Art, Ritual, and Death in the 19th Century
In the 19th century, death was deeply woven into everyday life, shaping rituals, fashion, photography, architecture, and the decorative arts. This one-day online workshop explores how mourning practices influenced visual culture during the Victorian era and beyond.
Together, we’ll examine mourning jewelry, memorial photography, death masks, funerary design, painting, and fashion objects created to preserve memory and support the grieving process. We’ll also consider the broader social and historical forces that shaped these practices, including changing attitudes toward death, industrialization, empire, and the influence of Queen Victoria, the famed “Widow of Windsor,” and her prolonged public mourning.
Through close looking and discussion, participants will explore how art and objects helped people process loss, remembrance, and mortality during a period of profound cultural transformation.
The class is online-only. More about online classes.
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Barnes classes will:
- Sharpen your observational and critical-thinking skills.
- Improve your ability to communicate about art.
- Deepen your appreciation for cultures and histories outside your own.
