Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: Art in France 1848-1900

This course considers French art from 1848 to 1900, a time that saw the radical growth of industry and technology, the abolition of slavery, the redesign of Paris, an increasingly diversified population, changes in class and gender dynamics, and the rise of a consumer economy. As sections of the city were leveled to make way for vast boulevards, cafés, parks, and department stores, some artists chose to represent the spectacle of urban life; others found inspiration in non-urban regions of France and its colonies in North Africa. Focusing on the work of artists such as Manet, Degas, Monet, Morisot, Renoir, Caillebotte, Cassatt, Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Cézanne, we will explore how they negotiated modern life and its shifting terrains of race, gender, empire, and class.

Cross listings: HIST 389/WGSS 534
Major Breadths: Europe, post-1850