Summer Chats: "Art History at the Museum: Four Virtual Tours for the BOLLI Community" with Ruth Ezra

Are you a culture vulture itching to fly the coop? In these sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to stretch your museum legs without leaving the house. We’ll travel from Vienna to Los Angeles, London to New York, as we experience four different exhibitions and explore four innovative museum websites. Our virtual tour will take us from the painted masterpieces of the “Bruegel Gallery” at the Kunsthistorisches Museum to the graphic wonders the Getty assembled for “Michelangelo: Mind of the Master.” As we dig into both displays, we’ll use interactive online resources to learn about the technical processes behind Renaissance painting and drawing. After LA, it’s off to London for a day out at Sir John Soane’s Museum. This gem of a house museum preserves the eclectic collection and scholarly library of Soane, a nineteenth-century architect, and our digital journey includes a walk through Soane’s spooky Sepulchral Chamber. We’ll end the sessions with a flying visit to New York to catch “Gerhard Richter: Painting After All,” a landmark retrospective presented by the Met Breuer (formerly home to the Whitney Museum). On all four of our stops, we’ll pause to weigh the merits and drawbacks of “virtually” engaging with art, debating concepts like “aura” and “authenticity.” 

Tuesdays July 14, July 28, August 11, August 25, 3:30-5:00pm

Please note these sessions will be recorded. If you prefer not to be seen in a recording, please turn off your camera. Recordings will only be distributed to BOLLI members.

Summer chats are complimentary for Spring 2020, Summer 2020 and Fall 2020 members only. To register for a BOLLI membership, please click here.