Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: 1848-1900

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: 1848-1900

This course considers French art from 1848 to 1900, a period marked by advancements in technology, the abolition of slavery, the redesign of Paris, changes in class and gender dynamics, and the rise of a consumer economy. As sections of the city were leveled to make way for boulevards, cafés, and department stores, some artists strove to represent the spectacle of urban life; others found inspiration out of the city. Focusing on Manet, Degas, Monet, Morisot, Caillebotte, Cassatt, Seurat, Gauguin, Van Gogh, and Cézanne, we will explore how artists engaged with shifting constructions of modernity, race, gender, fashion, public and private, empire, class, and consumer practices.