Art Talks By Janet Mandel

This talk is Part 1 of 2 talks.

In 1894 Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French army, was wrongly accused of passing military secrets to the Germans. He was convicted of high treason, court-martialed, and deported to solitary confinement on Devil’s Island. France was split into a fierce anti-Semitic, pro-military right-wing camp and a republican, liberal, left-wing camp. Shockwaves were felt in the circle of Parisian artists as well. The full story of this important, oft-neglected part of art history will be told in two illuminating parts. Part I will discuss the Dreyfus Affair in detail, including what led up to virulent anti-Semitism in France during the latter part of the 19th Century and the role art and artist-activists played.

In Part II we will see how the circle of Parisian artists responded during the Dreyfus Affair and how their political views affected their art and their friendships.

RSVP is Requested, LindaS@jfnnj.org