Art History, 19th Century Europe-France

    The return of the monarchy to power in 1815 and the July Revolution of 1830 were moments of defining political and cultural shifts in France that impacted the art that was produced during the period. Following the 1848 Revolution, Courbet emerged as the the chief architect of Realism, a style that challenged prevailing aesthetic assumptions about art and disrupted academic hierarchies of meaning. Discuss key images and ideas from each of the three eras—Restoration Monarchy, July Monarchy, and that of the 1848 Revolution and its aftermath—inserting artists’ work within the political and social context the period. Where appropriate, be sure to address the institutional context in which images were displayed and discussed, including Courbet’s Pavilion of Realism at the 1855 Universal Exposition in Paris.