Janetta Rebold Benton, Ph.D. 


NEWS
  • New book published: HANDBOOK FOR THE HUMANITIES (Robert DiYanni, co-author),  Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2013

  • Lecture Series at Schimmel Theater, NY, NY: GREAT MASTERS LECTURE SERIES: RAPHAEL, PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, FRIDA KAHLO. February 2014

  • Smithsonian Journeys, Washington,DC,: Study Leader on  two trips in 2014

  • Fulbright Senior Scholar, Lecturing Award, Graduate School of Art History, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia, August 2012 - January 2013.

Schimmel Theater NY, NY, announces a new lecture series, October 9 thru October 30, 2013

GREAT MASTERS LECTURE SERIES: RAPHAEL, PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT, FRIDA KAHLO

This spring the Great Masters Lecture Series continues with four more of the greatest artists of all times. Join Dr. Benton for a richly illustrated examination of four artistic geniuses who represent four different countries and styles of art and architecture

February 19  Raphael (1483-1520) and the Renaissance in Italy Although Raphael lived only 37 years, he is considered the paradigm of the High Renaissance because his style most closely approximates that of classical Greece. Known for his maternal Madonnas and endearing chubby children as well as his frescoes in the Vatican, including the celebrated School of Athens, Raphael epitomized the Renaissance ideals of harmony, balance, and clarity of meaning. The Renaissance gentleman, handsome Raphael did it all with ease. Visit Raphael's childhood home in Urbino.

February 26  Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919) and Impressionism in France Viewers might like to be invited to enter Renoir's happy scenes in which women (always pretty) and men (always handsome) enjoy themselves in pleasurable activities such as dancing, boating, and dining. Working with natural light and bright color, throughout his life Renoir's favorite subject was the female figure, preferably nude. His zest for life persisted even in his later years when he was crippled by arthritis. Visit Renoir's home "Les Collettes" in Cagnes-sur-Mer.

March 5  Frank Lloyd Wright (1867-1959) and 20th-century Architecture in the USA Considered the greatest architect of the 20th century, Wright used the term "organic" to describe his architecture. He designed a wide range of buildings, from private homes, such as Fallingwater in Bear Run, PA, to museums, as the circular spiraling Guggenheim in Manhattan. His complicated and controversial life included three wives, police arrest, and much more.

March 12  Frida Kahlo (1907-54) and Personal Realism in Mexico Kahlo's many self-portraits simultaneously record her appearance and her pain, which was both physical (polio and a bus accident) and emotional (her husband Diego Rivera). Although called a Surrealist, she said she was painting her own reality. Her subjects reveal the intimacies of her life; her very personal paintings provide viewers with a visual autobiography of a riveting personality and life..

Four Wednesdays at 11:00 a.m.

The conversation continues: Lunch with the lecturer Lectures are followed by themed luncheons featuring menus from the country of the artist discussed that morning

Click here for more information

Smithsonian Journeys, Washington, DC

As the Study Leader on the following two trips, I will present 4 formal lectures on each trip as well as numerous informal talks.

1. FRANCE THROUGH THE AGES (April 11-25, 2014), land trip:
Toulouse, Carcassonne, Albi, Sarlat, Lascaux II cave, cruise on Dordogne River, Rocamadour, Chateau des Milandes, Saumur in Loire River valley, Fontevraud Abbey, Chenonceau, Clos Luce (Amboise), abbey of Mont St. Michel in Normandy, Bayeaux "tapestry," Arromanches, Caen, D-Day Landing Beaches, Honfleur, Monet's home in Giverny, Paris.

Information on this trip may be found at: 

http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/france?display=itinerary

2. BARCELONA TO ROME (September 19-27, 2014), cruise: 
Embark in Barcelona (Spain), Port-La-Nouvelle (France), Narbonne, Carcassonne, Sete, Nice, Cannes, Monte Carlo (Monaco), Porto Venere (Italy), Cinque Terre villages, Riomaggiore village, Manarola village, Vernazza village, Portofino, Livorno, Florence, Porto Cervo (Sardinia), Emerald Coast, Nuraghe Albucciu, Bonifacio (Corsica), Civitavecchia/Rome (Italy).

Information on this trip may be found at: http://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/riviera-cruise?display=study_leaders#pageTitle

Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, Graduate School of Art History, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia, August, 2012 - January, 2013

AMERICAN ART
This course offers a comprehensive overview of the art created in the United States, beginning with a brief look at very early cultures and then examining American architecture, sculpture, and painting in chronological sequence. Included are the unique Native American arts, Shaker architecture, and the competition for the title of "tallest building in the world" waged by the skyscrapers of New York City. Focusing on the art of the 20th and early 21st century, innovative styles, including Color Field Painting, Action Painting, Pop Art, Op Art, Psychedelic Art, Postmodernism, Feminism, Street Art, Installation Art, and the ways in which art and science have recently united are considered. Special attention is given to the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, the sculpture of Alexander Calder, and the painting of Georgia O'Keeffe.

Guest Lectures and Conference Papers:

Saint Petersburg:
MEDIEVAL MISCHIEF: WIT AND HUMOR IN THE ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES, European University

EXTREME ARCHITECTURE: GLOBAL AMBITIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, Hermitage Museum

MEDIEVAL BESTIARIES: SIMILARITY AND DISPARITY OF TEXT AND ILLUMINATION, Word and Image Conference, European University: Click here for Conference Images

Moscow:
FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT: GENIUS OF 20TH CENTURY AMERICAN ARCHITECTURE, Moscow State University

EXTREME ARCHITECTURE: GLOBAL AMBITIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS, Science Cafe Conference

Albuquerque, NM
HOLY TERRORS: GARGOYLES ON MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS, University of New Mexico, Institute for Medieval Studies, Medieval Myths and Monsters Lecture Series, Spring 2013.

Janetta Rebold Benton is Distinguished Professor of Art History at Pace University, NY. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Senior Scholar Award, 2012-13, and was Visiting Professor at the graduate school of Art History, European University, St. Petersburg, Russia. 

Dr. Benton presents subscription lecture series at the Schimmel Center for the Arts, NYC, and subscription seminars at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. She presented subscription lecture series at the Metropolitan Museum of Art every season 1988-2011, and has also lectured at The Cloisters, NYC; National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach; and elsewhere in America and abroad, including the Hermitage, St. Petersburg, Russia and the Louvre, Paris, France. She is a lecturer on Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum of Art trips throughout the world. A former resident of Paris, she taught courses in art history there as the Art Historian at the American Embassy.

   The author of eight books, her latest, HANDBOOK FOR THE HUMANITES (Robert DiYanni co-author, Pearson, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2013), is published in paperback and as an E-book. ARTS AND CULTURE: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HUMANITIES (Robert DiYanni co-author, Pearson/Prentice Hall, two volumes and combined volume, fourth edition, 2011) is also published in Chinese (2011).  MATERIALS, METHODS, AND MASTERPIECES OF MEDIEVAL ART (Praeger Series on the Middle Ages, ABC-CLIO, Santa Barbara, CA, 2009), is available in hardcover and as an E-book. MEDIEVAL MISCHIEF: WIT AND HUMOUR IN THE ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES (The History Press, Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, 2004), studies an engaging aspect of medieval art. ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES (Thames & Hudson, London, 2002) is published in the acclaimed World of Art series. HOLY TERRORS: GARGOYLES ON MEDIEVAL BUILDINGS (Abbeville Press, NY, 1997) is also published in French as SAINTES TERREURS: LES GARGOUILLES DANS L'ARCHITECTURE MÉDIÉVALE, 2000). Dr. Benton was the guest curator and catalog author for the 1995 exhibition MEDIEVAL MONSTERS: DRAGONS AND FANTASTIC CREATURES at the Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, NY. Her book, THE MEDIEVAL MENAGERIE: ANIMALS IN THE ART OF THE MIDDLE AGES (Abbeville Press, NY, 1992), a Book of the Month Club selection, is also published in French as BESTIAIRE MÉDIÉVAL: LES ANIMAUX  DANS  L'ART DU MOYEN AGE. Articles by Dr. Benton appear in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s exhibition catalog, SET IN STONE: THE FACE IN MEDIEVAL SCULPTURE, 2007, as well as in scholarly journals including Cahiers de Civilisation Médiévale, Poitiers, 1998; Arte Medievale, Rome, 1993; Artibus et Historiae, Vienna, 1989; and Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte, Munich, 1985.

Dr. Benton was educated at Harvard University, Graduate School of Education, MDP diploma; earned her Ph.D. in Art History at Brown University; Master's degree in Art History at George Washington University; and Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts at Cornell University.

Email: JBenton@pace.edu