Where the Magic Happens: The Artist's Studio and the Creative Process

This course charts the myth and reality of the artist's studio since the Renaissance—from the busy workshops in 15th-century Florence to the bohemian studios in Montmartre in the late 19th century, and from the downtown lofts in New York City to industrial production facilities in contemporary Beijing, Dakar, and Berlin. We will begin by studying outstanding paintings that placed the artist’s studio centerstage, including Velazquez's La Meninas, Courbet's The Painter's Studio, Matisse's The Red Studio, and Kerry James Marshall's Untitled (Studio). Next, we will examine famous artist studios and some of the art produced there, including Rembrandt's house and workshop in Amsterdam, Monet's floating studio ("bateau-atelier") in Argenteuil, Jackson's Pollock barn studio in the Hamptons, and Andy Warhol's legendary Silver Factory in Manhattan. Throughout the course, we will discuss how an artist’s workspace and studio environment reflect their creative process, social status, and ambitions, and how these spaces often serve as shrines to their artistic vision and legacy. Finally, we will explore how other art forms such as literature, opera, and musical theater have perpetuated the popular notion of the artist as both genius and outsider, depicting the artist's studio as a near-mythical place where masterpieces are born. Examples include Balzac’s The Unknown Masterpiece, Puccini’s La Bohème, and Stephen Sondheim’s Sunday in the Park with George.

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