Art through the 19th Century- Realism & Impressionism

Adolphe-William Bouguereau, Nymphs and Satyr, oil o/canvas, 1873

- While the Realists were shocking the public and challenging notions of what art should be, there were many French artists who catered to the popular taste of the masses. - The most acclaimed of these artists was the academic painter Adolphe-William Bouguereau. - Nymphs and Satyr is a prime example of Bouguereau's academic style that favored idealized mythological figures rendered with great naturalism and realistic detail. - However, although Bouguereau's traditional painting style may be described as "realistic," it is the antithesis of "Realism." - Why was Manet's Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe considered "immoral" and "dangerous" while Bouguereau's work was not?

Burial at Ornans, Courbet

- Painted in 1849, this large format painting measuring 10 x 22' depicts a funeral of an unknown individual in Ornans. - Ornans is the town where he grew up. - The townspeople are represented as humble, common folk with ruddy complexions and disinterested expressions. - The color palette is somber and subdued, the light even, the composition horizontal and orderly. - Uninterested in traditional illusionism, Courbet chose to apply his paint with broad strokes of thick pigment. - There is no trace of Neoclassical gravitas or Romantic histrionics (melodrama); rather the gestures and actions of the figures are without affectation. - The Academy and the Press didn't like this painting. - They could not imagine why anyone would paint this subject at all, let alone on a scale traditionally reserved for history paintings.

Le Moulin de la Galette, Renoir

- Pierre-Auguste Renoir is another beloved Impressionist painter. - While Monet was most interested in painting landscapes and architecture, Renior's favorite subject was the human form. - Many of his images have the point of view of the voyeur. - Renoir was an avid "people watcher" and his lively scenes of people enjoying the recreational offerings of modern Paris were very popular. - One such scene is his Le Moulin de la Galette painted in 1876. Renoir's characteristic loose, directional brushwork; dappled light effects; cropped compositions with strong diagonal axis; and casual arrangement of figures give the scene a spontaneous, lively effect. - It is as if the viewer has caught a glimpse, or "impression" of this pleasant moment as the figures and the light dance across the canvas.

Impression: Sunrise, Claude Monet

- The quintessential Impressionist artist Claude Monet painted Impression Sunrise in 1872. - Monet applied pigments to the canvas with thick visible brushstrokes that caused the surface of his works to shimmer. - He often painted the same subject from the same point of view at different times of the day so that he could capture the changing effects of light and atmosphere. - Monet was criticized for dissolving his forms into near abstraction. - Impression Sunrise is the work that earned the Impressionists their name after a critic said that the work was barely an "impression" of a sunrise and nothing more.

Women's Bath, Kiyonaga

- These prints led Degas and others to experiment with unusual visual angles and asymmetrical compositions unlike any exhibited previously in Western art.

Jean-Francois Millet

was a French painter and one of the founders of the Barbizon school in rural France. Millet is noted for his scenes of peasant farmers; he can be categorized as part of the naturalism and realism movements. "The Gleaners" - Millet was the son of a peasant farmer who began his career as an artist painting nudes. - However, after the 2nd French Revolution of 1848 he fell in with the Realists.

Le Dejeuner sur l'Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass)

- - - Edouard Manet, 1863, oil on canvas - Some say it is a modern update of Titian's Pastoral Symphony or Watteau's Return from Cythera. - It was rejected at the Salon and later exhibited at the Salon des Refuses after its rejection, where it caused an outrage. - The painting was called "immoral," "insulting," and in "poor style." - The un-idealized nude gazing directly at the viewer was considered extremely shocking. - Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe was even called a "danger" to public morality. - What made the work perhaps even more shocking was that the figures in the painting were portraits of contemporary Parisians. - The seated nude is Manet's favorite model Victorine Meurend, and the two gentlemen are his brother Eugene (the one with the cane) and his friend, the sculptor Ferdinand Leenhof. - The critics harshly labeled Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe as flat, ugly, and amateurish. - However, Manet employed traditional elements such as pyramidal composition, still life, and one-point perspective. - He combined these with more modern formal elements. - Although the landscape and background are broadly painted and in soft focus, the figures in the foreground are harshly lit and clearly articulated. - Thus, the two parts of the painting don't seem to fit together creating strong contrasts between the dark and highlighted areas which flattens the forms, giving them a hard-edge. - This relates to the sharp focus of documentary photography at the time. - Manet's broadly painted areas executed using his color patch technique caused the critics to say that his style had "no finish."

The Gleaners, Millet

- "Gleaning" is the collecting of the last bits of wheat after a harvest. - The job of a gleaner was considered menial backbreaking labor. - However, Millet's anonymous workers do not appear menial. - Nor are they idealized, merely elevated. - With the figures placed close to the picture plane, the shape of each figure echoing the shape of the wheat bails, the viewer is compelled to look, to pay attention, to appreciate the hard work they do, which is emphasized by their bent backs.

Third Class Carriage

- - Honore Daumier, 1862, Oil on canvas - Honore Daumier is one of the Realists' most compelling artists. - He was known for his graphic works as well as painting and much of his work was widely distributed in print form. - Like his Realist contemporaries, Daumier was interested in issues of class struggle. - His preferred subject matter focused on the social injustices and urban conditions faced by the Parisian lower classes and he was known for his satirical as well as shocking images of social criticism. - The Third-Class Carriage was painted by Daumier in 1862 and has become an iconic work. - The image depicts a group of poor individuals riding in the 3rd class of a railway car. - Sitting backwards, the figures are isolated from the rest of the riders. - Daumier renders the figures with very loose contours and the influence of his graphic work is evident. Both color and light are realized in somber tones.

Morning Bath, Degas

- - The Impressionist Edgar Degas began as a Realist follower of Courbet and was greatly inspired by his mentor, the Romantic Poussiniste Ingres. - As a result of this influence, Degas was very interested in line and was considered a master draftsman. - This interest in line lead him to focus closely on the elements of design. - Thus, Degas is often noted for his strong sense of design. - Although many of his images may appear spontaneous and casually arranged, Degas, like many traditional artists, carefully planned each of his compositions. - Degas was an artist who worked in a variety of media including: oil, pastel, and graphic prints. - The Morning Bath is a pastel done by the artist in 1886. - Like Renoir's Le Moulin de la Galette, Degas' composition has a voyeuristic quality, directional pigment marks, strong diagonals, and a cropped effect. - Degas and many of his Impressionist contemporaries such as Monet and Mary Cassatt collected and were inspired by Japanese woodblock prints known as Ukiyo-e prints. - Degas' painting was directly inspired by a Japanese print he owned entitled Women's Bath by that artist Torii Kiyonaga.

ukiyo-e prints

- A Japanese genre style paintings on woodblock prints with the theme of the "floating world" (a culture of indulgence and pleasure, leisure and various excesses) that influenced 19th Century Western art once the trade between Europe and the Orient opened up.

Impressionism

- A late 19th Century art movement that sought to capture a fleeting moment by conveying the illusiveness and impermanence of images and conditions. - was the first major artistic revolution in the West since the Renaissance. - The Industrial Revolution and advent of Photography influenced the Impressionists. - The Impressionists were interested in capturing the immediacy of visual impressions. -After the mid-1860s, Impressionist painters followed Manet's lead in depicting scenes of contemporary middle-class Parisian life. - The Impressionists were interested in the immediacy of visual impressions. They worked outdoors (en plein air) and painted directly from nature. - They wanted to capture the effects of light, atmosphere and climate and their interests paralleled scientific studies of light and the way the human eye sees colors. - However, their "new" ideas regarding color are related to the color theories and artistic interests of earlier artists such as: Leonardo, Rubens, Velazquez, Vermeer, Delacroix, Constable and Turner. They used short, choppy brushstrokes in order to capture the vibrating quality of light and the immediacy of the "impression." - The industrial revolution and the advent of photography greatly influenced the work of the Impressionists. - The invention of metal tubes of paint with pre-mixed colors enabled the painters to engage in unencumbered plein air painting. - Photography forced painters to reassess the function of their work as photographers began to shoot portraits, landscapes and record the world around them. - However, rather than being threatened by photography, the Impressionists were inspired by the medium. - Impressionist painters and early photographers often engaged in creative collaboration as both mediums were interested in recording the effects of light. ~ Key Artist: - Monet and Degas. ~Characteristics of Impressionism: -Vibrating light -Pastelle color palette -Short, choppy brushwork -Plein air - Use of light

Realism

- A movement that emerged in mid 19th Century France. Realist artists represented the subject matter of everyday life (especially that which had been considered inappropriate for depiction) in a realistic mode. - Reaction against French Academy and French Society. - More of and ideology than a style. - Much of this ideology was outlined by the painter Guastave Courbet in his "Realist Manifesto". - The various intellectual, industrial and working-class revolutions in 19th Century Europe influenced the Realists. - The Realists favored previously overlooked subject matter including: the everyday life of farm workers, manual laborers and scenes from "modern life." - Not interested in depicting biblical, mythological or historical subjects. - The goal of the Realist painter was to give a truthful, objective and impartial representation of the real world. ~Key Artist: -Courbet and Manet. ~Characteristics of Realism: - Muted color palette - Emphasis of surface -Color path technique

Olympia by Edouard Manet

- Although Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe caused quite a stir, Manet's most controversial and groundbreaking work was Olympia which he painted in 1865. - Most art historians agree that Olympia is the first truly modern painting. - Once again, the subject portrayed is one of the most popular subjects in Western art: the reclining female nude. - However, the Realist painter chose a familiar form and presented it to the viewer in an entirely modern style. - " Olympia" is a nickname that French prostitutes often assumed. - The nude in the painting represents a prostitute and the model Manet used for the figure was in fact a well-known Parisian prostitute. - The Academy Salon was so outraged they rejected the painting as "pornography." - Manet was called a "madman." Meanwhile, the public was so intrigued that the police had to hold huge crowds at bay when the painting was finally exhibited. - As with Le Dejeuner sur l'herbe, Manet appears to be quoting masterworks such as Titian's Venus of Urbino and Ingres' Grand Odalisque - However, although Olympia's name may conjure thoughts of the mythological, she is not Venus, nor is she a wife, an aristocratic mistress or a muse. - She is a common prostitute of the modern era. Compare Olympia's frank pose and expression with that of the "Venus of Urbino." - Manet's nude is neither coy nor sensual. Olympia is a woman in charge of her own life and sexuality. - Manet cleverly replaced Titian's little dog of fidelity with a black cat which represents promiscuity. Also, Venus' roses of love and purity are replaced with an orchid which is erotic, exotic and sexual (often called a "hot house flower"). While other female nudes appear "nude," Olympia is not nude but "naked." - The ribbon around her neck and the slipper dangling from her foot enhance this notion of nakedness. - Again Manet was criticized for his painting style, including his obvious brushwork and color patch technique. - Critics remarked that the flat, un-modeled figure in hard light and heavily outlined appeared ugly, dirty and unfeminine. However, the Realist Manet did not set out to paint a romantic illusion of idealized femininity.

A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, Manet

- In the late 1870s, Manet befriended some of the Impressionists and even accompanied Monet and Renoir on painting trips. - Therefore, the work he does around this time and later begins to look similar in style to the Impressionists - However, Manet never exhibited with the Impressionists and did not associate his work with that group. - Bar at the Folies-Bergere was the last major painting he completed before he died. It was exhibited at the official Academy Salon in 1882. - The scene depicts the interior of the cafe concert, a fashionable form of entertainment for the newly emerging middle-class in Paris at the time. - Establishments such as these straddled the line between being a respectable place and a place where the lower-class (and some disrespectable individuals) would work and frequent. - The status of the central figure, the barmaid, is ambivalent. - Although she is there to serve drinks, she is also potentially available to the clients for other paid activities. - Manet was interested in the social and political aspects of Paris in the 19th century. - In particular, he was interested in recording the drama of class struggle. - rt historians have long been fascinated by this work for its social commentary as well as its unique compositional elements. - The composition is odd and not logically understood. - X-rays have shown that the figure and her reflection were originally painted closer together and that Manet must have re-worked the composition. It was changed intentionally. - Also notice the cropped edges of the composition, which like the work of Renoir, give this image a "snap-shot" effect. - This sense of the fleeting is also conveyed through Manet's abbreviated color patching, diffused light and blurred contours. - As Manet's work matured, he shared the Impressionists' interest in capturing the immediacy of a moment in time.

Gustave Courbet

- Known as the "Father of Realism" - Self taught painter who admired the master of the 17th Century Baroque realism. - He was the most radical and political (a socialist) of the Realists. - Wrote the "Realist Manifesto" - In this manifesto Courbet established an artistic ideology or system of beliefs. - He believed that it was his duty to depict the customs and appearance of his own time. - He believed that art cannot be taught because art is completely individual and the art of painting can only consist of that which is visible and tangible to the artist.

Edouard Manet

- Manet has been called the "Father of Modern Art," and like other Realist artists, he wanted to portray modern life and often used his work to make social commentary. - However, unlike Courbet, Manet was a classically trained artist and a member of the Parisian Bourgeoisie and he chose to represent the Bourgeois class in his paintings. - He saw himself in the tradition of the great masters, often borrowing motifs and subjects from earlier artists. - Yet, he did not idealize or mythologize his subjects so he is linked to the tradition of Realism. - Not only was Manet's subject matter modern, but his technique was considered modern as well. - He is credited with launching the "color patch" technique where form is suggested through broad, flat areas (or patches) of color, similar to the technique used by Velazquez. - Manet was hated by critics and initially rejected from the Academy Salon. - He was criticized for his flat, un-modulated figures and sketchy brushwork which some called "unfinished" and "amateurish." - Manet's most significant move toward modernity was his break with the Renaissance tradition of thinking of a painting as an illusionistic window. - Manet's work forces the viewer to look at the two-dimensional surface of the painting and to realize that "Painting is nothing more than paint on canvas."

The Bath, Cassatt

- Painted by the American artist Mary Cassatt in 1892. - Mary Cassatt was a personal friend of Edgar Degas. - She encouraged her fellow Americans to buy Degas' work and is credited with generating great American interest in French Impressionism. - Although she was formally trained in Philadelphia, the wealthy Cassatt moved to Paris in the 1860s, where disinterested in the official Salon, she began to align herself with the Impressionists. - She considered herself a professional artist and was a truly "modern" female artist. - Cassatt has a similar stylistic temperament to Degas. - She was known for her draftsmanship, strong sense of design, and was influenced by Japanese woodblocks. - The composition of The Bath, like a Japanese woodblock, stresses surface area and has virtually no sense of depth. - Despite her willingness to accept new influences and strike out on her own, as a woman, Mary Cassatt was still bound by the social customs of her day. - Such customs did not allow women of her class to mix freely and unescorted throughout the city or countryside. - Thus, like the other female artists we have covered in this class, Cassatt painted subjects that she was exposed to and situations she could observe. - Today, Cassatt is best remembered for her intimate images of women and children as well as for her technical ability and innovative style.