Art History at a Glance

Art in history may end up hanging on walls, but much of it started on the easels of artists living in Florence, Amsterdam, Paris, and villages throughout Europe. The artists were fascinating people and the lives around them worth knowing. Our seven-week study group will help us understand their context in history. Our source material is “Digitorials” offered by Frankfurt’s Stadelich Museum, online and translated into English, and the Close Read articles from The New York Times. Each week, we will view works from the Medici Museum in Florence, Rembrandt in Holland, Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse, the Cubists in France, and Realism in America. Online access is free, with links sent in advance. In-class slides supplement the at-home reading. Participants will investigate and discuss a broad swath of art and artists and the eras that shaped them.