This study abroad course will focus on the development of painting from the 1860s to the 1940s, from Realism to Impressionism, Neo-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Geometric Abstraction, de Stijl, Dada, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. Spending time in and around Strasbourg and Paris, we will study in art museums, the Strasbourg classroom, and actual painting sites of these important artists. Paintings will put the art movements in historical context. The role of science and technology in this development (including synthesis of new materials and how color theory informed painting) will be discussed. Scientific topics include light and its interaction with matter, color mixing, chemical and physical causes of color, and the biology of vision; these topics are discussed to gain a deeper understanding of paintings. Many demonstrations that display properties of light and biology of vision will be performed. Scientific techniques used to analyze paintings in conservation science and forgery investigations (complete with demonstrations of infrared reflectography to reveal underdrawings and x-ray fluorescence to identify pigments) will be discussed. As a team, students will make interdisciplinary connections between science and art history to critically evaluate whether a particular painting is authentic or a forgery.
- Teacher: Jeff Fieberg