School of Paris, 1900-1950
F06
Dan Hofstadter
This course—not a survey!—is devoted to the art, mostly pictorial, created in Paris between 1900 and 1950. The artists studied are included strictly on the basis of quality, and their works will be analyzed with respect to aesthetic criteria alone. Particular attention will be devoted to Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Léger, Gris, Bonnard, Vuillard, Mondrian, and Derain; we’ll also have a look at some sculpture and decorative work and at some of the lesser-studied artists of the Forties. Readings will consist of a blend of recent critical writings and early 20th-century literature (in translation) by Apollinaire, Gide, Colette, and Leiris. Students will be expected to write a paper every week, comparing in detail a modern painting with a work from some other period or school, i.e., a Picasso with an African piece or a picture from the Spanish School, a Matisse with an Islamic work, a Vuillard with a Japanese screen, and so on.