French

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This survey course will concentrate on the fascinating currents in the visual arts that took place in France from the 18th century to the early 20th century. Starting in the late 17th century, we will trace the course of painting of the Baroque, Rococo, and Neo-Classic styles, which dominated the latter part of the century and study the influence of the Enlightenment movement on art and politics. The Romantic period of the early 19th century introduced innovative subject matter and new ways of experiencing the world. Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and fin de siècle aesthetics like Symbolism will lead us ultimately to the work of the Fauves and Henri Matisse, arguably the greatest French painter of the 20th century. In addition to an essentially chronological and contextual approach, we will also separately address such issues as exhibition practice, genre, landscape, style, politics, and gender. Over the course of the semester the class will explore such painters as Watteau, Fragonard, Chardin, Vigée-Lebrun, David, Géricault, Delacroix, Millet, Monet, Renoir, Seurat, and Cézanne. Looking assignments will take students to view the outstanding collections at the National Gallery of Art. No pre-requisites. This course is NOT RECOMMENDED for students who have taken Nineteenth-Century Art.