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1) Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: Avant-Garde to Modernism

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How many times do we look at a calendar or poster hanging on a wall and see a painting by Monet or Van Gogh?  Why are we so attracted to the beautifully colored and textured paintings by the artists of the time?  Join in a presentation and discussion on the two artistic movements arising in mid nineteenth century France and learn about their similarities, differences, and the works of art and artists who are so deeply admired today.

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2)  Impressionism:  On the Road to Modernism

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Along with the concept of the avant-garde in the first quarter of the 19th century with the Realists, the idea of “modernity” also shaped art in France at the time.   Beginning in the first half of the 19th century, a group of artists known as the Impressionists begin to paint modern urban subjects and new approaches to representing the visual world.  Join in a presentation and discussion on Impressionism and the major artists who played a key role in the changes that lead us into the modern world.

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3) Post-Impressionism: A Reaction to Impressionism?

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Post- Impressionism emerged as a reaction against the Impressionists’ concern for the natural depiction of light and color and more inclined to emphasize geometric forms, distort form for expressive effect, and use unnatural or modified color.  The presentation will focus on these changes and reveal how each artist met these changes in his own unique way.

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4) Tutankhamun: Still An Enduring Power

One hundred years ago British archeologist, Howard Carter, unearthed a legend and today we are still piecing together new revelations.  Who was Tut and why is he so famous, and what are the mysteries and superstitions surrounding him?  Take an extraordinary journey back to ancient Egypt and join in a presentation and discussion about the young warrior king.

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 5) Great Masters of the Italian Baroque:  Bernini and Caravaggio

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Following the High Renaissance of the sixteenth century, the Baroque period begins and is nowhere more prevalent than in Italy itself.  The presentation focuses on two revolutionary artists, Gian Lorenzo Bernini in sculpture and Caravaggio in painting, both moving away from the art of the preceding period and setting the stage for art moving forward.

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  6) The Life and Works of Frida Kahlo

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Frida Kahlo, known as a twentieth century surrealist and magical realist and symbol of strength and resiliency, was a Mexican painter inspired by nature and the popular culture of Mexico.  She explored themes of identity, gender, class and race in Mexican society.  The presentation will focus on the artist’s fascinating works with strong autobiographical elements mixed with realism and fantasy.

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  7) The Cradle of Civilization:  Ancient Greek Art and Architecture

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Have you ever wondered why Greek male statues are portrayed without clothes and the Parthenon, the great Greek temple of the fifth century BCE and 2500 years old, is still standing?  Ancient Greek civilization was much shorter lived than that of Ancient Egypt or Ancient Rome  but its art and architecture are among the most spectacular in the history of art.  The wonders of Ancient Greek civilization will both enlighten and inspire you on this journey back in time.

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8) Art Movements of the Twentieth Century

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The first half of the Twentieth Century was a period of significant upheaval worldwide.  Between 1900 and 1945, the major industrial powers fought two global wars; witnessed the rise of Communism, Fascism, and Nazism; and suffered the Great Depression.  These decades were also a time of radical change in the arts where painters and sculptors challenged some of the most basic assumptions about the purpose of art and what form an artwork should take.  An artistic revolution emerged with artists exploring new directions.  Fauvism, Cubism, German Expressionism, Futurism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art are some of the art movements that speak to these changes.​​

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9) Great Masters of the Italian Renaissance:  Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael

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Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael were all active during the High Renaissance, which was an intense period of creativity in Northern Italy and beyond from the 1480s into the first decades of the sixteenth century in Rome, Florence and Milan.  The presentation will focus on the three masters, specifically their artistic styles, works and the intense rivalry and competitiveness between them.

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 10) The Genius of Michelangelo Buonarroti

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The “triumphant savior of the arts, a figure of light,” are the words of Giorgio Vasari, Italian artist and biographer of Renaissance artists, who wrote these words about Michelangelo Buonarroti in the sixteenth century.  Michelangelo, who lived twice as long as most people did in the Renaissance and was busy and successful in his 70’s and 80’s as at any time of his life, is one of the greatest artists in history.  Supreme in all three arts – sculpture, painting and architecture - he was active during three artistic periods at the time including the Early Renaissance, High Renaissance, and Late Renaissance (Mannerism).    He had an enormous impact on contemporary artists and artists of subsequent periods.  

      

 

11) The Famed and Tormented Life of Vincent Van Gogh

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Vincent Willem Van Gogh was a Dutch Post- Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential painters in the history of Western art.  In spite of the fact that he died at the young age of 37, he created approximately 2100 artworks including 860 oil painting, most of them in the last two years of his life.  His art is known for its bold colors and dramatic brushwork that contributed to the rise of expressionism in modern art.