Sunday, October 11, 2026

Norton Simon Museum Program Examines Images of the Divine Across Cultures

Jacopo Bassano (Italian, 1510–1592), The Flight into Egypt, c. 1544–45, oil on canvas, Norton Simon Art Foundation.

“Seeing the Sacred,” limited to 20 participants, meets at 1 p.m. Friday, October 16

The Norton Simon Museum will present “Seeing the Sacred: Images of the Divine Across Cultures,” a tour led by a museum educator, from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, October 16.

Participants will consider how pose, setting, material and style communicate different aspects of the sacred, from an idealized, otherworldly presence to more human and relatable forms. The program examines work by Raphael, Baciccio and Bassano, along with representations of Buddha, Shiva, Narasimha and Ganesha.

Jacopo Bassano, the Italian painter who lived from 1510 to 1592, made “The Flight into Egypt,” an oil on canvas from about 1544–45 that belongs to the Norton Simon Art Foundation.

The tour meets in the museum’s Entrance Gallery. Space is limited to 20 participants. Sign-up is required and is taken at the Information Desk when the museum opens, on a first come, first served basis. On Fridays the museum is open from noon to 7 p.m.

Over a 30-year period, industrialist Norton Simon, who lived from 1907 to 1993, assembled a collection of European art from the Renaissance to the 20th century and South and Southeast Asian art spanning 2,000 years. Modern and contemporary art from Europe and the United States, acquired by the former Pasadena Art Museum, is also part of the museum’s holdings.

The museum is at 411 W. Colorado Blvd., at the corner of Colorado and Orange Grove boulevards, near the junction of the Foothill (210) and Ventura (134) freeways. Its parking lot is free, and Metro bus line 180 stops in front of the museum.

The program is free with museum admission, which is $20 for adults and $15 for seniors 62 and older. Children 18 and under, students with valid identification and museum members are admitted free.

Seeing the Sacred: Images of the Divine Across Cultures will run on Friday, October 16 at 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Norton Simon Museum, 411 West Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena. For more information, call (626) 449-6840 or visit https://www.nortonsimon.org/calendar/2026/fall-2026/Seeing-the-Sacred-Images-of-the-Divine-across-Cultures-10-16-2026-100PM. Tickets: Free with Museum admission. Registration required.