Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, La Troupe de Mademoiselle Eglantine, 1895

New York, The Met, 32.88.5: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/333988

The period covered on this 5-week course (ca 1880-1914) has been given many names: the Gilded Age by Americans, the Naughty Nineties by the British… To the French, it was simply the Beautiful Era. Each of these names speaks of excitement, pleasure, and rapid cultural change.

We shall explore some of the many cultural highlights of this era. From the Moulin Rouge to the Paris stage of the “divine Sarah”, we shall enjoy both lowbrow and highbrow entertainments, and enter the worlds of art, fashion, dance, and pure pleasure, whilst keeping an eye on the changing political scene and the awful clouds which we, with the benefit of hindsight, know were gathering.

RJW F222318 Online course (via Zoom)

5 weeks, Tuesday 21 February - Tuesday 21 March (incl.)

£60 (individual registration); £108 (for two people sharing one screen).