Art History Survey 2 - Final Exam
Jaques-Louis David, Death of Marat. (1793) - Neoclassicism
- A radical journalist, Marat lived simply among the packing cases that he used as furniture, writing pamphlets urging the abolition of aristocratic privilege -suffered from a painful skin ailment, he would often write while sitting in a medicinal bath -Charlotte Corday, a supporter of an opposition party, held Marat partly responsible for the 1792 riots in which hundreds of political prisoners judged sympathetic to the king were killed, and in retribution she stabbed Marat as he sat in his bath -David avoids the potential for sensationalism in the subject by portraying not the violent event but its tragic aftermath—the dead Marat slumped in his bathtub, his right hand still holding a quill pen, while his left hand grasps the letter that Corday used to gain access to his home -The simple wooden block beside the bath, which Marat used as a desk, bears a dedicatory inscription with the names of both Marat and the painter—"to Marat, David." It almost serves as the martyr's tombstone -The background is blank, adding to the quiet mood and timeless feeling of the picture, The color of Marat's pale body coordinates with the bloodstained sheets on which he lies, creating a compact shape that is framed by the dark background and green blanket draped over the bathtub -Marat's pose, which echoes Michelangelo's Vatican Pietà, implies that, like Christ, Marat was a martyr for the people -bathroom is idealized for the revolution propaganda and is painted simply when in reality Marat lived in luxury and his bathroom would have been much more elegant
J.M.W. Turner, The Slave Ship. (1840) - Romanticism
- A statement against slavery and the slave trade - Only covered the cost of death in the event of the loss of a slave (insurance) - The ship captain dumped slaves overboard if they were sick, or rebelled in order to collect money from the insurance - There is a hand, leg, chains, and fish, and human bodies being thrown overboard in chains so they can drown - A scene of horror - Typical turner sunset, lost in the thick sensuality of the paint- Bottom of right hand corner, a foot, leg, shackle and chains, not a sea scape, not about a sunset, not about light on the water anymore - Image of a slave ship in the distance, and a typhoon has come on, captain decided to throw the slaves overboard - Swirl of waves and colors, mixture of the beauty of nature, the power of nature, horrific human act of slavery - Sense of divine retribution, the storm coming for the slave ship - Total indifference of nature, storm to overcome slave ship also there to drown slaves in the water - Idea that human beings could do that to each other for the sake of money is the kernel of this hideous act that the captain engages in - White, blues, purples, greys on the left corner -English Romantic
Theodore Gericault, Raft of the Medusa. (1818-1819) - Romanticism
- In 1816, this French ship bound for Senegal ran aground close to its destination --Its captain, an incompetent aristocrat commissioned by the newly restored monarchy of Louis XVIII, reserved all six lifeboats for himself, his officers, and several government representatives -The remaining 152 passengers were set adrift on a makeshift raft. When those on the raft were rescued 13 days later, just 15 had survived, some only by eating human flesh -Since the captain had been a political appointee, the press used the horrific story to indict the monarchy for this and other atrocities in Frenchruled Senegal -The moment in the story that Géricault chose to depict is one fraught with emotion, as the survivors on the raft experience both the fear that the distant ship might pass them by and the hope that they will be rescued -Géricault's monumental The Raft of the Medusa fits the definition of a history painting in that it is a large (16 by 23 feet), multi-figured composition that represents an event in history -The hero of this painting is also an unusual choice for a history painting; he is not an emperor or a king, nor even an intellectual, but Jean Charles, a black man from French Senegal who showed endurance and emotional fortitude in the face of extreme danger -Géricault's painting is arranged in a pyramid of bodies -The diagonal axis that begins in the lower left extends upward to the waving figure of Jean Charles; a complementary diagonal beginning with the dead man in the lower right extends through the mast and billowing sail, directing our attention to a huge wave -The figures are emotionally suspended between hope of salvation and fear of imminent death. Significantly, the "hopeful" diagonal in Géricault's painting terminates in the vigorous figure of Jean Charles -By placing him at the top of the pyramid of survivors and giving him the power to save his comrades by signaling to the rescue ship, Géricault suggests metaphorically that freedom is often dependent on the most oppressed members of society
Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child. (1890) - Impressionism
-Cassatt focused on the everyday life of bourgeois women because it is what she knows and could find suitable sitters for. -The figures in this painting are sensitive, private, and inaccessible to the viewer thus giving a voyeuristic quality to the work. -The work combats stereotypes, recasting how an exhibition viewer sees women. -These are spaces a male artist cannot access, especially not in the same way. -It echoes the Virgin and child, thus elevating motherhood and the connection between mother and child to the holy/sacred level. -This is an image of bourgeois motherhood, relates to "The good mother portrait" -Toward the edges of her work, the brush strokes get more visible and her work gets more painterly; near faces there is more attention, softness
Casper David Friedrich, Abbey in an Oak Forest. (1809) - Romanticism
- Leading German Romantic painter. - Not all beauty, mean to evoke feelings and fore us to meditate on meaning of life and our position in the world and universe and meant to invoke very powerful feelings. - Napoleon took over German lands and stuff and that awoke the people to nationalist ideas. - Winter, Trees bare and sky pale. - Snow all over ground Cleary a graveyard. Crosses. People carrying a coffin - funeral procession going to bury someone. Really picturesque ruin. - Abbey church Gothic Romantic loved everything medieval, meant to recall medieval past with ruined Gothic image with lancet window. - So somber, reminds us of death and the passage of time. Everything dies and ends. Sun setting. Rally white and hazy sky. Mean to invoke transcendent feelings - One of a pair with a painting called Monk by the Sea. Used landscape to represent issues of human life and of the divine. Sense of passage of time and transience of human existence. It is the dread of winter. Sunset. Architecture left. - Lancet window in disrepair no glass left. - Futility of human effort and experience left.- Monks going trough burial. - Land is falling into disrepair too not groomed and kept up. - Oak trees might have represented pre-Christian traditions. - Crescent moon and sky permanent and moves beyond growth and death of trees and architecture of man's effort even beyond seasons of the earth. - Sense of time and of God's space. - Optimism is only the moon will regenerate possibility for rebirth. Spring will come. So distant and bleak now but sense of renewal. Suggestion of resurrection. - Crosses path of ruins of abbey
Jacues Louis David, Oath of the Horatii. (1784-1785) - Neoclassicism)
- painting of Roman Heroes (life size or over life size) - took 3 years to complete - called grand machines - legendary characters - moralistic tale of honor - Horatii - triplets- were going to fight against another pair of triplets - 3 are swearing an oath to defend Rome- raising there hands to their swords, help by their father - only one brother comes back - women, families of the 3 men - sister of the Horatii (Camilla) is engaged to the other triplets and Sabina (sister or other triplets) is married to a Horatii - style from relief sculpture - 3 empty arch ways 3d space - crisp lines, slid like a sculpture - point is the top of a pentagon, pyramid (focal point) - men rigid-showing they are strong and have no emotions, women curvy, oval-showing they are emotional and unstable - statement, willingness to die for Rome, contrasted by the women more concerned about family - classical sculpture - roman relief - he was appointed first propaganda minister of the French republic- people rising up, overthrowing the king -Originally a royal commission, it quickly and ironically became an emblem of the 1789 French Revolution, since its message of patriotism and sacrifice for the greater good effectively captured the mood of the leaders of the new French Republic
Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing (1767) - Rococo
- requested by Louie 15th - he requested to be shown looking at her legs and more - delicate atmosphere - sexy pointed toe, delicate slipper flying off to represent a carelessness in the painting - mistress on the swing, she is aware the man is there - bishop- man of the church, he is unaware of what is happening. there as a chaperone - idea of sexuality - Statue of Cupid- shushing to keep the act a secret - Putti- symbols of Venus - Dolphin- symbol of Venus - pastel colors - rich people doing rich people things -something flirty and sensual about it that is seemingly an innocent activity
Jean-Francois Millet, Man with a Hoe. (1860-1862) - Realism
-Helplessness & Despair -Pessimism, Fatalism, and Humanitarian -Break the middle-class view that peasants have happy healthy tasks. -Use hoe as crutch -Dragging irrigation -Stiffness of pose -"Cry of Earth" -Millet: coming from nature and human body -Inexorable cycle of physical labor -Hollowed eyes and gaping mouth gasping for air -Isolation & Solitude
John Henry Fuseli, The Nightmare. (1781) - Romanticism
-Back in London, Fuseli established himself as a history painter, but he specialized in dramatic subjects drawn from Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton -His interest in the dark recesses of the human mind led him to paint supernatural and irrational subjects -he depicts a sleeping woman sprawled across a divan with her head thrown back, oppressed by a gruesome incubus (or mara, an evil spirit) crouching on her pelvis in an erotic dream -According to legend, the incubus was believed to feed by stealing women and having sex with them -In the background a horse with wild, phosphorescent eyes thrusts its head into the room through a curtain -The image communicates fear of the unknown and unknowable, and sexuality without restraint. The painting was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1782, and although not well received by Fuseli's peers, it struck a chord with the public. He painted at least four versions of this subject, and prints of it had a wide circulation
Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal on Stage. (1874) - Impressionism
-Dominant structural element is a spiral staircase on the left -Placement of figures is asymmetrical -Row of dancers on the left is partly blocked by the staircase and the group on the right is cut out of the picture frame -Depth is created by slanting floorboards, the diagonal line of dancers and the receding steps -Sunlight floods the studio giving a transparent, luminous quality to the pale tints of color in the white tutus -Bodies are vaguely suggested. The only fully detailed figures are the seated dancer, wrapped in her blue green shawl, and the old woman helping to dress the dancers -The ballerinas do not care -Two old men watching 14 year old girls prancing around.
Claude Lorrain, A Pastoral Landscape. (1648) - French Baroque
-He evokes the poetic essence of a countryside filled with echoes of antiquity -movement through the painting starting with the figures -idealized representation of pastoral life -natural world becomes a refuge from the chaos of urban life -figures are in leisure and not in actual work mode -invites the viewer to visualize themselves in the green pasture strolling through the field -light background is in contrast with the dark trees in the foreground
Francisco Goya, Third of May. (1808) - Romanticism
-In 1808, Napoleon launched a campaign to conquer Spain; he would eventually place his brother, Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), on the Spanish throne -At first many Spanish citizens, Goya included, welcomed the French, who brought political reform, including a new, more liberal constitution. But on May 2, 1808, a rumor spread through Madrid that the French planned to kill the royal family -The populace rose up against the French, and a day of bloody street fighting ensued, followed by mass arrests -Hundreds were herded into a convent and then executed by a French firing squad before dawn on May 3 -In Goya's impassioned memorial to that slaughter, the violent gestures of the defenseless rebels and the mechanical efficiency of the tight row of executioners in the firing squad create a nightmarish tableau -A spotlighted victim in a brilliant white shirt confronts his faceless killers with outstretched arms recalling the crucified Christ, an image of searing pathos -This painting is not a cool, didactic representation of civic sacrifice like David's Neoclassical Oath of the Horatii. It is an image of blind terror and desperate fear, the essence of Romanticism—the sensational current event, the loose brushwork, the lifelike poses, the unbalanced composition, and the dramatic lighting -There is no moral here, only hopeless rage. When asked why he painted such a brutal scene, Goya responded: "To warn men never to do it again."
Angelica Kauffmann, Cornelia Pointing to her Children as her Treasures. (1785) - Neoclassicism
-The scene in the painting took place in the second century bc during the republican era of Rome -A woman visitor shows Cornelia her jewels and then asks to see those of her hostess -Cornelia shows off her daughter and two sons, saying: "These are my most precious jewels." -Cornelia exemplifies the "good mother," a popular theme among some later eighteenth-century patrons who preferred Classical subjects that taught metaphorical lessons of civic and moral virtue -The value of Cornelia's maternal dedication is emphasized by the fact that her sons, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, grew up to be political reformers -composition is severe and Classical, but she softens the image with warm, subdued lighting and the tranquil grace of her figures
Gustave Courbet, The Stone Breakers. (1849) - Realism
-Narrative: A young boy and an old man crushing rock to produce the gravel used for roadbeds. -stone breakers represent disenfranchised peasants on whose backs modern life was being built upon -younger one strains to lift large basket of rocks while older companion seems broken by lowly work -young boy=grim figure -older male=increasingly obsolete rural past- both are faceless, left to the reader's imagination -low status: manual labor, tattered, dirty clothing -inherited social class: father and son -realism without glory -warm color palette -can visualize and feel the heat of the day
Berthe Morisot, Summer's Day. (1879) - Impressionism
-depiction of familiar women's lives - increasingly fluid and painterly style, flattened picture plane, made brushstrokes more prominent - two elegant young ladies enjoying outing on lake of fashionable Bois du Boulogne - shown in 5th Impressionist exhibition - emphasis on formal features, brushstrokes and colors as much its subject as figures themselves - tranquil and peaceful scene, public space safe for women and children - paint lay down with texture and light - most radical in dissolving form into light and color, trying to convey moment in time, sense artist's presence, brushstrokes as flecks of light - very sketchy and spontaneous
Antonio Canova, Pauline Borghese Bonaparte as Venus. (1804-1808) - Neoclassicism
-Paolina is shown reclining on a pillowed couch in a pose of studied grace, both concentrated and relaxed -the nude body is extraordinarily lifelike, while Canova's treatment of the surface of the marble captures the soft texture of skin -The tactile quality of the piece is bought out particularly in the way the sitter's own hands are occupied, the fingers of her right connecting ever so lightly with the nape of her neck, offer a gesture charged with seductive promise -The apple she holds in her left hand, her fingers wrapped around it suggestive of erotic touch, identifies her as Venus Victorious, the goddess awarded the Golden Apple of Discord in perhaps the first beauty competition in the history of Western culture -her husband did not like this sculpture of her and believed it made her look less like a lady -Pauline loved it and even displayed the sculpture in a main room of her home for everyone to see when they had guests
Nicolas Poussin, Landscape with St. John on Patmos. (1640) - French Baroque
-St. John is exiled and receives the vision of revelation -Scrolls represent revelation -"ideal landscape" sky is clear, serene space, well balanced -trees and ruins balance the painting out, creates a stable composition -eagle is john's symbol -architecture based on classical sources -each piece of architecture show style most complete face -There are 3 portions -Foreground, middle ground, background (visual order) -Christianity arose out of the classical world, its the basis for Christian thought
Jean-Antoine Houdon, George Washington. (1788-1792) - Neoclassicism
-The original statue is carved from Carrara marble -In his right hand is a cane, his left arm rests on a fasces on which is slung his cape and sword, and at the back is a plow. He is shown wearing his military uniform, as Washington wished to be depicted in contemporary attire, rather than that of antiquity popular in Neo-classical sculpture -With its selection of objects both civilian (the plow and cane) and military (the fasces, sword and uniform), the statue has been interpreted as invoking the imagery and ideal of an Ancient Roman dictator, Cincinnatus, with whom Washington has been compared in his decision to retire from public life following the Revolutionary War -At the time of its commission, Washington had not yet served in the Constitutional Convention, and would not become President of the United States until 1789 -In 1784, the Virginia General Assembly commissioned a statue of George Washington "to be of the finest marble and the best workmanship," necessitating a European craftsman -Houdon agreed to travel to the United States to work directly from Washington -Houdon stayed at Washington's plantation Mount Vernon, taking detailed measurements of Washington's arms, legs, hands and chest and making a life mask of his face
Francois Boucher, Girl Reclining: Louise O'Murphy. (1751) - Rococo
-The teenage Louise O'Murphy, who would soon be one of the mistresses of Louis XV, appears provocatively pink and completely naked, sprawled across a day bed on her stomach, looking out of the painting and completely unaware of our presence -Her satiny clothing is crushed beneath her, and her spread legs sink into a pillow; braids and a blue ribbon decorate her hair, while a fallen pink rose is highlighted on the floor. -Louise's plump buttocks are displayed at the very center of the painting, leaving little doubt about the painting's subject -the overtly sensual woman shown here is clearly human, a known contemporary personality, and presented to us in a very real Rococo room -painted for the purpose of attaining Louis XVs attention and it worked painting is sensual not just sexually, but also in the senses. The soft silks are almost touchable and can be felt, the light is soft and diffuses through the space
Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People. (1830) - Romanticism
-a painting that encapsulated the history of France after the fall of Napoleon. When Napoleon was defeated in 1815, the victorious neighboring nations reimposed the French monarchy under Louis XVIII -The king's power was limited by a constitution and a parliament, but the government became more conservative as years passed, undoing many revolutionary reforms -Louis's younger brother and successor, Charles X (ruled 1824-1830), reinstated press censorship, returned education to the control of the Catholic Church, and limited voting rights -These actions triggered a large-scale uprising in the streets of Paris -This period in French history is now referred to as the "July Monarchy." -They stumble forward through the smoke of battle, crossing a barricade of refuse and dead bodies. The towers of Notre-Dame loom through the smoke and haze of the background -Their leader, however, is an energetic, allegorical figure of Liberty, personified by a gigantic, muscular, half-naked woman charging across the barricade with the revolutionary flag in one hand and a bayoneted rifle in the other -Delacroix has placed a Classical allegorical figure within the battle itself, outfitted with a contemporary weapon and Phrygian cap—the ancient symbol for a freed slave that was worn by the insurgents -He presents the event as an emotionally charged moment just before the ultimate sacrifice, as the revolutionaries charge the barricades to near-certain death. This dramatic example of Romantic painting is full of passion, turmoil, and danger—part real and part dream
William Blake, Elohim (God) Creating Adam. (1795) - Romanticism
-combined paintings with poems -Top looks very simple to create human. Bottoms shows very hard and stressful for God -Shows that there is a snake around Adam, showing that man is already doomed. Adam will be imperfect and will sin -Compared to Michelangelo, creation of Man -He believed the Fall of Man took place not in the Garden of Eden, but at the time of creation shown here, when man was dragged from the spiritual realm and made material -Illustrates the book of Genesis -Blake uses the term Elohim Jehovah which occurs only once in the Bible (Psalms 50) to represent the consolidation of divine characteristics which was revealed through Jesus
Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Le Moulin de la Galette. (1876) - Impressionism
-depicts mixture of Parisian Upper, middle & working class. -works notable for their vibrant light and saturated color and focus on people in intimate compositions -situated within a courtyard showing a display of nature and light -Montmartre dance hall on sunny Sunday afternoon - highly sociable outdoor recreation space -form-filled surface: unable to dwell on any one form - real sense of the mingling crowd -gap in chairs: welcomes us into this modern utopia -principal model of the painting in blue and pink striped dress is Estelle (sister of Renoir's favorite model Jeanne) -young bohemian like Riviere (only depicted locals and regulars) -convey the vivacious and joyful atmosphere of the popular dance garden -green, blues, pinks and oranges - same intensity of color throughout makes foreground and background blend -variety of poses (sense of movement) and the easy/carefree socializing -painted in en plein air
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Large Odalisque. (1814) - Romanticism
-he was made famous by his paintings of male fantasies of female slaves and his portraits of aristocratic women -He painted numerous versions of the odalisque, an exoticized version of a female slave or harem concubine -the woman's calm gaze is leveled directly at her master, while she twists her reclined, naked body in a snakelike, concealing pose of calculated eroticism -The saturated, cool blues of the couch and the curtain at the right set off the effect of her cool, pale skin and blue eyes, while the tight angularity of the crumpled sheets accentuates the sensual contours of her body -The exotic details of her headdress and the brush of the peacock fan against her thigh only intensify her sensuality -Ingres's commitment to academic line and formal structure was grounded in his Neoclassical training, but his fluid, attenuated female nudes speak more strongly of the Romantic tradition
Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip. (1872) - Realism
-kids not smiling: kind of somber; resistant, want to go back to beginning of life -boys falling: losing childhood, going to girls -girls: represent getting married having kids -boys in semi circle: cyclical nature of life messed up army line, boys lost family in war -tenuous group: hope in nation's future struggle to hang together during war -playing a game: wartime over, game over now must be productive members of society
Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans. (1849) - Realism
-known leading the Realist movement in 19 century French painting. -Committed to paint for only what he could for frieze which the composition of alternating black and white. -He used the technique of Impasto, using the knife palette to paint, creating thick paint on the canvas. -Most of his works were rejected by the Salon, due to realism instead of Impressionist painting. -middle class funeral -similar to genre painting: everyday event with ordinary people -everyone is equal, peaceful, calm, no drama -carefully depicted as they are -not intended to romanticize, idealize, moralize -social documentary
Benjamin West, The Death of General Wolfe. (1770) - Neoclassicism
-neoclassic history painting depicting an idealized scene from the French and Indian War (aka Seven Years War) -Wolfe is modeled after European depictions of Jesus to emphasize moral significance of the work -only one person in the painting was actually there everyone else probably paid to be put in -the men around Wolfe represent the 12 apostles -this was a new type of history painting because it was a contemporary event and lacked allusions to classical/mythical world -don't tread on me snake appears as tattoo on Indian -Indian is in a thinker pose, an idealize classical body -French messenger waving white flag to surrender -at the St. Lawrence River
Claude Monet, Impression: Sunrise. (1872) - Impressionism
-originally called impression as derogatory term -fast, sketchy painting of how it appears to him in a pre-conceptual, optical perception: blurred effect -focus on the real colors of the world: complementary colors of blue and orange -An interesting observation about this painting is that although the sun seems to be much brighter than the rest of the scene, if viewed removing all color, the sun almost disappears. This supports Monet's mastery of depicting light effects on scenes which he painted. -The abbreviated, darker brushstrokes in the water, create motion, and ripples, while hints of orange and yellow appear as a reflection of the sunrise in the harbor water. -This accurate reproduction of Monet's impression, and resulting mood of atmospheric conditions dominate, and limit the importance of great detail. -Once called an abstract piece of unfinished work by critics, over one-hundred years later, Monet's work Impression, Sunrise is part of a historic art movement, and Monet helped to make a name for the Impressionistic artists as well -executed quickly, to capture the atmospheric or natural light moment.
Jean-Antoine Watteau, The Signboard of Gersaint. (1721) - Rococo
-painted for the art dealer Edmé-François Gersaint shows the interior of one of these shops—an art gallery filled with paintings from the Venetian and Netherlandish schools that Watteau admired -satins and silks of the women's gowns pay homage to artists such as Gerard ter Borch -visitors to the gallery are elegant ladies and gentlemen, at ease in these surroundings and apparently knowledgeable about painting; they create an atmosphere of aristocratic sophistication a woman in shimmering pink satin steps across the threshold, ignoring her companion's outstretched hand, to watch the two porters packing -porter carefully lowers into the wooden case a portrait of Louis XIV, which suggests the passage of time, for Louis had died six years earlier -the clock directly above the king's portrait, topped with an allegorical figure of Fame and sheltering a pair of lovers, is a memento mori, a reminder of mortality, suggesting that both love and fame are subject to the ravages of time. -mirrors and images of young women looking at their reflections had been familiar symbols of the fragility of human life since the Baroque period
Eduoard Manet, Olympia. (1863) - Impressionism
-references to Titian's Venus of Urbino -flattened canvas, no sense of space -direct gaze: makes viewer aware of own gaze -not idealized figure: more realistic and naturalistic -prostitute: makeup, flowers from client, very much on display, no shame -Her gaze is straight at you - as if a client is walking in the door behind you - it puts you in the scene. It was scandalous for women to stare at the viewer let alone a prostitute. -Compared to other delicate nudes that look into the distance. She is like a high class prostitute. -showed that women are only painted to be looked at by men and that they are objects to be possessed. In addition their purpose is to please men. All of which manet thought was wrong. -The women looks uncomfortable and uninviting. She is covering herself -cat symbolizes infidelity
Gustave Caillebotte, Paris Street, Rainy Day. (1877) - Impressionism
-signs of modern Paris: cabs, gaslights, umbrellas -every line is hard and well defined. -you can see all the way back. -He is an impressionist because he is part of the group. -Don't usually have any message. They are easy. -They tend to paint the wealthy people who buy their work. -lower class people are shown in the background. -The light post divides the work exactly in two -modern progressive conformity; new professional class, everyone looks the same -Gaslight; left is deep, right is flat -little emotion, cold like cobblestones and buildings
John Constable, The Hay Wain. (1821) - Romanticism
-the son of a successful miller, claimed that the quiet domestic landscape of his youth in southern England had made him a painter before he ever picked up a paintbrush -shows a quiet, slow-moving scene with the fresh color and sense of visual exactitude that persuade viewers that it must have been painted directly from observation -although Constable made numerous drawings and small-scale color studies for his paintings, the final works were carefully constructed images produced in the studio -The Hay Wain represents England as Constable imagined it had been for centuries—comfortable, rural, and idyllic. -Even the carefully rendered and meteorologically correct details of the sky seem natural. The painting is, however, deeply nostalgic, harking back to an agrarian past that was fast disappearing in industrializing England
Thomas Cole, The Oxbow. (1836) - Romanticism
-took sketches and then took them back to his studio -Hudson River curves around -show off transcendentalism, natural wonders -showed both views of manifest destiny -show change -people dwarfed by greater land -storm, forest broken tree -artist in the jungle painting => reinforces the idea of transcendentalism -show beauty of jungle yet it also can be tamed (see right side) -sunny, calm, picturesque -shows settlement, land plots, farms -tiny people in river=> even if we settle nature is still greater and we should respect it
Eduoard Manet, The Luncheon on the Grass. (1863) - Impressionism
-widely considered to be first piece/foundation of modernism -controversy: nudity of contemporary figures, abandonment of tradition -rejected by the salon: displayed in Salon of the Rejected -contrast to academic art: pokes fun at tradition, criticizes, hopes to change -influence: Titian's Pastoral Concert -artistic authority: abandons traditions of Renaissance such as fine blending and chiaroscuro; left part unfinished -The artwork depicts a naked woman among full clothes men. -The work explores painterly values over a believable narrative. One of his most controversial paintings, Manet most likely wanted to highlight the nudity of women in art. The men portrayed are "dandies" and well dressed.
Rosa Bonheur, Plowing in the Nivernais. (1849) - Realism
In France -unusual to focus on farm-life in art during this time -more realistic for life of low class -animal and human labor product -enhanced depiction of angle due to mail plowing in the back -made during time of many European revolutions -massive social upheavals, -she's saying the people of France who deserve respect are those who make things happen like farmers -expresses social hierarchy by putting focus on rural life aside of the center of culture
