Unique gallery courses explore the fascinating world of art and ideas found in the Museum's collection and current exhibitions. Participants have the opportunity for close encounters with art through lecture and guided discussion.

Courses are designed for adults and taught by educators, curators, and scholars. Registration and tickets are required for all courses.

Enrich your Saturday nights! Join an open-ended discussion in the Museum galleries to heighten your appreciation and understanding of the visual arts by exploring one masterpiece with an educator. The chosen work of art changes every session, making each visit a new experience. Course fee $10 per session (includes a sandwich voucher; parking not included). Meet at the Museum Information Desk for course introduction.

Learn more about this program on our blog, The Iris.

Next in the series
A Masterpiece to Be Explored

Saturday, June 1, 2013
6:00–8:00 p.m.

Explore in depth the work of a featured artist or a stylistic movement related to a current exhibition. An educator presents an illustrated lecture, culminating with the guided viewing and discussion of art in the exhibition galleries.

Next in the series
Masterpieces from Sicily
Discover the Sicilian Greeks as innovative leaders of the Mediterranean world in art, architecture, and science in the fifth through third centuries B.C. Explore masterworks and examine fascinating evidence about the scientist Archimedes (of Eureka! fame). Then view the galleries with curators Claire Lyons and Alexandra Sofroniew. Complements the exhibition Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome.
Course fee: $30.

Saturday, May 11, 2013
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting rooms and Museum galleries

Recently in the series
Myth and Monsters
Ancient Sicily, at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, was considered a locus of fascinating and dangerous beings and even an access point to the underworld. Explore with educator Shelby Brown the range of myths associated with this island, then visit the galleries to see mythological creatures and narratives in art. Complements the exhibition Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome.
Course fee: $30.

Sunday, April 14, 2013
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting rooms and Museum galleries

Recently in the series
Beauty and Dominance: The Capitoline Lion Attacking a Horse
Saturday, December 8, 2012
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting Rooms and galleries
Course fee $35

Before the sculpture of the Capitoline she-wolf, the symbol of Rome's power was a massive marble lion savaging a horse. Explore with curators Claire Lyons and Mary Louise Hart the fascinating history of this violent yet beautiful sculpture. Trace its Hellenistic roots through its impact on Michelangelo and Renaissance artists to its function as an icon of civic power.

Novice and seasoned museumgoers are invited to fully experience works of art in the Museum's collection. Educators direct discussion and the study of select masterpieces. Each course includes up to four thematically linked sessions, which take place once a month, usually on a Saturday morning. Attend a single class or the whole series.

Recently in the series
Seeing Red: The Quest for Color
Join art historian Maite Alvarez and explore the discovery, trade, and historic sources of red dyes and pigments. Then see how the color red transformed works of art in the Museum's collection from majestic tapestries to delicate manuscripts. Gallery course fee $20 (parking not included).

Tuesday, March 5, 2013
10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.
Getty Center, Getty Research Institute Lecture Hall

Recently in the series
Church, Color, and Cuisine in the Early Renaissance
Join culinary historian and author Linda Civitello for this gallery course exploring connections among religion, art, and food in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. Discover how churches, paintings, and banquet halls were filled with vibrant and symbolic color providing food for the soul, eye, and body while reflecting Florentine notions of virtue and vice.

Enjoy an afternoon at the Getty Villa exploring the antiquities collection, gardens, and ancient architecture. Course fee varies.

Next in the series
In the Sandals of a Greek Vase Painter: A Hands-on Approach
Appreciate Greek artistry in a new way! First join educator Shelby Brown for a close look at exceptional details on painted Greek vases at the Getty Villa. Then gain a deeper understanding of artists' skills and techniques with ceramicist Sue Sullivan by recreating an ancient image on clay using appropriate tools and techniques.
Course fee: $35.



Saturday, May 4, 2013
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting rooms and Museum galleries

Recently in the series
Greek and Roman Humor: From Slapstick to Satire
So, you think you know funny? Explore with educator Eric Bruehl the humor of the Greeks and Romans, often politically incorrect and sarcastic in its own time. Observe the ways an ancient sense of humor shares -- and diverges from -- motivations and values today, then tour the galleries to discover how humor is conveyed by everyday objects.

Saturday, March 9, 2013
1:00–4:00 p.m.
Getty Villa, Meeting rooms and Museum galleries
Course fee $30

See all upcoming courses and demonstrations on our event calendar.