Part 1
Lecture
Outside reading – Impressionism as optical realism
(1) Beginning with the video lecture, describe each of the characteristics of impressionism: how can we understand the interests of these artists? For the characteristic you find most interesting, select a work of art and use specific visual details to describe the way the image exemplifies the interests of the Impressionists.
(2) Turn your attention to the outside reading, Dr. Cramer and Dr. Grant try to account for the revolutionary technique the Impressionists used. What techniques does Impressionism reject? Why do some scholars and critics argue that Impressionism as actually more realistic than traditional painting?
(3) Scroll down to the section “Shifting Patterns of Color”. Summarize the advice that Claude Monet gives to the American painter Lilla Cabot Perry. What does Monet mean? Finally explain the way that this advice relates to Monet’s later experiments with light and color.
Part 2
Lecture
Outside reading – vangogh
(1)In the video lecture, what does Professor Glatstein (me) argue is the primary contribution that Van Gogh makes to the way we think about art? How does Van Gogh’s approach both in terms of content and style differ from the Impressionists.
(2) Describe the way that Van Gogh thinks about the relationship between color and emotion. Do you think that Van Gogh’s attempts to create emotion in the Night Cafe or the Bedroom in Arles are succcesful? Why or why not?
Your outside reading this week is structured around the Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh. Increasingly, Van Gogh is recognized as a critical artist who bridges the 19th and 20th centuries. Read the article on Van Gogh’s seminal painting “Starry Night.”
(3) What is the historical background for this painting? How does Professor Soth interpret it in the context of Van Gogh’s biography and beliefs? What is the ultimate conclusion of the essay? Please use direct quotations (feel free to use any of the quotations from lecture).
Requirements: 600 words each part.