Modern art

Reading assignment: For next time, read part one of chapter 3, pages 42 to 53 (stop at “An Art Reborn: Rodin”).

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Writing assignment: This week’s reading covers three topics: 1) the Neo-Impressionists; 2) Paul Cezanne; and 3) the Symbolists. Each section discusses one or more artists who moved away from Impressionism and other previous schools of painting in very specific ways.

After you’ve done the reading, go back through it and find the artist whose artworks and/or ideas about art are the most interesting to you. Write a half a page to page in which you cover the following questions. (Some of these questions may be more relevant than others, depending on the artist you choose.)

• What were the main artistic interests of this artist, and what did he want his art to accomplish? How can his ideas be seen in his artworks?
• How was his art different from what came before? What (if anything) did he retain from Impressionism or Realism, and what (if anything) did he reject from those earlier movements?
• What new or different inspirations or influences did this artist have in comparison to the Impressionists and the Realists? Did he have a specific philosophy about what art should or shouldn’t do?