| Unit name | The Impressionist Group Exhibitions |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HARTM0003 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Mr. Lilley |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History of Art (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The unit will examine, from a variety of perspectives, the eight exhibitions mounted between 1874 and 1886 by the loose association of artists who became known as the Impressionists. Specific topics considered are likely to include the following: an examination of often hostile official attitudes to innovative art in the years immediately prior to 1874 (which had a strong bearing on the founding of the independent exhibitions); the motivations, both collective and individual, of the artists responsible for mounting the exhibitions; the distinct character of each individual exhibition and the putative reasons for these differences; the varied responses of contemporary critics to the shows, including their part in the creation of the myth of Impressionism; the strategies employed by art historians in their examinations of the material connected with the exhibitions.
