Arts Society: Around the World in 80 Ways
Select Mondays, 10:30 am – Noon
The beauty of the land spoke to artists and sometimes beckoned them to distant locations. Their paintings of beautiful places not only captured their hearts, but opened the world to others. In this lecture series presented by museum educator Susan Rosoff, enjoy a vicarious vacation traveling with these artists to explore lands that spoke to them.
Members: $150
Future Members: $215 (Includes an Individual Membership)
September 18
Venice: City of Love
Venice is the so-called city of love. Both Europeans and Americans flocked to the city of canals and golden light. Artists include Canaletto, Claude Monet, J. M. W. Turner, Thomas Moran, and James Whistler.
October 23
France: Provence and Brittany
Tired of Paris, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin went south to Arles. Cezanne was obsessed with Mont Sainte-Victoire, one of Provence’s mountain peaks near where he lived. Gauguin had previously painted in Brittany, which also drew Eugène Boudin, Paul Sérusier, and Paul Signac.
December 11
Alpine Reaches: Switzerland, Italy and Austria
The drama of the Alps captured the interest of two Swiss artists, François Diday and Alexandre Calame. They in turn taught Americans Albert Bierstadt and Worthington Whittredge. John Singer Sargent painted watercolors of Alpine passes, while Austrian Oskar Kokoschka took a modernist approach to alpine peaks and valleys. Gustav Klimt summered in Lake Attersee in the Austrian lake region, and painted luminous, colorful scenes.
January 22
“England’s Green and Pleasant Land”
As the hymn goes, “England’s green and pleasant land” was the inspiration for 19th century artists John Constable and J. M. W. Turner. David Hockney puts a contemporary twist of the landscapes of Yorkshire.
February 19
Japan’s “Floating World”
Traditional landscape painting in Japan has its roots in China, but Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige transformed that tradition using a variety of colors for their woodblock prints. They both traveled the highway that connected Edo – or present-day Tokyo – with Kyoto and their prints recorded views of Mt. Fuji and other landmarks.
April 22
Landscapes from the Dutch Golden Age
During the 17th century’s Dutch Golden Age, landscape painting emerged as a prominent genre and reached its peak in popularity. Dutch artists excelled in capturing the beauty of the natural world, and landscape paintings became highly sought after by collectors and patrons. They were masters of expansive views of the sky and capturing the effects of light and atmosphere. Artists include Hendrik Avercamp, Aelbert Cuyp, Meindert Hobbema, Jacob van Ruisdael, Adriaen van de Velde and others.