Looking at Pictures - Art in France #2

In 2025, ahead of our five-day travel study in Paris this autumn, we continue Sean Forester’s Looking at Pictures Salon with two new studies focusing on 19th century art in France. Walking through the halls of the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay we see masterpieces by David and Ingres, Gericault and Delacroix, Courbet and Manet, Monet and Degas. What a fascinating range of styles and techniques! With the political and social tumult that characterised 19th century France, art movements followed fast upon one another: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism and Impressionism. Participants will explore all of this together, discussing both the formal qualities and the emotions and ideas to be found in these remarkable works of art.  

Part II: Art in France 1870-1900 

The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King gives a vivid picture of the Belle Epoque and the personalities of two very different artists: Ernest Meissonier and Edouard Manet. The topics of our meetings will be as follows: 

1.  Historical painting, Meissonier
2.  Realism and Naturalism 
3.  Monet and Impressionism 
4.  Manet, Degas
5.  Rodin and late 19th century sculpture  
6.  Women artists in Paris

JOINING DETAILS:

• Six-week study on Zoom led by Sean Forester
• Thursdays, 4.00-6.00 pm (UK)
• 15, 22, 29 May, 12,19, 26 June 2025 (N.B. no meeting on 5 June)
• Reference text: The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism by Ross King, ISBN-13‏: ‎ 978-1844134076
• £180 for six meetings