The Private Lives of the Impressionists and Their Art
ART1-10-Wed2
Nancy Alimansky
This course will take place in person at 60 Turner Street. The room will be equipped with a HEPA air purifier.
September 11 - November 13
We will discover who the Impressionists were as people and how they came together in Paris in 1860: their unconventional lives, their loves, personalities, themes in their work and the friendships they shared. We will also learn about the history of the period between 1860-1886 and explore the political and social context in which Impressionism developed. We will study the work of Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Camille Pissarro, Alfred Sisley, Edouard Manet, Gustave Caillebotte and Mary Cassatt.
This course is much more than a survey of the Impressionist movement. The SGL will explain how to analyze a painting in terms of the principles and elements of design. For each class there will be several key works which we will analyze in depth in terms of the techniques the artist used to achieve a successful result. By the end of the course you, too, will probably feel comfortable and confident with making your own analysis. The SGL will show a slide presentation of paintings each week and expect students to participate in the discussion of the works. Prior knowledge is not required. Assignments will include reading from the text and additional articles, answering study questions and viewing videos.
Roughly the same amount of lecture and discussion.
The Private Lives of the Impressionists, Sue Roe, ISBN 0060545593, ISBN 9780060545598, Harper Collins. New or used paperback or hardcover with a young woman on the cover, NOT Vintage edition with the bearded man. The rest of the course material will be on Google sites, including study questions, images and additional reading and videos.
There will be approximately 30 pages of reading/week. The preparation time should be between 2-3 hours including additional reading, study questions and videos.
This will be Nancy Alimansky’s 27th teaching experience at BOLLI. For 26 years she was an Associate Professor at Lesley University teaching management and technology as well as studio art. For three years she was a docent at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College Nancy has a BA from Wellesley College, an MAT from Harvard Graduate School of Education and an MBA from Boston College. She has been a professional artist for more than 30 years.