Art history has often presented the French Impressionists as revolutionaries who broke decisively with the artistic establishment of their day. Yet the relationship between Impressionism and the so-called "Salon" painters was far more complex. This course examines the artistic culture of nineteenth-century France and explores the shared themes, interests and influences that connected artists across these supposedly opposing camps. Through examples ranging from Neo-Grec painting to the work of Jean-Léon Gérôme, participants will gain a richer understanding of one of the most significant transformations in European art. Suitable for anyone interested in art history and nineteenth-century culture.
Face to face
- Gerald M. Ackerman, Jean-Léon Gérôme (ACR Edition: 2009).
- Reconsidering Gerome, ed., Scott Allan and Mary Morton (J Paul Getty Museum: 2010).
- Alexandre Cabanel: The Tradition of Beauty, ed., Andreas Blühm (Hirmer Publishers: 2011).
- Ross King, The Judgement of Paris: Manet, Meissonier and an Artistic Revolution (Chatto and Windus: 2006).
- Frederic C. Ross and Kara Lysandra Ross, William Bouguereau: The Essential Works (ACC Art Books: 2018).
- Barbara Weinberg, The Lure of Paris: Nineteenth-Century American Painters and Their French Teachers (Abbeville Press: 1991).
- The origin and context of French Impressionism: Huysman's Paris and the society, art and culture of the Second Empire
- The eclectic and international nature of the Parisian art world and art education
- The Neo-Grec painters and their influence - the past as genre
- Orientalism and the topographical real and invented - natural light and the everyday
By the end of this course, students should be able to:
- Gain a more nuanced and complex understanding of French art from the Second Empire to c. 1900
- Be able to place the art of the period within its shared context
- Further understand how history is always contingent to the time in which it is written
