106Z Summer 2026 Realism Through Impressionism: 19th Century Painting

By the mid-19th century, significant changes in subjects and artists’ techniques began to emerge. Realist artists looked at the daily lives of all levels of society. Millet portrayed peasants, while Manet often linked his compositions to the art of the past. Impressionism burst on the scene with a series of shows beginning in 1874. Monet and many other Impressionist painters discarded black from their palettes and focused on complementary colors and fragmented brushwork. While French artists led the way, there were also notable American artists working in the new Realist and Impressionist styles. However, in England the Pre-Raphaelites looked backward emphasizing precision and often religious subject matter. This class will deal with work by Courbet, Daumier, Manet, Monet, Morisot, Cassatt, Degas, Renoir, Rossetti, Whistler and many others in an overview of this most significant era.

Roz Hoagland is a retired art historian. She taught at NOVA for 40 years and has also taught numerous OLLI classes. She organizes and leads group tours to Europe to study art and architecture. Since 1999, there have been 64 successful trips to locations in 30 different countries.