Overview
Overview
This course aims to explore and map out the many schools, styles and movements of modern times. Starting in the late 19th century, this six-week course will trace the developments and emergence of the many ‘isms’ at the turn of the century. Each session will begin with a slide lecture and include time for discussion at the end.
This course is designed for people who are interested in gaining knowledge of this particular period of Art History as well as those who may have already studied these movements previously and would like a more in-depth clarification of the artists and styles that are represented throughout these decades. For those participants wanting to extend their knowledge beyond the Modernisms course, a six-week program on Contemporary Art is offered out of our New York location following this course.
Schedule:
Week 1 - Capturing Modern Life; Realism, Impressionism and the Birth of Photography
Week 2 - Beyond Impressions; Post-Impressionism and Pointillism
Week 3 - Colour Liberated; Fauvism and Expressionism
Week 4 - Shattering Visions; Cubism, Futurism and the Birth of Abstraction
Week 5 - Alternate Realities; Dada and Surrealism
Week 6 - Pure Painting; Abstract Expressionism and Pop-Art
Speaker: Aliki Braine
Next in the series
Schedule
Schedule
Week 1
Capturing Modern Life; Realism, Impressionism and the Birth of Photography
This first session will look at the roots of modern art and explore how artists like Courbet, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Pissarro, Degas, Morisot, and Cassatt reacted to the historical upheaval of industrialisation. Charting the influence of photography and the new innovations in painting materials and practices, we will explore how the artistic radicals created a new visual language to describe a world shaken by the industrial revolution.
Week 2
Beyond Impressions; Post-Impressionism and Pointillism
Focusing on the developments of art in the wake of Impressionism, this session will look at how Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat and Cezanne transcended the works of the preceding generation, moving towards increasing synthesis and abstraction.
Week 3
Colour Liberated; Fauvism and Expressionism
This session will consider how the works of Matisse and Derain harnessed colour to explore new pictorial and emotional possibilities and how this exploitation of colour was also used to embrace the darker side of human emotions in the work of Munch, Kandinsky, Kirchner and Nolde.
Week 4
Shattering Visions; Cubism, Futurism and the Birth of Abstraction
This session will explore how Picasso and Braque created a new visual language which broke with artists’ prior understanding of how the world could be seen and represented. We will explore how Cubism’s new visual language was embraced by the work of the Italian Futurists and ultimately lead to the birth of abstraction.
Week 5
Alternate Realities; Dada and Surrealism
This session will look at the works of Surrealist and Dada artists, including Dali, Magritte, Miro and Duchamp. We will investigate how and why the catastrophe of modern warfare led artists to make images of alternative realities.
Week 6
Pure Painting; Abstract Expressionism and Pop-Art
This session will explore how modern art shifted from its base in Paris to New York in the wake of the Second World War and how artists such as Pollock and Rothko embraced abstraction while some of their contemporaries heralded the ‘death of modernism’ by their depiction of images found in popular culture.
Speaker: Aliki Braine
Academic Profile
Academic Profile
Aliki Braine
Born in Paris in 1976, Aliki Braine studied at The Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford, The Slade School of Fine Art, London and The Courtauld Institute where she was awarded a distinction for her masters in 17th century painting. Aliki has been a regular lecturer at the National Gallery since 2001 and also teaches at the Wallace Collection, Courtauld Gallery and for The Arts Society. She is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Fine Art Photography for the University of the Arts London. Aliki is also a practicing artist who regularly exhibits her photographic work internationally.
Contact & Additional Information
Contact & Additional Information
Read our Frequently Asked Questions to find out more information about short courses.
Video available to watch for 7 days after broadcast - Interactive Q & A with the academic, delivered over Zoom
Contact us
For any queries about this course please contact
London Courses Department
+44 (0)7824 474 719
Email: shortcoursesUK@christies.edu
