Image: Marie Guillemine Benoist, Portrait of Madeleine (1800), retrieved from https://smarthistory.org/benoist-portrait/
This semester, I embarked on my final honors experience as an undergraduate at UC. Although I have always had a passion for art and art history, I never had the time or opportunity to take a "formal" art history course until this year. "The Black Body in European Art" came on my radar through a recruitment email from the DAAP college, and I was simply lucky enough to read it at the right time. Even more intriguing than the promise of one last "fun" class during my final semester of senior year was the accompanying study abroad trip to London and Paris, where we would take the knowledge learned in the classroom to some of the most famous art museums in the world.
Unfortunately, as is the footnote to many of most-anticipated senior moments, COVID-19 struck at exactly the wrong time, meaning the trip was cancelled and the in-class component was moved to a virtual platform.
Regardless, as is my frequent addendum to that footnote, there have still been many "upsides" to the whole experience. In this course, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in a vast subsection of art, extending from historical works from the 6th century AD to contemporary works of the 20th and 21st century. The majority of the works we studied in this class were of African and black bodies, as depicted by white artists (with a few rare exceptions). By analyzing works on a historical continuum, it was possible to visualize how certain themes and artistic stereotypes came to be - and, more importantly, came to be upheld.
Although I would have been overjoyed to see many of these paintings in person, it was fascinating to learn so much about their collective rich history through reproductions and scholarly analytical texts. This class was unlike any other class I've taken in my college career and, through it, I have developed a whole new skill set for analyzing and assessing works of art based on form, technique, and iconography. I have also learned how to situate these works within the larger historical context of their time, which allows me to understand their importance in a much more holistic sense.
In the future, I would like to continue my study of art history, even if at an informal "self-taught" level. There is something so wonderful about connecting with a piece of art, and something even more wonderful about being able to understand its history.
Unfortunately, as is the footnote to many of most-anticipated senior moments, COVID-19 struck at exactly the wrong time, meaning the trip was cancelled and the in-class component was moved to a virtual platform.
Regardless, as is my frequent addendum to that footnote, there have still been many "upsides" to the whole experience. In this course, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in a vast subsection of art, extending from historical works from the 6th century AD to contemporary works of the 20th and 21st century. The majority of the works we studied in this class were of African and black bodies, as depicted by white artists (with a few rare exceptions). By analyzing works on a historical continuum, it was possible to visualize how certain themes and artistic stereotypes came to be - and, more importantly, came to be upheld.
Although I would have been overjoyed to see many of these paintings in person, it was fascinating to learn so much about their collective rich history through reproductions and scholarly analytical texts. This class was unlike any other class I've taken in my college career and, through it, I have developed a whole new skill set for analyzing and assessing works of art based on form, technique, and iconography. I have also learned how to situate these works within the larger historical context of their time, which allows me to understand their importance in a much more holistic sense.
In the future, I would like to continue my study of art history, even if at an informal "self-taught" level. There is something so wonderful about connecting with a piece of art, and something even more wonderful about being able to understand its history.
My final presentation for the class
(Originally intended to be given on-site at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France) |
Image: Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, The Four Parts of the World Holding the Celestial Sphere (detail) (c. 1872), retrieved from https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/works-in-focus/sculpture.html?no_cache=1&zoom=1&tx_damzoom_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=131565
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