AH 320 19 TH CENTURY ART IMPRESSIONISM AND POSTIMPRESSIONISM IES Abroad Paris BIA DESCRIPTION: This course provides an in-depth study and pictorial survey of Impressionism, its origins and its legacy presented from a general overview of the evolution of painting, with a focus on key elements in the Impressionist movement such as composition, color and style; a study of the aesthetic evolution of Impressionism through the works of the movement's forerunners, artists who constitute the core group and their immediate descendants; and a study of the Impressionist movement's effects on 20th century art and the ways in which today's artists reaffirm the legacy by using elements that gave the movement its vitality and energy. Students will study works from the following artists: Courbet, Millet, Turner, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Seurat, Cezanne, and Gauguin. The course is made up of lectures illustrated by slides and group discussion. Visits will be made to local museums such as the Louvre, Musée d'orsay, and Musée Rodin to view the art studied in the classroom. CREDITS: 3 CONTACT HOURS: 45 hours LANGUAGE OF INSTRUCTION: English PREREQUISITES: Recommendation of previous course in or knowledge of Art History METHOD OF PRESENTATION: Lectures Group discussion Course-related trips REQUIRED WORK AND FORM OF ASSESSMENT: There will be a midterm and final exam (each worth 30 % of the grade). The short research paper on a specific painting (15 min. in class presentation & c. 5 pages single space) also counts for 30 %. Participation counts for 10%. Attendance is required. Work will be assessed on the basis of students visual observations, mastery of course material, and critical interventions. LEARNING OUTCOMES: By the end of the course students will be able to: Relate artistic expression to historical forces and technological change; Explain how late 19th century art production, marketing and sales were organized; Organize the main periods and movements of late 19th and early 20th century art; Demonstrate how artistic technique is related to artistic content; Research, write, and defend an essay explaining the outlook, techniques and impact of Impressionist artists, both then and now. ATTENDANCE POLICY: Since IES courses are designed to take advantage of the unique contribution of the instructor and the lecture/discussion format is regarded as the primary mode of instruction, regular class attendance is mandatory. Each student may have no more than one absence in each course for whatever reasons. Your final grade in the course will be reduced by one fraction of a grade (i.e. A becomes A -) after that. CONTENT:
Week Content Course-Related Trips Required Readings & meeting information 1. Wednesday, January 25 th 1. Introduction - The French art world before 1850 - The academy and the Salon - Imitation Visit: musée du Louvre - Antiquity - The Italian Renaissance - Nicolas Poussin - Charles Lebrun Meeting in class You are expected to come with metro pass, museum pass, French student card, a copy of your visa and a small note pad to take notes during visits for each class! All readings are taken from: Art in Theory 1815-1900, An Anthology of Changing Ideas, ed. C. Harrison, P. Wood and J. Gaiger, Blackwell Publishing LTD, 2005. (AiT) F. Frascina, N. Blake, B. Fer, T. Garb & C. Harrison, Modernity and Modernism French Painting in the Nineteenth Century, Yale Open University, 1993 (M&M) Specific readings will be assigned daily. 2. Wednesday, February 1 st 2. Color / drawing - The last fight: Ingres/Delacroix - A theory of color from Goethe to Chevreul Musée du Louvre Musée Delacroix Saint Sulpice David, Ingres/ Delacroix) Meeting metro stop Louvre Rivoli Reading: PDF2: Drawing V/s color 3. Wednesday, February 8 th 3. Landscape Painting - The naturalist tendencies of the Barbizon School. - Millet, Corot, Daubigny Institut de France Ecole national des beaux arts Musée d Orsay Meeting at metro stop Louvre Rivoli Quiz on readings (including pdfs) done so far from the beginning of the semester incl. the readings for Feb. 10 th (15 min.) PDF3: Landscape painting PDF4: Subject matter in painting Landscape Jean-François Millet (1814-1875), on Truth in Painting, Letters, 1850-67, AiT, pp. 373-378
Winslow Homer, Statement on Plein-air Painting, 1880, Ibid., pp. 600-601 Winter Break Fri. Feb. 10 th Sun. Feb. 19 th 4. Wednesday, February 22 nd 4. The painters of modern Life - Courbet s realism (1850-55) - The World Fair in Paris, 1855 Visit: Musée d Orsay Meeting at the musée d Orsay left entrance (river side) Gustave Courbet, Statement on Realism, 1855, AiT, p. 372 Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), Letter to young artist, 25 December 1861, Ibid., pp. 402-404 Champfleury, The Burial at Ornans, 1851-61, Ibid., pp. 366-370 Courbet: Representing the Country to the Town, M&M, pp. 68-80 5. Wednesday, March 1 st 5. Manet: the first modern painter? - Modernism -The Salon des refusés, 1863 Meeting in Class Various authors on the Salon des Refusés, pp. 509-514 Various authors on Manet s Olympia, 1863-1865, pp. 514-519 Homework: Using Introduction, M&M, pp. 3-14 and Clement Greenberg, Modernist Painting, 1960 (link to text on moodle) define modernism. Recommended reading: Emile Zola, Edouard Manet, 1867, pp. 554-565 Emile Zola, Chapter 5, The Masterpiece, 1886, Paris (BIA library) 6. Wednesday, March 8 th Midterm exam in the Orsay museum + Class in the museum Meeting in front of the Orsay Museum left side entrance (metro Solférino line 12)
7. Wednesday, March 15 th 6. The first impressionism exhibition boulevard des Capucines, Paris, 1874 - The impressionism exhibitions: 1874-1886 -Degas, Pissarro, Monet, Renoir, Berthe Morisot, etc. Exposition les jardins au Grand Palais Petit Palais Meeting at metro stop Champs- Elysées Clemenceau (lignes 1 & 13) PDF 7: Impressionist exhibitions Louis Leroy, The Exhibition of the Impressionists, Charivari, 1874, pp. 572-573 Jules Antoine Castagnary, The Exhibition on the Boulevard des Capucines, 1874, pp. 573-576 Impression and Impressionism, M&M, pp. 144-148 8. Wednesday, March 22nd 8. Painters of modern life: Paris -Boulevard des Capucines - Le quartier de l Europe - La gare ST Lazare - La plaine Monceau (Camondo) Montmartre Meeting at Starbucks 3 boulevard des Capucines Paris. Métro Opéra 9. Wednesday, March 29 th 9. Major influences on impressionist artists: - Monet and Eugène Boudin -Japanese prints - Turner & Constable New exhibition opportunities - The individual careers - The education of the artists In class Student presentations on Impressionism & Postimpressionism Papers due that day 10. Wednesday, April 5 th 10. After impressionism - Van Gogh - Gauguin - Seurat & Signac - Maurice Denis + Exhibitions - Musée d orsay - Musée Gustave Moreau Meeting in front of the Orsay museum, left (river) side Charles Henry, Introduction to a Scientific Aesthetic, 1890, pp. 953-958 Vincent Van Gogh, Letters to his brother Theo, 1855, pp. 896-902 Seurat, Letter to Maurice Beaubourg, 1890, pp. 969-970 11. Wednesday, April 12 th 11. After impressionism Monet s Waterlilies Cézanne and Picasso, Matisse, etc. Orangerie Musée Picasso Meeting in front of Orangerie. Métro Concorde (line 1, 8 & 12)
12. Wednesday, April 19 th 12. Conclusion The first XXth century avant-garde movements Visit: Musée d art modern de la ville de Paris En classe 13. April 24-27 Final exam TBA REQUIRED READINGS: All assigned texts are mandatory. RECOMMENDED READINGS: H.E. Gombrich, The Story of Art, Phaidon, 1995. John Rewald, The History of Impressionism, Harry N. Abrams, 1990 John Rewald, Studies in Impressionism, Harry N. Abram, 1986 Emile Zola, The Masterpiece, Oxford University Press, USA; New Ed edition (July 22, 1999) Art in Theory 1815-1900. An Anthology of Changing Ideas, ed. Charles Harrison & Paul Wood, Cambridge (Mass.), 1998 T.J. Clarck, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers, Princeton University Press, 1984