Virtual Art History Series: Great Jewish Artists

Mondays, March 9, 16, and 23, 12pm – 1pm ET

Learn how Camille Pissarro (1830-1903), Amedeo Modigliani (1884-1920), and Marc Chagall (1887-1985) each confronted antisemitism and pushed cultural and aesthetic boundaries in their art in a three-session course led by Nelly Silagy Benedek, Deputy Director, Education & Programs at the Jewish Museum. This course is inspired by past Jewish Museum exhibitions, offering unexpected perspectives on the innovative works of art created by these three iconic figures.

Session 1 –  Pissarro, Impressionism, and the Dreyfus Affair

When we think of Impressionist paintings the following usually comes to mind: Monet’s lush waterlilies, Pissarro’s vibrant landscapes, Degas’s hardworking dancers, training and performing, and the ways in which Impressionist painters challenged viewers with their innovative approaches to painting. What is the Jewish story here? This class examines works by Pissarro and other Impressionist painters against the backdrop of the Dreyfus Affair, a political scandal that rocked and divided France when, in 1894, a Jewish French artillery officer was wrongly accused of treason.

Session 2 –  Modigiliani Unmasked

Amedeo Modigliani is celebrated for revolutionizing modern portraiture, particularly as evidenced by his later paintings and sculpture. An Italian Sephardic Jew working in turn-of-the-century Paris, Modigliani embraced his status as an outsider. This class explores his lesser-known works including the artist’s rarely seen early works on paper, which offer revelatory insights into his artistic sensibilities and concerns as he developed his signature style of graceful, elongated figures.

Session 3 – Chagall: Love, War, and Exile

Known for lyrical narratives of Jewish life in Vitebsk and colorful compositions painted in pre-war Paris, Marc Chagall also created darker works in response to the atrocities experienced by Jewish communities during WWII. Inspired by the exhibition Chagall: Love, War, and Exile (September 15, 2013 – February 2, 2014) which highlighted an artist deeply impacted by the suffering inflicted by the Nazis during the Holocaust, this class explores how Chagall found unique ways to confront antisemitism through a surprising choice of subject matter.

Tickets: $138 General; $96.60 Jewish Museum Members. Price includes all three sessions.

For inquiries, please contact [email protected]