The Course offers a series of art history lectures on “Europe of the Empires: The Arts of the 19th Century”. We will explain how from the collapse of the ‘Ancien Regime’ and the ravages of a 25 year war, the “Long 19th Century” took us to the outbreak of a very different war in 1914, in a very different world. This course examines the expression of change in the arts – from Goya in Spain, Blake in England and the Impressionists in France. As Empires expanded we will look at the impact of trade and new materials and of new and exotic influences on artists from Delacroix to Picasso.
Empires and trade broadened horizons and by the end of the century foreign cultures inspired a younger generation most famously Paul Gauguin, who went to live in the South Seas. Although seeking far away for new models of form, it was nonetheless striking that artistic themes became increasingly individual, turning to the exploration of self. For van Gogh, Munch and others, the purpose of painting was the expression of inner experience, defining what was to become a key characteristic of art in the 20th century.