Arts Society: The French Connection
Susan Rosoff
For a long time, Paris was considered to be the art capital of the world. This series will explore the impact of artists who lived and worked in France. The session starts with women artists from the 18th century who succeeded in spite of the biases they encountered. Because art has been a powerful force in creating public opinion, next up in the series are artists whose art reflected the power, and failures, of the leadership. Artists from the Barbizon School broke barriers in establishing new ways of painting landscapes, as did Monet, who broke rules with his impressionistic paintings. The Fauves (Wild Beasts) broke conventions with their use of intense color which caused a furor. And last but not least is Picasso, who was world famous for his art. His paintings can tell much about the French women who were his muses.
TIME:
10:30am – Light Brunch Served
11am – Lecture Begins
COST:
$165 – Museum Members
$230 – Future Members (includes a museum membership)
September 24: WOMEN OF THE SALON
In 18th century France, being a woman artist was a particular challenge. For the most part, the Royal Academy was a male space. During its 150-year long history, the Academy rarely welcomed women as full members. Yet some women succeeded. Anne Vallayer-Coster, Adelaide Labille-Guiard, Marie-Guillemine Benoist and Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun are artists who, despite the odds, became successful during this period.
November 5: POLITICAL FRANCE
Art is a powerful force in creating opinions, and it has often been used by artists to challenge or criticize. Portraits of royalty by Jean-Louis David and Antoine LeGros were copied numerous times and sent to cities throughout France as a reminder of who was in power. Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres became part of Napoleon’s propaganda machine. Théodore Géricault criticized government failures with his Raft of the Medusa, and Eugène Delacroix reflected on France’s growing empire.
December 10: THE BARBIZON SCHOOL
The mid-19th century artists of the French Barbizon school collectively embraced their native landscape. Barbizon was a small village at the edge of the Forest of Fontainebleau, where artists particularly loved the rich terrain and were intoxicated by the proud majesty of the old trees. They soaked up the beauty of the forest and the fresh smell – a relief from the smoky industrial environment that was overtaking Paris. Artists included are Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jules Dupré, Charles-François Daubigny, Julien Dupré, and Jean-François Millet.
January 14: MONET BY HIMSELF
Claude Monet is the best known and most successful of the Impressionist painters. He was the creator, leader, and pioneer of the Impressionist movement. His water lily and garden paintings are well known, but he also painted the wild sea and built a boat so he could go out on the river and paint the effects of light. Get to know the breadth of his work in this session.
February 11: THE WILD BEASTS
At what became an infamous Salon d’Automne of 1905, a group of artists who painted with bright, intense colors were exhibited in a gallery with a Renaissance sculpture by Donatello. A critic wrote that the Donatello stood among Fauves (wild beasts). The “beasts” were Henri Matisse, André Derain, Maurice de Vlaminck, Louis Valtat, Othon Friesz, and others.
March 11: PICASSO AND THE WOMEN IN HIS LIFE
Picasso has retained his place as one of the 20th century’s most famous artists. Unlike many other figural artists who employed professional models or negotiated with strangers and slight acquaintances to pose for them, Picasso’s figures always revolved around those who were the closest to him in his personal life. He once told a publisher that his work was a form of a diary, and in that sense, we can look at his relationship with the women in his life through his portraits.