AMICO Assignment Set:
Find and Compare Exercises for Modern European Art, 1780-1900
Exercise: The Rise of the Avant-Garde

Student Instructions:

1. Read all the instructions below before beginning the exercise.
   
2. Using the AMICO Library, choose a work of art by a European artist, in any medium, made between 1870 and 1900, that represents the "avant-garde."
   
3. Using the AMICO Library, choose a work of art by a European artist, in any medium, made between 1870 and 1900, that represents the established art world.
   
4. In a 250-word essay, compare the two artworks, considering one of more of the following questions:

   • As represented by these works of art, who or what was the "established art world" of the time and who or what was the "avant garde"?
     
   • Was the avant-garde work controversial when it was made? Why or why not?
     
   • Is either work controversial today? Why or why not?
     
   • To what extent do these two works represent the contrast between "avant garde" and "academic" art?
5. Save the images and related data in your essay.
   
6. Your essay will be judged on the following criteria:

   • Did you correctly follow instructions for the exercise?
     
   • Did you make a good choice of images?
     
   • How does your essay reflect your knowledge of the period, its political history, and its art?

Sample Images:

Copyright Museum of Fine Arts,† Boston, 1998		Copyright Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (Dutch)		Paul Gauguin (French)
Promise of Spring (Opus CCCIII), (Center right: L Alma Tadema/Op CCCIII)		Soyez amoureuses vous serez heureuses, 1889
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, BMFA.Res.39.94		Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, BMFA.57.582
View the complete AMICO record		View the complete AMICO record

Return to Exercise List | View All Model Assignments