19th Century Art: Aesthetic Revolutions

This course is a chronological, critical history of 19th Century European art, particularly painting. The necessary earlier historical background will be covered at the beginning of the course – Absolutism, the role of the Salon, the French Revolution, and the Enlightenment. The development of individual artists will be considered in relation to major art movements and the shifting socio-political aspects of the period (civic uprisings, the Industrial Revolution, changes in the art market and patronage, etc.). Issues of class, gender, and race will also be emphasized.