Catalog Description: Immerse yourself in the healing beauty of art through the ages. The story of art is one of ever-expanding possibilities: greater freedom, greater individuality, greater variety. Through interesting and entertaining slide shows, visit the major art museums of Europe and New York and learn the big names in art history. By touring the Louvre, the Rijksmuseum and other celebrated art museums, discover why the paintings of great artists like Raphael, Rembrandt, and Renoir are rated among the world’s greatest treasures. This course is a must both for travelers and for stay-at-home art lovers.
Course Outline:
Session One: Art from the Beginning: The Italian Masters
Session Two: Dutch Painting in the Golden Age
Session Three: The Early Masters of French Art
Session Four: Impressionism and Post Impressionism
Session Five: Modern Art in Paris
Session Six: Modern Art in the Netherlands
Session Seven: Modern Art in Spain
Session Eight: Modern Art in New York
Expanded Course Outline:
Session One: Art from the Beginning: The Italian Masters
The Italians more or less invented painting as we know it, way back in the 1200s. At first, painting was mainly church decoration—simplified, flat illustrations of sacred stories and ideas. The way Italian painters gradually became stars of culture, the way they widened their subject matter, the way they developed and refined their style—this is a beautiful story, told with a parade of beautiful and moving images. Your ability to appreciate the art of any period is enhanced by studying the roots of art history.
- The Louvre
- Cimabue, Fra Angelico, Mantegna, Botticelli, Ghirlandaio, Perugino, da Vinci, Raphael, Bronzino, Vasari, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Panini
Session Two: Dutch Painting in the Golden Age
The economy of the Netherlands was booming in the 1600s, and wealth was rather widely distributed. Instead of depending on the land and agriculture, the economy depended on commerce and manufacture; thus, instead of the nation's wealth being hoarded by royalty and the landed aristocracy, it was accumulated by a fairly large class of merchants and traders. This had a good effect on art because a lot of people could afford to acquire or commission works of art. This large art market enabled the development of many talented artists.
- Rijksmuseum, Frans Hals Museum, Mauritshuis
- Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer, Jan Steen, Judith Leyster, and Rachel Ruysch
Session Three: The Early Masters of French Art
There's more to French Art than Impressionism! Baroque art of the 1600s was flamboyant and dramatic; in the 1700s, Rococo art generated delicately sensuous fantasies, and neo-Classicism retold the classical myths in support of modern political movements. The late 1700s also saw a beautiful flowering of successful women artists. In the early 1800s, Romanticism manifested in great historical dramas, and artists began to treat the landscape as an important subject in itself, instead of just a background.
- The Louvre
- School of Fontainebleau, Simon Vouet, de La Tour, Poussin, Lorraine, de Champaigne, Watteau, Chardin, Boucher, Fragonard, Hubert Robert, David, Vigée-LeBrun, Labille-Guiard, Ingres, Géricault, Delacroix, Corot
Session Four: Impressionism and Post Impressionism
At the moment of perfect ripeness in the development of French painting in the late 1800s, Impressionism burst forth like fireworks and changed art forever. Post-Impressionism laid the foundation of modernism.
- The Orsay Museum
- Jean-Léon Gérôme, Bouguereau, Tissot, Bonheur, Breton, Courbet, Manet, Gonzalèz, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley, Morisot, Cassatt, Caillebotte, Seurat, Signac, Gauguin, van Gogh, Cézanne
Session Five: Modern Art in Paris
In the 20th century, artists tumbled from one theory to another: Fauvism, Cubism, Orphism, Abstractionism, Expressionism, New Objectivity, Surrealism, Minimalism, etc. It's enough to make your head spin, but it's not that hard to learn to tell them apart if you have a little guidance and abundant examples. Now's the time to learn the difference between Picasso and Matisse, between Salvador Dalí and Rene Magritte.
- Pompidou Center, City of Paris Museum of Modern Art
- Fauvism, Cubism, Orphism, Abstractionism, Expressionism, Neo-Primitivism, Surrealism, Classicism, New Objectivity, Abstraction Expressionism, Minimalism
Session Six: Modern Art in the Netherlands
After the Dutch Golden Age of the 1600s, art lost its energy in the Netherlands. In the 1700s, economic and political problems caused diminished art activity, and artists continued the same old tried and true themes. The fine arts enjoyed a revival around 1830, a time now referred to as the Romantic period in Dutch painting. The earliest Dutch artist of the modern era to achieve international fame was Vincent van Gogh. In the 20th century, Dutch artist Piet Mondrian developed a style of abstractionism that influenced the future of art. In addition to Dutch art, the museums of the Netherlands have significant examples of international art of the modern era.
- The Kröller-Müller Museum
- The Gemeentemuseum
Session Seven: Modern Art in Spain
It is difficult to report on the history of Spanish art for two reasons. First, you don't see a lot of Spanish art in museums in other countries. A very large portion of Spain's most important artwork has been retained in Spain, mostly at the Prado and the Reina Sofia Museums. The second problem is that the Prado doesn't allow photography at all, and the Reina Sofia prohibits photography of its most important exhibits. The one place you can photograph examples of Spain's rich art history is an academy founded by royal decree in the 1700s, the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Here you can see works by El Greco and Murillo, and many minor works by Francisco Goya. The first Spanish artist of the modern era was Joaquín Sorolla, whose work derives from Impressionism. An extensive selection of his work may be enjoyed at the Sorolla Museum, located in the artist's studio-mansion. Several Spanish artists became well-known in the 20th century, including Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. Modern Spanish art is exhibited at the Reina Sofia Museum. During our visit, the Reina Sofia was also offering two special exhibits from Bern, Switzerland, that presented a fairly comprehensive review of art of the early 20th century.
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Sorolla Museum, Reina Sofia Museum
- El Greco, Velázquez, Murillo, Goya, Sorolla, Picasso, Miró, Dalí
- Special Exhibits from Bern, Switzerland, offer review of early 20th Century
Session Eight: The Museum of Modern Art in New York
The Museum of Modern Art in New York, generally known as MoMA, is the premier collection of international art of the 20th century, filled with iconic paintings. At the time of our visit, the museum had two major exhibits by modern artists, Yoko Ono and Jacob Lawrence.
