After brief introductions, this week is all about the elaborate ornamentation of baroque and rococo art! Students will start this week discussing famous artists Rembrandt and Caravaggio and how their attention to detail produced art that was very different from their Renaissance counterparts! We will discuss the introduction of realistic light and shadow in art to dramatize scenes, looking at Artemisia Gentileschi's "Judith and Holofernes" as an example of this. 

 In this second week, Romanticism and Neoclassicism battle it out for the lead in the art world! We will discuss the lush landscapes and stories of Rococo through the works of French artists like Jean Honore-Fragonard, whose work "The Swing" is considered the pinnacle of Rococo lavishness. Rococo will lead us into our discussion of Romanticism. Students will discuss the stark differences between the romanticists and neoclassicists, and be able to identify the traits of both. 

 Impressionism--the first big shift away from traditional art practices of the previous few centuries. Students will start with Courbet, who first tested the boundaries of traditional academic style paintings through his new style, Realism, and continue to evaluate the paintings of Impressionists such as Manet, Degas, Van Gogh, and Monet. The discussion will emphasize the impact of Modernity on the art world during the late 19th century. This week’s case study will be Monet’s Water Lillies. 

 During Week 4, students will jump into post-Impressionism and Fauvism at the turn of the century! This unit will emphasize the expressive usage of color in each of these movements and important techniques for the application of paints, as developed by each of these groups. This week’s case study will be Seurat’s “La Grande Jatte,” also known as “Sunday Afternoon in the Park, emphasizing the scientific application of paint used by Seurat known as stippling.