Napoleon III almost completely dismantled Paris during the middle years of the nineteenth century, only to rebuild it as the first modern metropolis. Artists such as Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Cezanne rushed to the emerging urban giant to depict the energy and confusion of the new social order. This lecture will focus on how Impressionism rose from Realism, and how artists had different—and at times contradictory—perspectives on this new way of painting. The younger artists who followed in the wake of these artistic advances, known as Post-Impressionists, will be briefly discussed: Van Gogh, Seurat, and Gaugin. 

Lecture by Director of Education Roger Dell.