USA by the Bay - Summer Breeze: Seasonal Masterpieces in Great Art

Grab your metaphorical parasol and step into the light. This four-week course invites you to bask in the warmth of art history's most iconic summer scenes. We will explore how masters of color and composition captured the essence of the season from the shimmering heat of a Provencal field to the cool, suburban stillness of a California pool.

Together, we'll analyze the technical brilliance and social contexts behind a curated selection of "sun-drenched" masterpieces. We will trace the evolution of summer aesthetics across different movements, examining how light defines not just the landscape, but the very mood of the era.

Exemplars would include Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Iisland of La Grande Jatte, Monet's Woman with a Parasol and Water Lillies, Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party, van Gogh's Sunflowers, Hockney's A Bigger Splash, Hopper's Second Story Sunlight, etc.