ARTH 284
From Revolution to Realism: 1770-1870
Course Description
The death of the revolutionary hero, the search for spiritual meaning,
the "rape" of the countryside by industrialization, the anxious masculinity
of romanticism, abolition and its aftermath, the quest for a national identity:
these are only some of the themes that will be addressed through the art
of the early modern period, as they emerged in the art of painters working
in France, England and Germany. Among other things, we will analyze
Jacques-Louis David's "martyr portraits" of the French revolution; the
romantic "anti-heroes" of Delacroix; Friedrich's nationalist landscapes;
the fantastic visions of J.M.W. Turner and William Blake; Gericault's representations
of madness; and the politicized "realism" of Gustave Courbet, the painter
who would so profoundly influence the later generation of Impressionists.
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