CURRENT COURSE OFFERINGS

Traditions in Art: A Plastic Approach, Spring 2008 (The Barnes Foundation)

Informed Perception: An Objective Approach to Aesthetic Education, Spring 2008 (ACEP at McKean High School)

Art and Aesthetic Theory: An Objective Approach, Spring 2008 (SCI Graterford)

Informed Perception: An Objective Approach to Aesthetic Education, Spring 2008 (Main Line Art Center)

The Traditions, Fall-Spring 2007-08 (Cab Calloway School for the Arts)

If you are interested in registering for a Foundation course, please contact the program coordinator at the Foundation office.

BACKGROUND

The Violette de Mazia Foundation’s formal instruction program uses the Socratic method to imbue participants with the rigor, spirit, and content of Dr. Albert C. Barnes’ and Violette de Mazia’s educational ideals.

Our first educational program began during the 1998-99 scholastic year and lasted until spring 2004. This program consisted of two sequential 10-week seminars entitled "Theoretical and Critical Studies in the Fine Arts," each sixty hours (4.0 academic credits) in duration. These seminars provided students with a sufficient basis to apply the Barnes philosophy to their own teaching practice.

The seminars were held in the galleries of The Barnes Foundation and were academically accredited by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. One hundred and forty-five students completed the courses during the program's initial six years.

Beginning in 2000, the Foundation launched many other programs in various settings throughout the Philadelphia and the Wilmington, Delaware, area. These past programs were developed as collaborative efforts between the Violette de Mazia Foundation and its partners. They included programs at Villanova University, Graterford Prison, the Delaware Art Museum, the University of Delaware’s Academy of Lifelong Learning, the Wilmington, Delaware, arts school, The Cab Calloway School for the Arts, and West Chester University of Pennsylvania. Many of these programs continue.

De Mazia often used a handheld "mask," revealing small portions of paintings, to clarify complex color relationships.