University of St Andrews

SCHOOL OF ART HISTORY

Combined Studies MA

AH3902 Country, City and Society in Nineteenth-Century French Art

Semester 1

Coordinator/Tutor: Dr William Rough (e-mail wwr)

Please note that this handbook is for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect the course content in 2020 or future years 1

AH3902: Country, City and Society in Nineteenth-Century French Art

Course Description:

This module will examine French Art, Society and Culture as demonstrated through a study of Realist, Impressionist, Post-Impressionist and Avant-Garde paintings c.1840 - c.1900.

In particular it will explore the various social and class themes affecting the notions of City vs. Country. It will also explore the variety of contemporary artistic and literary texts paying particular attention to the broad range of critical and theoretical texts, written by key figures, during this period. It will also explore modern critical theories and readings of the works and the period in general.

Assessment = 100% Continuous Assessment as follows:

• Research Essay, c. 3000 words. (50%) • Visual Analysis Test (1,000 words) (25%) • Visual Analysis Paper on a work of art in the Edinburgh collections, c.2000 words (25%)

Please note that this handbook is for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect the course content in 2020 or future years 2

AH3902 Lecture and Seminar Programme

Lectures are at 6.30 pm on Monday. These are followed by a coffee/tea break and seminar.

The structure of this Combined Studies MA module is such that a seminar immediately follows a lecture. As a result, each tutorial will discuss issues concerning the previous week’s lecture.

All seminar texts can be found in Art in Theory 1815-1900 (Harrison, Wood & Gaiger). Please Note: earlier editions of the revised edition may have slightly different page numbers.

Week 1 Introduction and Overview. Introduction to key texts.

Week 2 LECTURE - Courbet & Ornans SEMINAR- Millet and the Barbizon School TEXTS: i) Camille Corot: Reflections on Painting c.1828, Art in Theory 1815-1900, p. 231 ii) Jean-François Millet: on Truth in Painting, Letters 1850-1867, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 373-375

Week 3 LECTURE - Manet & Paris SEMINAR - Courbet & Ornans: Ornans vs. Paris TEXTS: i) Max Buchon: On Courbet’s Stonebreakers and Burial at Ornans 1850, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 364-366

Week 4 LECTURE - The Impressionists & Paris Part I SEMINAR - Manet & Paris: Baudelaire and the City TEXTS: i) Baudelaire: “To the Bourgeoisie” & “On the Heroism of Modern Life” 1846, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 300-304 ii) Baudelaire: from “The Painter of Modern Life” 1859-63, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 493-506 iii) Jules-Antoine Castagnary: “The Three Contemporary Schools” 1863 & “Naturalism” 1867, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 410- 415 iv) Jules-Antoine Castagnary, ‘The Exhibition on the Boulevard des Capucines’ [1874], in Art in Theory 1815-1900, ed. Harrison, Wood and Gaiger, Oxford, Blackwell, 1998, pp.572-573.

Week 5 LECTURE - The Impressionists & Paris Part II SEMINAR - The Impressionists & Paris Part I: Monet TEXTS:

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i) Stéphane Mallarmé: “The Impressionists and Edouard Manet” 1876, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 585-593 ii) Félix Fénéon: “The Impressionists in 1886” 1886, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 963-966 iii) Monet: Letters to Bazille 1868-1869, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 546-548 iv) Louis Leroy: “The Exhibition of the Impressionists” 1874, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 573-576

Week 6 ILW (no classes)

Week 7 LECTURE - Paris & London SEMINAR - The Impressionists & Paris Part II: Degas TEXTS: i) Degas: from Notebooks 22, 23 & 30, c.1867-1883, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 565-567 ii) Edmondo de Amicus: “The First Day in Paris” 1873, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 883-888 iii) Edmond Duranty: from “The New Painting” 1876, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 576-585

Week 8 LECTURE - Monet & Argenteuil SEMINAR - Paris & London: The Thames & the Seine TEXTS: i) Oscar Wilde: on Art for Art’s Sake 1889/1891, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 859-862 ii) James McNeill Whistler: “The Ten O’Clock Lecture” 1885, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 838-847

Week 9 LECTURE - Gauguin & Pont-Aven SEMINAR - Monet & Argenteuil: Work & Leisure in Argenteuil i) N.N. Kalitina & N.V. Brodskaia, Claude Monet. Chapter: The Argenteuil Period. E-book accessible through University of St Andrews Library.

Week 10 VISUAL ANALYSIS TEST

Week 11 LECTURE - Van Gogh & Arles SEMINAR - Gauguin & Pont-Aven: Primitivism, Symbolism & the Avant-Garde TEXTS: v) Émile Littré: from “On Some Issues in Psycho-physiology” c.1860/1876, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 396-402 vi) Maurice Denis: “Definition of Neo-Traditionism” 1890, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 862-869 vii) Gauguin: Notes on Painting c.1889-1890, Art in Theory 1815- 1900, pp. 1022-1024

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viii) Paul Sérusier: Letter to Maurice Denis 1889, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 1020-1021

Week 12 LECTURE - Seurat & Asnières SEMINAR - Van Gogh & Arles: Van Gogh in Saint-Remy & Auvers TEXTS: i) Van Gogh: Letters to his brother Theo c.1885, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 896-902 ii) Van Gogh: Letters to his brother Theo and his sister Wilhelmina c.1882-1890, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 942- 948 iii) G. -Abert Aurier: “The Isolated Vincent Van Gogh” 1890, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 948-952

Week 13 LECTURE - Gauguin & Tahiti SEMINAR - Seurat & Asnières: Anarchism on the Seine TEXTS: i) Charles Henry: Introduction to a Scientific Aesthetic” 1885, Art in Theory 1815-1900, pp. 953-958 ii) Félix Fénéon: “Neo-Impressionism” 1887, Art in Theory 1815- 1900, pp. 966-969 iii) Seurat: Letter to Maurice Beaubourg 1890, Art in Theory 1815- 1900, pp. 969-970

Week 14 SEMINAR & REVIEW SESSION: Gauguin & Tahiti i) Gauguin: Notes on Colour 1896-1898, Art in Theory 1815- 1900, pp. 992-998

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SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

Useful reading for all History of Art students • A. D’Alleva, Methods and Theories of Art History • A. D’Alleva, How to Write Art History • S. Barnet, A Short Guide to Writing About Art

Set Books • C. Harrison, P. Wood, J. Gaiger, eds., Art in Theory 1815-1900: An Anthology of Changing Ideas • S. Eisenman (ed.). Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History

Below is a selection of useful texts for each corresponding Research Essay.

Courbet and Ornans • T.J. Clark, The Absolute Bourgeois: Artists and Politics in France 1845 • T.J. Clark, Images of the People: Gustave Courbet and the 1848 Revolution • R.L. Herbert, From Millet to Léger: essays in social history

Manet & Paris • C. Baudelaire, The Painter of Modern Life and Other Essays, transl. & ed. By J. Mayne • T.J. Clark, The Painting of Modern Life: Paris in the Art of Manet and His Followers • B. Collins (ed), 12 Views of Manet’s ‘Bar’

The Impressionists & Paris Part I & Part II • F. Fowle & R. Thomson, Soil and Stone: impressionism, urbanism, environment • R.L. Herbert, Impressionism: art, leisure and Parisian Society • J. House, Impressionism, Paint and Politics

Paris & London • Arts Council of Great Britain, The Impressionists in London, (exh. cat.) • J. House, ‘The Impressionist Vision of London’ in I.B. Nadel & F.S. Schwarzbach (eds), Victorian Artists and the City. A Collection of Critical Essays • A.G. Robins, A fragile modernism: Whistler and his Impressionist followers

Monet & Argenteuil • R.L. Herbert, Monet on the Normandy Coast: Tourism and Painting, 1867- 1886 • R. Thomson (ed.), Framing France: The representation of landscape in France 1870-1914 • P.H. Tucker, Monet at Argenteuil

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Gauguin & Pont-Aven • B. Boyle-Turner, Gauguin and the School of Pont-Aven (exh. cat.) • B. Thomson (ed), Gauguin: Maker of Myth • B. Thomson, Gauguin’s Vision

Van Gogh & Arles • J. Sund, Van Gogh, London, Phaidon, 2002 • Van Gogh, The complete letters of Vincent Van Gogh (3 Volumes), London, 1958 • C.M. Zemel, Van Gogh's progress: Utopia, modernity, and late-nineteenth- century art, Berkeley, 1997

Seurat & Asnières • R. Brettell, J. Pissarro, The Impressionist and the City: Pissarro’s Series Paintings • R.L. Herbert, Seurat and the making of La Grande • J. House, ‘Meaning in Seurat’s Figure Paintings’, Art History, vol.3, Sept. 1980, pp.314-44

Please note that this handbook is for illustrative purposes only and may not reflect the course content in 2020 or future years 7