Join us for a conversation in the galleries devoted to Impressionism to learn how the most beloved artists of the time responded to political and social upheaval.
In 1874, the Société anonyme des artistes peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs, etc., an anonymous group of artists, held their Première exposition in Paris. We now know this as the first exhibition of the artists who would soon be called Impressionists.
The exhibition took place only 3 years after the huge upheaval of the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune, a brief yet tumultuous and bloody event in French political history in which revolutionary workers, called Communards, fought the French National Army. These events marked the end of Napoleon’s Second Empire and the beginning of France’s Third Republic.
The French Impressionists are often associated with plein-air painting that captures natural lighting and peaceful scenes of Paris’ leisure class amid the modernizing urban and suburban landscape, but what impact did these events and the transformation of the French government have on the artists and their work?
what to expect
This program will take place in multiple galleries on the second floor of the Michigan Avenue building and will last about an hour. The program will involve close looking and discussion of 4-5 works in the Painting and Sculpture of Europe collection area. There will be folding stools for seating. ASL interpretation and/or assisted listening devices are available upon request at museum_interpretation@artic.edu. Assisted listening devices are limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Requests must be made at least two weeks in advance.
