Identify one artist, designer, or architect who studied at the École des Beaux-Arts between ca. 1800 and 1970. Select an artwork (painting, sculpture, print, etc.) or a built structure by this creator and discuss how notions of academic aesthetics influenced it. Try to attend the Emmanuel Schwartz lecture on Oct. 9 to gain a better understanding of the importance of the École des Beaux-Arts for many American artists and architects.• Include information about the artist/creator you selected. Do your own research to obtain this information. When did the artist/architect/creator study at the École des Beaux-Arts? Who were his or her teachers? (Note that there were tens of thousands of art and architecture students who attended the École des Beaux-Arts over time and who came from all parts of the world).
• Mention/discuss materials used, title, date, dimensions.
• Engage visual information provided by the work of art itself: Describe what you see and interpret this visual information. What is the content or story of the artwork? In what historical style was the building designed? What are the historical precedents the creator sought to evoke?
• Where do you see the aesthetic influences of academic teaching and academic rules in the artwork/built structure you selected (for instance, classical subject matter or “finish” in painting, a certain type of plan and use of architectural decoration in architecture)? (Note that the adjective “academic,” in this context, refers to the ideas perpetuated by the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris)
• How did your artist/architect/creator evolve over time? Did he or she reject academic rules or perpetuate them? How did he or she find their own voice?
