AP Art History Unit 4

Identification: Name/Designation: Culture of Origin/Artist: Date/Time Period: Materials: Form: - Content: - Function: - Context: -

Copy Card

Realists' sincerity about scrutinizing their environment led to them to paint mundane and trivial subjects that artist had traditionally deemed unworthy of depiction- for example working-class laborers, peasants and other "low" themes. Gustave Courbet was a leading figure in the Realist movement, and he championed the Realist ideal that everyday life was a valid artistic subject. We can see this belief in his work "The Stone Breakers" which depicts a day in the life of two menial laborers.

Gustave Courtbet

The death of Louis XIV in 1715 brought many changes in French high society. THe elite quickly abandoned Versailles. Members of the nobility began to exercise their traditional privages (exemption from taxation) but also sought to expand their power. During this time aristocrats re-established their dominance as art patrons. The hotels (elegant private townhouses) of Paris soon became a center for a new style called Rococo. Rococo style in art and architecture was a perfect expression of the lighthearted, playful elegance the wealthy hoped to cultivate in their opulate homes. Stylistic Characteristics: The Rococo style was used in everything from painting to sculpture, furniture, silverware, ceramics and interior decoration. It is characterized by pastel palettes; frivolous, erotic, and light hearted subject matter; dominance of swirls and shell forms in the decorative arts; and the use of soft; feathery brush strokes. ----> people playing games, on a swing, leisurely past times

Rococo

By the end of the 18th century, revolutions had erupted in France and America. A major factor in these political, social, and economic changes was a movement known as the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers rejected faith in favor of reason and championed an approach to the acquisition of knowledge based on empirical observation and scientific experimentation. Enlightenment thinkers embraced the ideas of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Francis Bacon, and Rene Descartes.

The Age of Enlightenment/The Age of Reason