing. Instructor: William Perthes
What Is Art? Marcel Duchamp
Learn how Duchamp challenged conventional ideas of art and transformed modern artistic practice. Instructor: Matthew Palczynski
The Ballets Russes: Art, Music, and Modern Performance
Explore the revolutionary collaborations of the Ballets Russes through music, dance, painting, and design. Instructor: Mimi Stillman
Baroque Masters of Southern Europe: Caravaggio to Velázquez
Explore Baroque painting through the work of Caravaggio, Gentileschi, Poussin, and Velázquez. Instructor: Wayne Franits
The Femme Fatale in Art, Film, and Pop Culture, 1890 to Now
Study the mysterious femme fatale, an archetype for exploring themes of gender, power, sexuality, and morality across art forms. Instructor: Martha Lucy
Art, Ritual, and Death in the 19th Century
Study Victorian mourning culture through art, photography, fashion, and memorial objects. Instructor: Caterina Y. Pierre
Close-Looking Immersion: Cézanne’s Young Man and Skull
Take a deep dive into Cézanne’s painting using the Barnes Method. Instructor: William Perthes
Gift a Barnes Class
Give the gift of lifelong learning with art history classes taught by Barnes experts.