Learn the fundamentals of floral arranging as this class covers essential base mechanics, sourcing flowers, working with seasonal blooms, and photographing your work.
Florence’s Hospital of the Innocents, founded in 1445, was Europe’s first orphanage for abandoned children. Designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, the institution known as the Innocenti became a haven for more than 400,000 children across five centuries. Joseph Luzzi, a professor of literature at Bard College, explores how the Innocenti revolutionized our understanding of childhood through its breakthroughs in childcare and childhood education.
Art historian Sophia D’Addio surveys Umbria, known for hill towns, majestic landscapes, and the legacy of Saint Francis. Perugia, Assisi, Spoleto, and Orvieto hold medieval and Renaissance treasures. Umbria’s culinary specialties focus on prized local ingredients such as black truffles, wild boar, lentils, and olive oil. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Art warmups enable students to jump right into their projects knowing there are no wrong answers. Students work with positive and negative space, do quick sketches, go beyond the color wheel, and use mixed-media techniques to build layers and texture.
After its disappointing air combat performance over Vietnam, the U.S. set out to improve its training of fighter pilots. Among the initiatives was a top-secret project launched in the late 1970s that pitted clandestinely obtained Soviet MiGs flown by a cadre of highly experienced pilots—known as Red Eagles—against fighter pilots of the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rob Zettel, a Red Eagles veteran, shares an insider’s view of the project.
Pull out your sketchbook and pencil to take an artful break as you explore the Smithsonian while drawing objects from vast and fascinating collections.
From the classical villas of ancient Rome to the landscaped estates of the Renaissance, artists and patrons have long sought to bring sculpture into dialogue with nature. Art historian Jennie Hirsh traces the history and vision behind three of the world’s most inspiring contemporary sculpture gardens: Storm King Art Center in upstate New York, Glenstone Museum in Potomac, Maryland, and Château La Coste near Aix-en-Provence. These sites reveal how artists and architects continue to redefine the possibilities of sculpture, scale, and place, offering a compelling perspective on the interplay between art and landscape. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1/2 credit)
Soaring spires, glittering stained-glass windows, and sculpted figures that seem to breathe with life—these are the hallmarks of Gothic art, a style that transformed cathedrals, churches, and civic spaces across medieval Europe. Art historian Janetta Rebold Benton, author of Art of the Middle Ages, explores this extraordinary period. Through architecture, sculpture, painting, and the decorative arts, Benton reveals the unrivaled richness and refinement of the Gothic era. (World Art History Certificate elective, 1 credit)
