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How often do you visit the George Peabody Library to find a quiet and inspiring place to work? Do you ever walk up the spiral staircase (designed by the same architect who designed the library) or just take the elevator? Are you aware that Peabody has a plaster copy of the Parthenon frieze, one of the most important artworks of Ancient Greece? Or what about the bronze cast of Lorenzo Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise,” a masterpiece of the early Renaissance? Did you know George Peabody conceived of the Peabody Institute as a home not only for a music conservatory but also, among other things, a public library and an art gallery? Though much of the art has disappeared, certain celebrated pieces remain, along with the library and the staircase. This class will take you around Peabody to look at these various works, as well as some of the architecture. We will study, for example, the Parthenon frieze, the “Gates of Paradise,” the George Peabody Library, and the Peabody Institute Spiral Staircase. We will interpret these works informed by historical context and theoretical support. But we will also simply read them closely, informed only by what we can see when we slow down and allow ourselves to feel a little appreciation and awe.