The Heroism of Modern Life: Art & Industrialization

Visual artists responded dynamically to 19th-century industrialization, urbanization, photography, and art market shifts by engaging directly with modern life. Gustave Courbet’s Realist manifests and Édouard Manet’s subversion of the Salon system epitomized this departure from traditional academic conventions. This course presents an overview of the impact that the Industrial Revolution had on artistic production, appreciation and the art market, and the emergence of modernism as subject matter. Our exploration includes the emergence of modernism as both visual subject matter and critical practice, tracing how technological innovation, urban expansion, and changing patronage networks fundamentally redefined the role of the artist in modern society. This course uses the Hybrid format which allows students to participate remotely and/or in the classroom. This course will be recorded. Students will have access to videos for the duration of the course.