Introduction to modern art II: Cézanne to Pollock

Many art movements and styles co-existed during the period of the late 19th century to the 1950s. This course introduces a small selection of significant figurative and abstract modern art works and is designed to develop some visual analysis skills and familiarity with some key concepts. From distortions in Cézanne’s work, the experimental colours of the Fauves, the fracturing of form in an early Picasso work and the disturbance of Surrealist objects through to Jackson Pollock’s avoidance of obvious references to the world, we explore French and American artists’ innovations.

Learning outcomes:

At the end of the course students will be able to:

• recognise some of the  key characteristics of the different styles of modern art studied on the course;
• explain some of the  developments in figurative and abstract modern art.

Session titles:

1. Cézanne: new ways of re-presenting
2. Matisse, Derain and Fauvism: ‘The wild beasts’ 
3. Picasso: conventions and inventions
4. Surrealist objects and paintings 
5. Pollock and Abstraction plus course summary

All course content will be delivered online via the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). You will be taught largely through a series of pre-recorded talks (which may be audio and/or video), designed to help you address different aspects of the main topic. You will normally have access to a range of useful resources and suggested activities.

There will also be an element of interactive work, and the opportunity for you to engage in written form with other course participants and discuss questions set by the Course Director via the Course Forum. The Course Director will generally respond to a selection of key questions and comments on a daily basis.

Some courses may also have elements of optional live discussions via Zoom.

There are no pre-requisites for courses, unless specified, and all are open to adult learners over 18 years old. Courses are taught at approximately first-year undergraduate level.

Content will be made available on each day of the course, Monday to Friday, from 8.00am BST. Course content will normally amount to c 1.5hrs per day across the 5 days, comprising of material delivered by the Course Director and activities/reading set, which would include discussions via the course forum. You may also need to complete reading or other preparation suggested in advance of the course.

We therefore suggest that you set aside approximately 1.5 hours of study per day to complete each day’s content and activities. However, this does not need to be done in one sitting, and you have the flexibility to access content when and where you want, and to go back and review it as often as you wish. Each course runs for one week and content will remain available to access on the VLE for 2 weeks after the course has finished.

A Certificate of Participation for the course(s) will be sent electronically, upon request via email, after the end of the Summer Festival. Details will be provided on the VLE.