Spotlight Tour: The Good Life

Informed by her study of philosophy, Emily Feng will explore diverse works of art and material culture through questions about the good and moral life on Saturday, Feb. 10. Looking at a given work, she will ask if the good life is the same thing as the moral life and ponder whether these possibilities might come apart. Stops on this tour, which moves backward through time, are "Romans of the Decadence," a small version of an enormous painting Thomas Couture exhibited to great acclaim at the Paris Salon of 1847; a 10th-century Persian bowl inscribed with sayings of the Prophet Muhammad from the Samanid period; and "Standing Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara," a large Buddhist sculpture made in China during the Sui dynasty (581–618).

Spotlight Tours offer a chance to explore the collections of Harvard Art Museums through the eyes of a Harvard student. Free and open to the public, these tours start outside the museum shop on Saturdays and Sundays at 11am and 2pm. Drop in and join the conversation! Find out what Student Guides are up to anytime on Instagram, @harvardarthappens. Please check in with museum staff at the Admissions desk in Calderwood Courtyard to request to join the tour. Tours are limited to 18 people and are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Registration is not required.