This seminar focusses on the intersections in late nineteenth-century Paris between the visual arts and popular culture. Our objective is to examine a series of paintings and lithographs by progressive artists who, working in and around Montmartre, turned their attention to the neighborhood's dance halls, circuses, and carnivals. Renoir, Van Gogh, Seurat, Toulouse-Lautrec: these are among the painters who sought to represent social practice in Montmartre in the aftermath of the Commune of 1871, a period during which the neighborhood was transformed into the de facto center of Parisian mass entertainment.

Textbooks/Other Materials: All readings posted on Canvas

HISTART Distribution Requirements: Europe and the US; Modern and Contemporary

Course Requirements: Weekly responses to course readings and a long (@ 4000 words) seminar paper

Intended Audience: Undergraduates interested in French art and culture

Class Format: One three-hour seminar meeting per week