By the time I'd got myself sorted today, it was lunchtime. I sat down in the corner; turned on the laptop; clicked on Firefox; logged into my Student Homepage; clicked on the AA100 website... and then went to make a coffee.
After my coffee (and lunch... and CSI:New York on 5USA) I went back to the laptop and stared at the Study Planner. Even though I'd worked through the Study Companion and first three chapters, there was still a lot I hadn't done.
Now that I could see everything laid out in front of me, itemised week-by-week, it all seemed so much clearer... all I had left to do was to go back to the beginning and start again. Fortunately, I didn't need to do EVERYTHING again.
Just a few extra preparatory activities; an online activity about Christopher Marlowe; A few websites about Doctor Faustus; and an activity that might help me understand Cézanne's paintings. Well that's the next few days sorted. See you at the other side...
From Germany at the beginning of the 17th Century we take the short hop to the South of France in the mid 19th Century. From a Doctor of Theology to a Student of Law. This particular student has a dream of being an artist, but rather than selling his soul, he simply enrols at the free school of drawing (much easier), and then moves to Paris.
We're into chapter 3 of book 1 now, and we're looking at the artist Cézanne. He was quite a determined fellow, submitting work to the Salon (THE major art exhibition of the time) for almost twenty years before he finally had a work admitted. However, it was what he did during this period that sets him apart.
Cézanne and a group of other independent artists (little known names such as Monet, Pissaro, Renoir, Degas...), unhappy with the influence of the Acadamy of Fine Arts, held their own exhibition outside the Salon. They became known as the Impressionists.
As for Cézanne's paintings? Well I'm afraid I just couldn't grasp the concept of evaluating them, so I quickly skimmed over the rest of the chapter, though if YOU want to look at them there's a link below...
http://ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cezanne/
