Dallas Museum of Art – Adult Programming

Richard R. Brettell Lecture:
The Day Impressionism Began

In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first impressionist exhibition, join Dr. Kimberly Jones Curator of Nineteenth-Century French Paintings at the National Gallery of Art as she invites you to travel back in time to a Paris still recovering from civil war but full of energy and optimism. There you will meet the diverse band of artists who started a revolution in art and learn about the rich artistic landscape in which it flourished. On April 15, 1874, an exhibition organized by the “Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors and Engravers, etc.” opened in Paris at the studio of the photographer Nadar on the Boulevard des Capucines. These artists would soon become known by another name: the impressionists.

Schedule of Events: 

Performance with Bombshell Dance Project
Hamon Atrium; 1:00 p.m. 

Immerse yourself in a movement-based performance by Bombshell Dance Project inspired by the exhibitions The Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse and From Munch to Kirchner: The Heins Collection of Modern and Expressionist Art.     

Talk: The Day Impressionism Began
Horchow Auditorium; 2:00–3:00 p.m. 

Image Credit: Auguste Renoir, La Loge, 1874, oil on canvas, The Courtauld, London (Samuel Courtauld Trust) Photo © The Courtauld
This program is presented by the Richard R. Brettell Lecture Series.

Boshell Lecture Series on Archaeology
Becoming Christian Together: Arts of Ethiopia, Nubia, and Byzantium 

Three centuries after the pharaohs of ancient Egypt ended their rule, new African rulers built empires in the northern and eastern regions of that continent. Spanning from the Empires of Aksum and the later Empire of Ethiopia (Ethiopia and Eritrea) to the Christian kingdoms of Nubia (Sudan), these complex civilizations cultivated economic, political, and cultural relationships with one another. The Byzantine Empire (Byzantium)—which was inheritor of the Roman Empire—also took part in these artistic and cultural networks as it briefly expanded its footprint into northern Africa, including Egypt. Together, these great civilizations created their own unique arts while also building a shared visual culture across the regions linked by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Nile River, and the Sahara Desert. 

From late antiquity through the early modern era (about 200–1800 CE), communities in these regions shared the experience of becoming Christian. This period's arts reflect this constant evolution as multi-vocal sects, councils, and individuals shaped Orthodox Christian faiths. While past art historical studies have incorrectly described Nubian—and especially—Ethiopian Christian arts as “derivative” of Byzantine arts, this presentation foregrounds African agency and creativity by recounting how African artists chose, rejected, or adapted elements of foreign art while also making their own artistic innovations. 

Dr. Kristen Windmuller-Luna (Curator of African Arts, Cleveland Museum of Art) will consider this theme through the Cleveland Museum of Art’s unique presentation of Africa & Byzantium as well as through key works in the collection of the Dallas Museum of Art.  

 Photograph by Howard Agriesti
This program is presented by the Boshell Lecture Series on Archaeology.