For three centuries, succeeding generations of painters defined painting as a quintessentially French art. This class will explore the integral connections between the political, cultural, and social history of France and the paintings produced by artists such as Poussin, Watteau, Boucher, Fragonard, David, Delacroix, Ingres, Manet, Monet and Cezanne. Through lecture and discussion, we will examine how these artists reflected contemporary society through style and subject matter in order to reveal the synergistic relationship between artist and nation.