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Virtual Student Guide Tour: Red, Yellow, and Blue, with Adam Sella

In this photomontage, a smiling young man stands on a beach on a sunny day. His hand appears to hold up a painting of a domestic scene framed in bright orange and yellow.
One of the works Adam Sella will discuss is the painting A Nayika and Her Lover (c. 1660–70), by an unknown artist in India. Photomontage courtesy of Alexis Boo ’22.

Tour

To quote artist Mel Bochner, “Color is what color does.” In this tour, Adam Sella ’22 explores the action of red, yellow, and blue in three works of art. For red, it’s a panel from Mark Rothko’s Harvard Murals (1962); for yellow, the painting A Nayika and Her Lover (c. 1660–70) by an unknown artist from India; and for blue, Pablo Picasso’s Blue period painting Mother and Child (c. 1901). Taking our Forbes Pigment Collection as a springboard, the tour also looks at the material basis of these colors, their history, and their power to stir emotions.

This interactive tour will take place online via Zoom. To join, click the following link: https://harvard.zoom.us/j/99493838171 (free admission; no pre-registration required).

Virtual Student Guide Tours take place on Zoom every Thursday at 8pm and every Saturday at 11am. Each tour is unique and offers a chance to explore the collections of the Harvard Art Museums through the eyes of a Harvard student. Drop in and join the conversation!

For instructions on how to join a meeting on Zoom, click here. For general questions about Student Guide Tours, email am_register@harvard.edu.

This program is supported by the Ho Family Student Guide Fund.

The Ho Family Student Guide Program at the Harvard Art Museums trains students to develop original, research-based tours of the collections. These tours, designed and led by Harvard undergraduates from a range of academic disciplines, focus on objects chosen by each Student Guide and offer a unique, thematic view into the collections.

The Harvard Art Museums is committed to accessibility for all visitors. For anyone requiring accessibility accommodations for our programs, please contact us at am_register@harvard.edu at least 48 hours in advance.