Wednesdays, April 30 – May 21, 6 – 8pm
Maurice Utrillo. Lapin Agile, Montmartre (detail), c. 1911–14. The Barnes Foundation, BF295. © 2024 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris
$220; members $198
(4 classes)
About the Class
Cafés hold a special place in the history of modern art. In late 19th- and early 20th-century Paris, they were lively gathering places for avant-garde artists and writers, who spent hours drinking, gossiping, and debating the latest theories of art. Cafés also became important subjects for their work. To capture modern life, one needed to participate directly in the vibrant cafés, cabarets, and entertainment venues that defined the period. These environments inspired some of the most famous paintings of the time.
In this four-week course, we will learn about the notable cafés where European artists congregated—such as the Guerbois, Nouvelles Athénes, and Torton—and explore the paintings and drawings that still bring them to life for us today. We’ll learn about the Caffé Greco in Rome, an obligatory stop for Americans in Italy, and why Au Lapin Agile became the main meeting place for artists and writers in France at the end of the century. Although social restrictions prevented many women from participating in this very public culture, we will explore how they circumvented the issue and developed their own networking strategies.
The class is online-only. More about online classes.
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Barnes classes will:
- Sharpen your observational and critical thinking skills.
- Improve your ability to communicate about art.
- Deepen your appreciation for cultures and histories outside your own.
Instructor
Caterina Y. Pierre
Pierre is a professor of art history at the City University of New York at Kingsborough Community College and a visiting associate professor at the Pratt Institute, New York. She has taught about art and crime at CUNY Kingsborough, Pratt, and Sotheby’s Institute of Art, New York. She is currently preparing a book on cemetery sculpture as political art in the late 19th century, as well as a book on Ernest Durig, a forger of the sculptor Auguste Rodin.
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“The instructor was amazing! She was extremely knowledgeable, friendly, funny, and open to questions. She brought in outside resources and made herself available via email for questions between classes. I would take anything she teaches.” The Impressionists: Friends and Family with Caterina Pierre
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