ARHS 2 (courbet/haussmann/manet/impressionism)
Henri Fantin-Latour, Edouard Manet, 1867
"Father of modern painting in France" ― a position more complicated than it seems; early career looks heavily to the past. One of the first to depict the modern city in certain ways. Unlike Courbet, had urban roots ― born and bred in Paris, upper middle class with formal training.
Mary Cassatt, Self-Portrait of the Artist, 1878
1 of 2 prominent female Impressionists, gained fame through exhibitions. Different representations of women? Close friendships with male artists (Degas); world of middle-class Parisian women in late 19th century. How we define modern art is inherently from the perspective of male artists. However, Cassatt and Morisot's work was not just the product of restrictions.
Crystal Palace ― architect: Paxton, 1851
1851 World's Fair in England ― building designed with huge sheets of glass, modulated to be built quickly. Seemed like a combination of interior and exterior; ethereal barrier between inside and out. 1855 Paris Universal Exposition Palace of Industry meant to emulate this
Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878
Became most known for depictions of children. Girl not shown in a "refined/proper" pose for a little girl ― gives idea of what it's like to BE a little girl with low-down viewpoint. Not poised or posed, sprawled, bored/defiant ― body in space.
Renoir, Mrs. Charpentier and Her Children, 1878
Begins to develop lucrative portrait-painting practice, stops exhibiting with Impressionists. Patrons of Renoir, unusually large scale for a portrait. Luxurious interior and lifestyle with restrained but unmistakable opulence. Sympathetic to and in the service of his patrons, important to him to have elite connections. Exhibited at Salon of 1879. Little Impressionism to be found stylistically.
Cassatt, Lydia Reading the Morning Paper, 1878; Reading 'Le Figaro,' 1883
Bourgeois women not usually associated with reading serious newspapers ― "masculine" activity. Cassatt's mother was extremely intelligent. Less of a light touch: "bold, assertive, masculine" handling of paint
Degas, Singer with the Glove, 1878; Song of the Dog, 1875-78
Café-concerts sprout in Paris; songs sung often drew on popular culture, working-class experiences. Focus on bodies and gestures of performers, interest in artificial lighting, artifices of cosmetics
Monet, Poplars series, 1890-91
Focus on reflections on water is not arbitrary; reflections are paintings within paintings. Series require control over exhibition conditions that Salons, Impressionist exhibitions would never provide ― required private exhibitions.
Degas, Laundress, Woman Ironing, 1877; Laundresses, 1884
Focus on women engaging in absorbing tasks, working-class women. Vs. Courbet: didn't intend working-class figures as critique of economic system, but more observational. Produced ~25 paintings of this subject.
Cassatt, In the Loge, 1878
Focus solely on members of audience. Addresses men and women's different experiences of public spaces like the opera; women could be a part of and represent the opera. Afternoon dress, modest. Possessor of a gaze (at performance), but male figure leaning over and looking at audience shows presence of male gaze ― whose gaze does the viewer identify with? Middle-class women's negotiations of appearance and respectability in public space. Woman engaged in watching performance.
Monet, Self-Portrait, 1886
Fundamental reevaluation of his career as an artist. 1880, 1881, 1889: decides not to exhibit at Impressionist exhibition in favor of submitting to the Salon. Moves away from Paris and permanently stops painting it. Never depicted resort towns he visited as resort towns ― stops depicting urban sociability/leisure in favor of dramatic sites. Instead of individual paintings, begins producing series of paintings (multiple representations of the same subject). Why? Hadn't achieved desired success; splintering of Impressionist group. Maybe because of neo-Impressionists, maybe criticism.
Monet, Monet's Garden at Argenteuil and House at Argenteuil, 1873
Gardens = ideal subject for Monet. Shows transformation of country land into leisure gardens
Caillebotte, Young Man at His Window, 1876; Interior, Woman at a Window, 1880
Gender divides ― different experiences of middle-class men and women
Seurat, Mouth of the Seine, Evening; The Shore at Bas Butin; La Maria, Honfleur, 1886
Gives us a sense of the continuity of a scene, vision as a process that can yield more information over time. Seascapes much less controversial than figure paintings: "Seurat's triumph is his landscapes and seascapes." Monet could paint 100 of the same spot and none would be the same ― no such thing as a complete representation.
Millet, The Gleaners, 1857
Gleaning = subsistence labor. Peasants return to unimportant political status ― signs of stability. Unity with each other (same posture) and with the land; comforting fiction about rural countryside
Monet, Gare Saint-Lazare series, 1877
Group of paintings of busiest train station in Paris. Interest in smoke, steam visually dissolving solid structures ― optical effects. Changes in his position in the station, comings and goings of train ― many variables
Renoir, Luncheon of the Boating Party, 1880-81
Like Moulin de la Galette, but much closer up; influence of his portrait work. Contour much more articulated, structural distinctness and clarity; Impressionism is reserved for the landscape.
Manet, The Balcony, 1868-9
Morisot posed for this shortly after their meeting; for the next 5 years, she and Manet participated in an interesting artistic dialogue, though she didn't want to take part in his scandalous reputation. Salongoer transformed into part of urban crowd; ambiguous relationship puzzled critics (similar source of scandal to Luncheon). Morisot didn't want to be portrayed in this strange, potentially improper relationship ― their artistic dialogue involved her resolving tensions in Manet's works.
Daguerre (?), Notre Dame from the Point des Tournelles, n.d.; Notre Dame, Paris, aerial view, n.d.
Most controversial aspect of Haussmannization. Pre-renovation: Île de la Cité run-down, congested. Almost all of private residences removed; transformed into an administrative center ― perceived to have destroyed the medieval core of the city. Created large parks throughout city ― new leisure activities for middle class. New sewers were much cleaner and advanced (popular).
Nadar, Portrait of Gustave Courbet, n.d.
Most prominent figure of French Realist movement. Paintings sympathetic to political left, departure from painting taught at Academie des Beaux-Arts. Example of importance of private patronage, single-artist retrospective
Seurat, Chahut, 1889-90
Name of a very sexual/provocative dance; acknowledges its sexual nature. Critique of this kind of performance? Almost crude, unappealing figures ― renders these performances alienating, off-putting. No lightheartedness of Degas' café-concerts ― repelling. Seurat: prolific artist with short career, died at 31. Series of dark, anonymized drawings of café-concerts
Portrait of Baron Haussmann, mid-1860s; Caricature of Baron Haussmann as "Demolition Artist"
Napoleon's full support gave Haussmann tons of power
Printemps department store ― architect: Sedille, 1881
New type of buildings for which new boulevards were a precondition. Relied on pedestrian traffic, concentration of passersby and tourists with disposable income. Ornamented = luxurious environment. Unprecedented grand architectural experience. Emile Zola: "cathedrals of modern business." Redefined shopping ― leisure activity, middle-class consumption
Engravings of Les Halles ― architect: Baltard, 1852-70
New types of buildings ― central marketplace, iron and glass pavilions
Renoir, Blond Bather, 1881; Seated Bather, 1883-4
No attempt to render her part of background, no fleeting effects. Still nudity = part of natural female state, no interiority/will.
Renoir, Self Portrait, 1876
Non-straightforward relationship to Impressionism except around 1867-77. Not interested in rendering visual experience ― interested in figure painting, depicting social middle class. More traditionalist, conservative, valued bourgeois couple as central unit of society. Often tried to adapt Impressionism to traditional figural paintings.
Paul Signac, The Milliners, 1885-86
Not a reference to Monet's style of Impressionism, but to Degas'. Painstaking paint application, large scale, studio-produced, figure-based; same stiffness/static quality to figures as Seurat. Not a fleeting instant, but like time standing still. Shared method of pointillism led critics to complain that neo-Impressionists suppressed individuality in their work ― pointillist mark = mechanical, disconcerting to many critics. (One of the most reproduced artists is Van Gogh, whose work truly emphasizes his individuality)
Monet, Cliffs at Etretat series, 1883-86
Not populated landscapes ― dramatic. As time goes on, variables changing in series paintings decrease. Just lighting changes, physical location changes, color changes; to represent internal or external changes
Morisot, Reading, 1873
Often depicted outdoor scenes, unlike Cassatt. Outdoor space provides solitude ― not a leisure landscape, but a different relationship between figure and landscape. Fence running along back subdivides space. In first Impressionist exhibition.
Degas, The Ballet of "Robert le Diable," 1871; Orchestra of the Opera, 1868-69
Often depicted partial/incomplete views. Interest in mechanics of performing music
Renoir, Pont-Neuf, 1872
Oldest bridge vs. flux of modernity, contemporaneous fashion. Unlike Monet, figures are distinct and delineated ― tendency as a figure painter. City = fundamentally idyllic place, no social tension or unease. Soft, caressing, sketchy brushwork but uncontroversial style.
Salon of 1868
One of the only places to exhibit one's work to large audience ― opportunity to make career (annual). Works selected & prizes handed out by jury. Growing resentment for juries/salons in 19th century
Morisot, Laundress Hanging Out her Wash, 1875
Oriented around working-class women ― not her own class. Landscape connected with activities performed in interior
Courbet, Burial at Ornans, 1849-50
Recognizable figures and cemetery. 20' wide, accused of deliberately making figures look ugly. Criticized for "painting the first thing he saw just as he saw it." Emphasizes brute facts of the funeral ― dead body, refusal to redeem subject, figures distracted from each other, lack of cohesion. Doesn't try to offer message about life or death; despiritualized, no moral gravity or elevating theme. His most heavily criticized painting.
Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863
Rejected by severe Salon of 1863 ― Napoleon gave an exhibition of rejected works with no jury (Salon des Refusées). Manet's largest painting yet, quotes Italian Renaissance art (Titian/Giorgione, Raimondi after Raphael) ― transforms into puzzling and controversial painting, bringing old masters to scandalous new life. Clothed and unclothed figures, unintelligible narrative. Urging engagement with the past from one's own perspective. Located artistic self between and among these other artists, no one/unified sense of artistic self. Painted with sharply outlined nude figure, no chiaroscuro.
Renoir, The Large Bathers, 1884-7
Rejection of formlessness of Impressionism. Focus on female nude after return from Italy. Idealized, vague, general, timeless figures. 3 nudes with 3 different views ― maximizing pleasure of female nude.
Courbet, The Painter's Studio: A Real Allegory..., 1855
Retrospective of "seven years of his artistic life" ― subjects he had worked on. Centerpiece of his personal exhibition. Right: "shareholders" (friends and patrons), left: "world of commonplace life" (society as a whole). Courbet himself in the center, back turned = independence, refusal to recognize French gov't as ultimate decider of art. Artistic past and future (female nude, landscape painting; pulls back from socially charged subjects after this). Seven years before was 1848 ― aligning himself with the revolution, "Real Allegory" = realist artist.
Manet, Nana, 1877
Return to theme of prostitutes, evidenced by male figure. Purely modern, purely Parisian. Manet showed this in window of a boutique ― prostitute's status as a commodity. Roundness/appealing fleshiness to her body, unlike Olympia ― embraces some of the conventions of the female figure. Elements (pillow, powder) amplify appeal of her body.
Degas, Sculpture: Little 14-Year-Old Dancer, 1881
Sculpted a lot, but this was the only one he ever published. Made from wax, later cast in bronze. Uses real bodice/skirt, slippers, real hair wig, real ribbon. Seen as inelegant, stiff, scrawny-legged ― not ideal of graceful dancer, though today many people see it as the exact opposite (the ideal).
Cassatt, Young Woman Reading, 1875; The Reader, 1877
Shift to depicting interiors, women engaged in activity. Shallow, compressed spaces rather than depth ― figures hold/occupy the space and are less anonymous. Intimates domestic/private world.
Manet, Olympia, 1863
Sign of Manet's notoriety and controversy which he never quite lived down after this. Depicts female nude in non-conventionally erotic fashion ― no rosy or richly colored skin. Undermining tradition of female nude as symbol of consumption, passive, sexualized objects. Quoting Titian's Venus of Urbino ― symbol of vice (black cat) instead of fidelity (lapdog). Abrupt transitions between light and dark, hand clamped on leg. Visitors mocked it, thought figure was common prostitute (name: pseudonym for prostitutes), too uniformly colored, confronting gaze suggesting sexual exchange, unfinished quality of painting.
Degas, Series of Female Nudes Bathing, 1884-86
Similar to each other, often seen from behind with backs turned. As if nobody is in the room with them ― semi-conscious gestures. Doesn't prioritize making female body an object of erotic appeal. Controversial when exhibited ― not as readable in terms of social class as his earlier works, "so unflattering as to be misogynistic." Bony/angular, distinct, busy with an activity, not inviting male gaze.
Manet, View of the Universal Exposition, 1867
Sketchy, notational style; figures engaged in act of scattered/unfocused looking. No visual center, as if urban city requires notational style. End of 1860s: leaves behind his love for quoting past artists, world of Velazquez etc. in favor of prime subjects of Impressionism. Influenced Impressionists as they influenced him, but never exhibited with them ― continued to submit to Salons.
Bazille, Bazille's Studio, Rue de la Condamine, 1870
Spring 1874-1886: 8 Impressionist independent group exhibitions, idea for which emerges as early as 1867 thanks to Bazille's letter to his parents (initial plan failed due to lack of funds). 1869: writes to his parents again ― "I will never again send anything to the jury," we will all do our own thing from now on. Depicts Monet, Renoir, Zola, Manet, himself. Killed in 1870 in Franco-Prussian War. Beginning of group exhibitions: no unified style, didn't give themselves a name.
Pissarro, Boulevard Montmartre, 1897
Took up city subjects very late in his career, opposite of Monet's career trajectory. Painting a city, but the garden rather than an urban scene
Gare de l'Est ― Duquesney, 1847-52
Train stations = key gateways into and out of the city. Construction: iron and glass ― new and innovative, letting in light for open-feeling layout, allowing travelers immediate view of city. New technology in building materials and construction methods. Architecture linking inside to outside
Renoir, The Swing, 1876
Trying to find meeting point between Impressionist stylistic characteristics (dappled light) and bourgeois social pastimes
Courbet, After Dinner at Ornans, 1848-9
Unusual because of its enormous scale, a scale reserved for conventionally significant (religious, literary) subjects. Very roughly painted with visible handling of paint, figures disconnected (no unifying narrative), not idealized or sentimentalized. First example of important features of his realism; geographic specificity to his own world
Degas, Curtain, 1880
Upper-class men who had subscriptions to the ballet
Photo, Avenue de l'Opera, late 19th c.
Valued visual effects of wide, flat, straight boulevards. Liked to anchor them with some monument (Opera). Seemingly endless roads; rules regulating building of apartments. Poor people forced to relocate ― often a purposeful side effect to suppress power of working class; Napoleon knew power of revolutions and wanted to undermine neighborhoods.
Manet, Berthe Morisot, 1872
Various barriers for women, though Morisot's family supported her artistic career. Women not admitted to École des Beaux-Arts until end of 18th century. Married late in life, husband also supported her art. Very successful at Salons in 1860s, but began exhibiting with Impressionists as their group grew (against Manet's advice). Participated in all but 1 of 8 Impressionist exhibitions; only woman out of 29 artists at the first one.
Manet, Olympia, 1863 vs. Cabanel, The Birth of Venus, 1863
Venus: nonconfrontational, looking away from viewer, almost blends into background, very pure female figure, completely passive. Olympia: tense, contrasting body with sharp lines, very light and very dark colors, confrontational gaze, assertive, angular rather than curvy and compact rather than elongated.
Monet, Grainstack/Haystack series, 1890-91
Very consistent, main variable: colors/palette
Renoir, The Loge, 1874; Degas, Dancer with a Bouquet, 1878
Very different figural representation; oblique view of dancer (Degas) vs. portrait-like view, highly decorated, passive object of male gaze (Renoir). Male figure looking at audience ― observing and being observed is part of the opera experience; naturalizes women as subject of male gaze.
Manet, Argenteuil, 1874
Very much like Impressionist artists. Differences: large scale (for Salon), posed figures (Manet as a studio artist), figure painting, attention to modern female fashion
Renoir, Dance in the City; Dance in the Country, 1883
Very much posed, almost life-sized. Returns and aligns with spontaneity and ease of dance, bourgeois (ideal) couples. Easy movements of dance + style of work. Much less sketchy with distinction, sharpness of work. Increasing interest in art of the past in 1880s
Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1881-82
Very puzzling to critics ― like other Manet paintings, it resists obvious/factual interpretation of its meaning. Depicts café-concert, barmaid with large mirror with a reflection that doesn't match what it's reflecting. Reflection = mirage; like Monet, frequently used mirror and water reflections. Still life on counter, no opened bottles. Painted version of the bar vs. real version. Male figure ― are the viewers the solicitors of the barmaid's services? Last great female figure by Manet
Monet, Study for Luncheon on the Grass, 1865
Wanted to align himself with Manet but also surpass him. 6' wide preparatory work ― Monet never finished the final, which was meant to be huge on the level of Courbet. Combining figure and landscape painting on a monumental scale, but didn't keep pursuing that aim. Working in some more conventional ways, but still unconventional with focus on transience of light, strictly visual aspects of landscape. No references to past art, completely comprehensible, resolved (all clothed) scene, just modern fashionable ladies. Eliminates ambiguities of and "tames" Manet's Luncheon
Degas, Ballet Seen from the Opera Box, 1885
Ways in which performance is a construct. Felt himself separate from Impressionists, disdained spontaneous work. Played up how much time he spent in the studio ― labor-intensive. Critics saw his independence, appreciated his conventional draftsman skills, but lamented his figures' "ugliness."
Monet, Boulevard des Capucines, 1873
Where Nadar's studio was. Brushstrokes seem applied in haste. Implies Monet had to find new method of painting to render urban experiences ― "painting at a glance." Works meant to look painted quickly, often time-consuming. Focus not on distinct forms or objects, but their indistinctness. No way to sketch this ― critics complained about "unfinished" effect, lack of focus on compositional structure. "Stream of life"
Monet, Women in the Garden, 1867
Worked directly out-of-doors, in front of the motif. Attention to effects of sunlight, female fashion ― means for Monet to declare his painting to be "of the here and now," the most up-to-date. Rejected by Salon several times; decided he'd have to develop his reputation by another means.
Morisot, Young Lady Powdering her Face, 1877; Manet, Nana, 1877
Morisot brings Manet's work into her own world, removing anonymity. Alludes to Manet, but tames it
Nadar, Arc de Triomphe, aerial, 1858; Arc de Triomphe, aerial
Another example of Haussmann causing boulevards to terminate in monuments to "anchor" them. Boulevards as social discipline so that military could move through streets
Morisot, Artist's Sister at a Window, 1869
Another reworking of Manet's problematic painting of her. Privacy, unavailability to gaze/onlookers
Cassatt, First Caress, 1891; Degas, Woman in the Tub, 1885
Cassatt depicts nude body of child rather than woman, highly tactile relationship ― fleshiness of child, physical intimacy. Drawing in pastel like Degas, but no impropriety.
Cassatt, Susan on the Balcony, 1880; Caillebotte, The Balcony, 1880
Cassatt: facing interior, away from street; domestic space. Caillebotte: orientation toward outdoor space.
Monet, Rouen Cathedral series, 1892-93
Cathedral drained of religious, touristic significance; emphasis on "crusted" surface of cathedral. Variables eliminated except light. A man-made subject, which therefore never changes besides atmospheric effects, weather
Morisot, In a Villa at the Seaside, 1874
Characteristic division of space, world of leisure seen beyond mother/child pairing
Caillebotte, The Balcony, 1880
City as something to be visually consumed ― modern form of seeing, sketchier style to match fleeting qualities of subject matter.
Marville, Rue Champlain, ~1865
City: "poor people encircling the rich" ― slums formed on outskirts. City limits doubled, population almost doubled in 20 years. 350,000 people displaced
Morisot, On the Balcony, 1871-72
Clearly defined social class, private space even within outside world. Sharing side with figures, unlike Manet where we are on the opposite side ― identifying with figures rather than objectifying them
Morisot, Mother and Sister of the Artist, 1869-70
Clearly indoor, private space; mother chaperones sister ― resolving/revising ambiguities of Manet. Morisot focused on representation of women, especially familiar ones, with unquestionable propriety/respectability and class. Work characterized as feminine, unlike Cassatt's. Lighter, feathery brushwork, "insubstantiality" of figures. This characterization had nothing to do with subject matter.
Cassatt, Lydia at the Tapestry Frame, 1881
Close perspective, compression of space. Her figures are never just posing ― always have a task. Substantial/sturdy figure whose physical proximity and taking up space in the picture creates presence.
Cassatt, Lydia Crocheting in the Garden, 1880; Young Woman Sewing, 1880-2
Closest Cassatt gets to painting landscapes. Absorption in private activity, task at hand; concentration
Cassatt, Modern Woman Mural, 1893
Commission for building. "Young Women Plucking the Fruits of Knowledge" painting lost, only photograph remains. Women pursuing fame, art, music. "Plucking" = Biblical reference (Eve). Men completely absent. Saw her depictions of women as giving voice to the experience/life of middle-class women.
Courbet, The Meeting or Bonjour Monsieur Courbet, 1854
Courbet, his key patron (Alfred Bruyass), and the patron's servant. Celebrates the relationship between the artist and his patron ― enabled Courbet to declare independence from French state.
Marville, Rue des Sept Voies, before 1862; Photo, Boulevard du Montparnasse, n.d.
Criticisms of Haussmannization: intense sense of displacement and defamiliarization, those displaced no longer felt themselves to be Parisian. Newly very attractive to tourists ― "city full of strangers." Intimacy of neighborhoods lost, now homogenous, cold, imposing. "The straight line has destroyed the beautiful and the intimate." By end of 1860s: calls for Haussmann's resignation; he was basically fired by 1870.
Millet, The Sower, 1850
Critics linked him with Courbet because of shared interest in representation of peasants, lower class, ordinary life. Potentially politically threatening figure, thick paint. Difference: he romanticizes and monumentalizes his figures, redeems difficulty of physical labor.
Seurat, Studies for the Grande Jatte, 1884-85
Deep space, conventionally structured, carefully arranged, clearly differentiated figures. This scale + pointillism = time-consuming, not based on a glimpse. Direct visual observation played a role but was not the final product. Neo-Impressionists were seen as united by a shared style and interest, so didn't receive the criticism for being "all over the place" that Impressionists did. However, critics often objected to the uniting of science with art (Seurat interested in scientific analysis of optical perception, thought pointillism was similar to how the eye perceived color).
Degas, Place de la Concorde, 1875
Develops focus on world around him, particular techniques. Depicting groups as disunified; typical: expanse of space, off-kilter point of view with center of picture unoccupied. Atypical of him: outdoors.
Degas, The Dance Lesson, 1879; The Dance Rehearsal, 1873
Didn't paint series like Monet, but stayed within a small range of subjects. Focused increasingly on dancers exercising, training, stretching rather than performances. Strained rather than effortless postures ― seen as unidealized. Interest in minute, fleeting, often spontaneous gestures. Sense of recession, illusion of 3D space ― rarely reduced to bright, flat patches of optical illusions like Monet. Very much a studio artist: "No work is less spontaneous than mine."
Degas, Café-Concert des Ambassadeurs, 1875-77
Different definition of Impressionism ― against complete rejection of Salons, focus on artificial light, indoor, nighttime, figure-based scenes
Renoir, Nude in Sunlight, 1876
Difficulty merging Impressionist style with solidity of human body ― unnerving, critics found it perplexing. Typically of Renoir, places female nude in nature ― nudity as "natural state" of women, to take pleasure looking at the female nude is part of the natural order of things. Gazing away from viewer, not engaged in activity, soft appealing lines and colors.
Manet, Music in the Tuileries, 1862
First of his "truly modern" paintings. Tuileries Palace: residence of Napoleon III. Bourgeois crowd ― modern outdoor leisure. Painted in seemingly rapid/sketchy manner (visible brushwork, little detail in some areas) = transience/fleeting quality of scene. Manet rarely painted self-portraits, but depicts himself at the edge of the painting as a spectator observing the crowd. Fashionable artifice
Pissarro, Hoarfrost, 1873
Focus on human labor ― different notion of Impressionist landscape painting.
Monet, Regatta at Argenteuil, 1872
Elements of scene and transformation into reflections on water. Visible, broken brushwork = transience.
Degas, Ballet Rehearsal on Stage, 1874
Example of off-kilter perspective, minute gestures of ballet
Morisot, Garden at Bougival, 1884
Exceptional ― pure landscape. Total breakdown of structure, discernible objects and spaces. Died shortly after her only exhibition of exclusively her own work. Soon-ish after her death, Renoir, Degas etc. organize huge exhibition of her work. Morisot and Cassatt found ways of defining Impressionism on their own terms and were both viewed as very innovative painters.
Morisot, Catching Butterflies, 1874; Manet, Game of Croquet, 1873
Exemplifies mutual influence on each other, Morisot's influence in directing Manet toward a more Impressionist style
Degas, Mary Cassatt Seated, Holding Cards, 1880-4
Extensive formal training at PAFA. Degas became friends with Cassatt after a Salon and invited her to participate in Impressionist exhibitions, which she did beginning in 1879. She focused on her own social and familial world, not on anonymous figures or fleeting effects of light.
Rue du Paon-Blanc, Paris, 1840; Rue Grenier sur l'Eau, 1840
Haussmannization: 20-year period of urban renewal in Paris. Physical changes (new configuration etc.) changed city's identity; became Europe's urban capital. Controversial process. Previously run-down, narrow streets (as pictured), lack of fresh air/sunlight due to density. Rapidly increasing population in 19th century
Morisot, Eugene Manet on the Isle of Wight, 1875; Eugene Manet and His Daughter at Bougival, 1881
Her husband in a sort of domestic sphere. Associating men with the decorative, childcare, tending to one's home
Cassatt, Woman with Pearl Necklace in a Loge, 1879
Her sister Lydia, dressed in a refined evening gown; clearly a respectable bourgeois woman. Audience members reflected in mirror. Major compositional feature: depicting from very close up ― gives figures presence and individuality, but suggests shared space and creates sympathy.
Renoir, The Grenouillère (x2), 1869
His most Impressionist; Monet also painted this outdoor bathing/restaurant business. Modern crowd at popular locale, modern middle-class sociability. Painted at least in part out-of-doors ― matching subject matter with process, enabled artist to capture fleeting aspects of scene. Merging figural representation and social interactions
Marville, Rue Fresnel de l'Impasse de Versailles, 1865-69
His photography was like a sign of impending demise for the depicted street. Perspective: one building blocking the end of the road ― emphasizes difficulty of navigation, showcases dirt on roads, extremely narrow streets. Slightly longer exposure times didn't capture moving figures ― no transient elements to make neighborhoods already dead
Degas, Young Spartans Exercising, 1860
History painting, but unlike traditional history paintings, does not depict unique/important event or distinct, idealized figures. Physical activity involving repetition
Cassatt, etching series: Young Woman Trying on a Dress, etc., 1890-91
Huge exhibition of Japanese woodprints at the time, which Cassatt loved. Pushed her to produce a series of similar prints depicting the daily lives of women ― an exclusively female world. Color applied in flat planes, following Japanese style. Unquestionably middle-class women, overwhelmingly private settings. Depicting the partially nude female figure, but discreetly, with barely indicated bodies/breasts and no suggestion of voyeurism.
Morisot, Eugene and His Daughter in the Garden, 1883
Husband in an artist's smock, ensconced in garden setting and raising his child ― they're occupying their own private world
Monet, The Grenouillère, 1869; Renoir, The Grenouillère, 1869
Importance of working outdoors, painting sur-le-motif. Renoir: attention to crowd of figures, sociability, soft paint handling; Monet: crisp brushwork. Both: leisure landscapes.
Renoir, Portrait of Claude Monet, 1875
Late 1870s-mid 1880s, Monet makes fundamental changes in his business and artistic practices. Born in Normandy, moves to Paris where he makes friends with future Impressionists. First ambitious attempts as an artist were figure-based
Degas, The Bellelli Family, 1860-62
Lending psychological complexity to/conveying tension within groups ― marks skills in attending to subjects' postures. Tendency to depict groups as autonomous.
Monet, Impression: Sunrise, 1873
Industrial landscape, shown in 1st exhibition. Because of this, group began to be called Impressionists ― capturing their immediate visual impressions of a scene, transient/fleeting elements (smoke, light, reflection, purely visual/intangible phenomena). 1877 (3rd exhibition) onwards: started to call themselves Impressionists. Question of how Impressionism should be defined remained with minimal consensus
Pissarro, Wash-House, Bougival, 1872
Industrial, working-class/peasant landscapes; less picturesque landscapes than Monet.
Degas, At the Milliner's (4 images), 1882
Interest in movements and language of body; unconventional viewing angles, attention to how bodies act. Faces often hidden, attracting focus to other areas. Millinery ― his interest in clothing, artifices of fashion. Translating nature (flowers) into world of artifice
Morisot, The Cradle, 1872
Intimacy, but with a degree of separation; figures take up less of composition
Renoir, Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, 1876
Large work ― everyday sociability on a more ambitious scale. Trying to extend range of Impressionism to cover large-scale compositions, social order of male/female couples (main social and compositional unit), fluid and easy social relations. Studies done sur-le-motif but final produced in studio; direct observation central to Impressionism at the time. No subtext.
Monet, Water Lilies, 1905
Last series, which he focuses on for the rest of his life
Pissarro, Corner of Hermitage, Pontoise, 1874; Factory near Pontoise, 1873
Links with Courbet
Fantin-Latour, Studio in the Batignolles, 1870
Manet as head of new school of painting. Depicts Zola, Renoir, Bazille, Monet. Testament to Manet as father figure for new artists.
Morisot, Psyche, 1876; Manet, Before the Mirror, 1876
Manet only depicting his figure's back invites speculation and scandal ― no information about setting. Morisot: less voluptuous, clearly middle-class interior, no reputation for painting prostitutes. Exemplifies "feminine" (light, delicate) style of painting that critics referenced re: her
Manet, The Absinthe Drinker, 1859; Velazquez, Aesop, ~1640
Manet rejected by salon for unconventionality. Very similar ― Manet's early work directly engages with past artists/works. Interest in marginal/vagabond type, opposite of Courbet's specificity and familiarity. Heavy in subtext.
Manet, The Old Musician, 1862; Velazquez, The Drinkers, ~1629
Manet: disconnected frieze of figures. Similar again ― horizontal, corner leaves detail. Manet quoting himself as well as Velazquez ― urban types, wanderers. Both quoting and updating artists of the past, dialogue between past and present.
Georges Seurat, A Sunday on the Grande Jatte ― 1884, 1884-86
Manifesto painting of the neo-Impressionists, who situated themselves both within and against Impressionists; vision is less individualistic, less spontaneous. Seurat's signature work, subject matter along lines of Monet (Parisian leisure) but on radically larger scale (rejection of portable Impressionist canvases). Very much produced in studio, complex compositional structure with ~50 clearly differentiated, static figures. Pointillist ― attempting to systematize use of color, use science to create art; VERY time-consuming.
Charles Marville, Rue Glatigny, 1865
Marville: hired by French government to document "before, during, and after." Absence of sidewalk (no place for pedestrians), no proper sewage system. Haussmannization prompted by push for renewal after Revolution of 1848, Napoleon III's desire to garner popular support, establish Paris as modern capital of the world/his empire. Transformation of Paris into one network
Monet, Studio Boat, 1874
Mobile studio ― indicates importance of waterscapes and painting sur-le-motif to Monet. Trying to minimize gap between seeing and depicting
Bertall, Caricature of Burial at Ornans, 1851
Mocks lack of hierarchy/compositional structure of figures in Courbet's painting. "Burial" was a democratic painting ― no particular class elevated, everyone treated the same. Courbet simplifies non-central portions of the painting, arrangement of figures ― thick smears of black paint; the physical product of Courbet's labor. "It is a cold image of nothingness"
Caillebotte, Paris Street: Rainy Day, 1877
Modern city, middle-class leisure activities ― one of his most common scenes. New, Haussmannized environment = new boulevards, cobblestones, anonymity and standardization; spatial disorientation. Anonymous and isolated figures align with these tendencies, sterile quality to streets. Embracing the here and now. Unlike most Impressionists, Caillebotte produced preparatory works for meticulously rendered final paintings; illusionism, 3D space. Stands apart from procedural tendencies of many Impressionists.
Degas, Café-Concert of the Ambassadeurs; Café-Concert, 1876-77
Modern experience of spectatorship
Cassatt, Mother About to Wash Her Sleepy Child, 1880; Mother and Child, 1890
Modern middle-class women attending to their children. Secular Madonna and child. Close vantage point. Physical contact/bodily relationship interestingly rendered ― tactile relationships. Not considered feminine or sweet/sentimental subjects at the time. Cassatt never married or had children ― no maternal yearning. Tender, personal relationship, weightiness of mother on child's lap filling pictorial space.
Degas, The Star, 1878
More rare depiction of performance, but with access to out-of-the-ordinary spaces; fragmented view
Monet, Terrace at Sainte-Adresse, 1867
Painted in front of aunt's window. Proposing notion that looking at painting is itself a leisure activity.
Courbet, The Stonebreakers, 1849
Painting = material object, product of labor. Bottom of socioeconomic ladder; story: saw them and invited them to come to his studio ("inviting the outside world in"). Emphasizes their poverty ― no easy appeal to sentiment through pained expressions, not posed or artificial, instead emphasizes worn-out clothes and roughness of landscape. Rough material reality, stiff posture, tiny sliver of sky. Life-size, foreground figures confront viewer
Caillebotte, Europe Bridge, 1876
Paris as a class-divided city with fixed structures. Caillebotte's city is fixed, stoic. Careful finish to bridge, clothing; spatial recession. Others felt his work wasn't illusionistic.
Pissarro, Apple-Picking, 1886; Apple Picking at Éragny-sur-Epte, 1888
Particularly devoted to subject of rural (agricultural) labor. In these paintings, speckled surface. Neo-Impressionists' subject matter varied widely, but they were still seen as homogenous due to interest in distancing themselves from "spontaneous" painting. Exhibited in private galleries, independent exhibitions: Society of Independent Artists ― exhibition policy: any artist who paid a small fee could participate ("no juries, no medals").
Millet, The Angelus, 1857-58
Peasants bent in prayer ― idealized, adhering to traditional customs. Countryside of France as timeless place. Like the opposite of Burial at Ornans
Degas, The Interior, 1868
Perplexing: hints of a narrative, but no clear relationship between figures/no legibility. Looking at/being looked at dynamic replacing narrative.
Renoir, The Promenade, 1870
Persistent interest in fashionable middle-class couples. Short brushstrokes to depict human figure. Romantic, sentimental, pleasure/ease. Analogy between WHAT he paints and HOW he paints.
Pissarro, Garden at Pontoise, 1879
Place of labor and cultivation. Rustic/rural, in contrast to Monet's gardens
Pissarro, View of the Hermitage, Jallais Hills, Pontoise, 1867
Pontoise: not middle class, not suburban, not leisure-focused; spent a lot of time painting here. Not seen as a suburb ― provincial. Countryside as it's lived in and worked in, not as it's viewed. Different definition of landscape painting
Manet, Emile Zola, 1868
Positioned himself as supplanting/inheriting Courbet's role as the controversial modern French painter. Showed his own exhibition, didn't have a painting that summed up all the others. Zola: key novelist of 19th century France. Wrote to accompany Manet's exhibition of 1867 ― introductory essay to slim catalog of paintings, but Manet rejected it as the introduction; denies importance of Spanish art and art of the past to Manet. Painting informs Manet's view of his own work and of Zola, aligns himself with Zola's essay, but shows pictures of Olympia, Goya print of Velazquez's drinkers ― directly acknowledges influence of Spanish painters. Includes Japanese scroll, showing Japanese influence on his work.
Diagram of Haussmann's Boulevards
Primary concern: improving circulation throughout the city. Criticized for demolishing livelihoods of people who had lived where the new roads went ― carelessly cut through neighborhoods. Installed new street furniture, amenities, gas lamps, enabling promenading.
Seurat, Entry to the Port of Honfleur; Tip of the Jetty of Honfleur; Lighthouse and Mariners' Home of Honfleur, 1886
Produced series of landscape paintings ― little attention to fleeting effects, sense of stasis, unvarying color palette. Critics emphasized their stillness. More durational; series shows us different aspects of larger site, different points of view of same subjects. Really walking around and painting scene ― series gives us 3D, holistic representation. The longer we study something, the more we understand it. Overcomes limitations of just one canvas.
Renoir, Sleeping Girl/Girl with Cat, 1880
Provocative but modest disarray, sleep/cat = unconscious state, little psychological presence, uncomplicated. Style becomes more and more pleasing to Salon audiences.
Degas, Self-Portrait, 1862; Self-Portrait, 1895
Pushed and pulled against other Impressionists' tendencies/habits. Born in Paris, close ties to New Orleans (mother born here, visited ~1872 for 4 months and worked a lot here). Formal artistic training, studied in Italy; notable skills as draftsman (counterpoint to Impressionists who critics said "lacked artistic skill"). Unlike Pissarro, primarily figural artist and thought of as a purely figural artist. Not as interested in gaining public attention by exhibiting; no trouble getting works accepted to Salons.
Degas, Women in Front of a Café, Evening, 1877
Readable as working-class women, probably prostitutes. Boundaries blurred between inside and out
Gustave Courbet, Self Portrait: Man with a Leather Belt, 1845-6; Self Portrait: The Desperate Man, 1843
Realism manifests in familiarity with surroundings, subject matter. Beginnings of his career ― interest in depicting himself in different guises/states of mind (evokes Romantic origins). 1848: turns away from self-portraits & toward large-scale paintings of ordinary people doing ordinary things. February 1848 uprising of working class inspires him
Seurat, Circus Sideshow, 1887-88
Striking departure from light-hearted scenes of pleasure and leisure. Extreme anonymity of crowd, otherworldly appearance of performers.
Morisot, View of Paris from the Trocadero, 1872
Subdivision helps situate relationship of figures, social scene organized around figures who know one another.
Degas, Dancer with Bouquet, 1877
Subject of ballet exemplifies many of his interests ― middle- and upper-class social and artistic event. One of his first ballet paintings. He was often as taken with rehearsals as actual performances
Monet, On the Bank of the Seine, Bennecourt, 1868
Suburban landscapes; Monet known for these in 1870s. Reflection on water ― like painting, translates 3D world into 2D ("picture within a picture")
Monet, Basin of Argenteuil, 1872
Suburbs around Paris: tremendous amount of development. Train travel enabled Parisians to take their leisure in the suburbs ― bathhouses, cafés etc. popped up. Argenteuil had a thriving leisure industry with boating, sailing, promenading. Monet does not depict nature and industry as opposites; never depicts labor.
Renoir, Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, 1876
Tend to focus on middle-class activities, social structures; traditional, conservative. Fleeting optical aspects of scene. Most committed of Impressionists to the type of painting that could be shown at a Salon ― attenuated to importance of finding patrons
Morisot, Hide and Seek, 1873
Tendency not to depict pure landscape. Intimate vantage point.
Monet, Railroad Bridge at Argenteuil, 1874
Testament to what enabled Monet to paint what and where he did ― trains = marvel of modern transportation. At the time, didn't set up an opposition between city and country; bridge ≠ intrusion into natural paradise. New notion since artists painted nature as unchanging, timeless
Renoir, Margot Berard; Therese Berard, 1879
Wealthy family. Patrons were important to his career and began to shape his practice
Morisot, Wet Nurse, 1880
Wet nurse to her own baby daughter ― version of Degas' depictions of working-class women, but in Morisot's own world. Pushing Impressionist brushwork to its extreme
