The Getty Museum with Rhetoric II

The Rhetoric II class took a quick trip to Los Angeles this month where they toured universities, enjoyed the sunshine, and rubbed shoulders with some of the biggest names on the planet. It’s not every day you can stand in the same room with VanGogh, Rembrandt, Renoir, or Monet, but that’s exactly what they did during a visit to The Getty Museum.

Donum Dei students joined teachers and academic leaders from several classical schools who were in town for a conference on history and art. Together, they spent a morning taking in world-famous painting and written artifacts. One of our students even exclaimed, “Hey, come look! It’s an ancient manuscript of Boethius in Latin!”

Students were also gathered around an original piece by Georges Seurat, the creator of a technique called pointillism that the Upper School art class worked to emulate this session. Upon returning to class the following week, the trip opened up reflective conversations about what defines good art and to what extent the unfathomable monetary value of the art we saw reflects the moral values of our society.

Enjoy the video below that showcases the entire experience and was created by our Rhetoric II student, Daisy Shaw!