The final decades of the nineteenth century witnessed the development of new art forms and styles as a reaction to the academic traditions that have prevailed for over a century. This DVD contains four presentations about late nineteenth-century European painters and related art movements.
The Late 19th-Century European Art DVD compilation includes the following titles:
- Paul Gauguin: The Savage Dream
Filmed on location in Tahiti and the Marquesas Islands, this film explores Gauguin's obsessive search for an alternative to his own culture, culminating with his artistic achievements in the South Pacific. To a great extent, the story is told in Gauguin's words, revealing his personal philosophy of art and of life.
45 minutes
- Toulouse-Lautrec and Montmartre
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is renowned for paintings and posters inspired by the edgy spectacle of Montmartre in late nineteenth-century Paris. He found his subjects in the neighborhood's dance halls, cabarets, circuses, and brothels, where middle-class visitors came for a thrill. Using works by the artist and his colleagues, rare archival footage and sound recordings, period photographs, and interviews with contemporary scholars, this film traces the relationship between the aristocratic painter and Montmartre's avant-garde culture.
30 minutes
- Édouard Vuillard
Along with fellow post-impressionists, Vuillard helped change the course of French painting. His long career spanned the fin-de-siècle and the first four decades of the twentieth century. Unlike his impressionist forebears, who explored the effects of light in the outdoors, Vuillard focused on the psychologically charged private worlds of his friends and family, as well as the decorative effects of color and pattern. This program chronicles Vuillard's entire career, including his early designs for avant-garde theater, evocative interior scenes, and rarely seen photographs. It also features his grand screen decorations alongside footage of the Parisian garden that inspired them.
30 minutes
- Art Nouveau, 1890–1914
Art nouveau was one of the most innovative and exuberant of early modern art movements. This film explores the development of art nouveau in Europe and North America, focusing on individual works of art and architectural landmarks. Interviews with scholars and rare archival footage of the period are included.
30 minutes
All programs are closed captioned.