Learning outcomes:
This course has been designed to enable you to:
- Acquire an introductory understanding of the significance of Paris as a motif for modern artists.
- Identify some well-known and less familiar artists who impacted on the development of modern art.
Course sessions:
1. Paris: continuity and change
When Rosa Bonheur made her painting The Horse Fair (1852-55), the subject matter and monumental scale of the painting, combined with her abilities to meet the challenge of creating a lifelike image, were considered by most to be inappropriate for a woman. Aspirations to excel in art were largely deemed suitable only for men; women’s ambitions were meant to aim only for accomplishment.
Bonheur’s determination was at odds with prevailing associations of femininity. We explore what drew her to the Paris horse fair and how her work contributes to the development of modern art.
We then look at Manet’s painting The Street Singer made shortly after Bonheur’s to consider how transformations within Paris informed modern images of transience.
2. The modern city
The publication of Charles Baudelaire’s essay, The Painter of Modern Life, in 1863 and Haussmann’s programme of urban renewal in vast areas of Paris during Napoléon III’s reign (1852-70) are considered key moments in the development of art and Paris, respectively.
It was during this time that Impressionism emerged. Impressionist subject matter initially focused on Paris and its suburbs and the approaches the artists employed can be seen to align with Baudelaire’s recommendation that artists should capture the fleeting effects of modern life.
In this session we look at the elements of the modern city that Monet, Degas and Caillebotte selected as a means to recreate the experience of being in the city.
3. Beyond the city: Bougival and the suburbs
Trains increased access to Parisian suburbs. Suburban towns and villages offered Parisians appealing leisure pursuits while artists found attractive subjects to paint. In looking at Renoir’s ambitious painting, Dance at Bougival, 1883 we consider how his representation of his model, Suzanne Valadon, as an attractive dancing companion absorbed in the music and the moment both conforms and conflicts with associations of modern life.
By contrast, we look at an image by Jean-François Raffaëlli of absinthe drinkers situated in the outskirts of Paris. A different Paris is shown here. What aspects of city life does Raffaëlli convey which contrast with Renoir’s vision?
4. The highs and lows of Montmartre
Placed apart from the city of Paris being perched on a high hill, Montmartre with its panoramic views and village atmosphere, contrasted with the buzzing energy of the modern Paris boulevards below. It appealed to artists. Many were drawn to its winding lanes and old buildings which remained unscathed by Haussmann’s building project.
The hill provided generally cheaper lodgings and studios than the city below. Another appeal was the availability of many bars, cafés, entertainment venues and cheap alcohol which provided opportunities for artists, writers and musicians to meet and share ideas. In this session we explore work by van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec, neither of whom were originally from Paris but both of whom were influenced by their time in Montmartre.
5. Looking back, looking forward
In the final session we return to Renoir’s image of Dance at Bougival, 1883 to compare it with a self-portrait made by Suzanne Valadon 40 years later. Valadon spent much of her lifetime living in Montmartre.
As an adolescent, she became an artist’s model, and benefiting from her time posing for many now-famous artists, she started to make drawings of her own which came to the attention of Edgar Degas who keenly supported her talent. Valadon’s working-class background meant that she always needed to work, but she was not subjected to the constraints of bourgeois women; she sometimes benefited from artistic opportunities denied to her wealthier peers.
In comparing Renoir’s representation of Valadon with her own self-portrait, what might this show us about Paris and its influence on art? This question will lead us to a short summary of the course.
Non-credit bearing
Please note that our Virtual Summer Festival of Learning courses are non-credit bearing.
Certificate of Participation
A certificate of participation will be sent to you electronically within a week of your Summer Festival course(s) finishing.
