The Madison Art Society announces an Art History Lecture with Will Lustenader, artist and lecturer, who will discuss the birth of Impressionist Art through the works of Cezanne and Degas.

ART HISTORY LECTURE May  17, 2018

On Thursday May 17, 2018; 6:30 PM- 7:30 PM Will Lustenader will present an art history lecture at the E.C. Scranton Memorial Library, 801 Boston Post Road, Madison, Connecticut. He is a professional artist and adjunct professor of art history currently teaching at Sacred Heart University, Albertus Magnus College, Gateway Community College and Choate Rosemary Hall boarding school. He was educated at Vassar College and The Courtauld Institute of Art, and the University of London where he received his graduate degree in art history. He has been exhibiting his art since his teenage years in Rochester, New York, and eventually mentored with the renowned realist painter, Nelson Shanks in Philadelphia. After a brief stint with the Wildenstein Galleries in NYC, Will devoted his career to painting. He is presently represented by the Fred Giampietro Gallery in New Haven, CT. His work has been shown in Europe and many venues across the country, including The New Britain Museum of American Art, The San Diego Art Institute, The Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, The Neuberger Museum, and The Brad Cooper Gallery in Tampa Florida.

"Ballet Dancer" 1887, Edgar Degas

AT ODDS WITH NATURE is the title of his lecture. He will take a look into the history of early modernism and the birth of Impressionist art.  Two social introverts Edgar Degas and Paul Cezanne, who became reluctant companions in a quest for finding truth in nature, are the subjects of this lecture. It is through their work that we learn of the diversity and evolution of this period of art. 

Degas was a master of line, mood, and movement and he possessed a fundamentally radical approach in recording his observations of the outside world. Degas would often repackage them in the studio to suit his grander

"Still Life with Plaster Cast" by Paul Cezanne

subject. Cezanne, on the other hand, created spatial relationships based on what he knew about an object in nature, and not on how it actually appeared to the eye.  Both men were difficult personalities with surprising life interests and prejudices beyond their respective studios. In spite of this they formed the necessary balance of extremes that essentially created the backbone of  modernism into the early 20 th century while supporting the interests of fellow artists who chose distinctly different paths. These Impressionist/Post Impressionist artists were at odds with each other, of course. Some were very talented, others not so much. While there were many unsung names represented in pivotal exhibitions  Will Lustenader sees Cezanne and Degas as the two bookends in these turbulent years of early modernism.

Will offers an invigorating lecture based on his vast training and experience in art history. This lecture is free and open to the public.

Contact information: Marge Casey 203-458-8555