ARH2051 Spring 2015 Exam 2 (Final) Review Slides (Professor Ashley Jones)

Turning away from Rococo to a more "natural" look; Inspired by Rousseau; Generally portrait paintings w/ landscape backgrounds; Thomas Gainsborough, William Hogarth, Joshua Reynolds, John Singleton Copley

"Natural" art

Feminist Art; Addresses how women in Western Art have been presented for the male gaze; Uses makeup/prosthetics to transform herself; Series meant to look like stills from 50s/60s B-movie; Cord for camera visible to emphasize Sherman's control in all aspects of production; Images recall popular films but are generic enough that viewer can't relate it to specific movie; Although artist is still object of viewer's gaze, she constructed and chose to take on the identity herself

Cindy Sherman, 'Untitled Film Still #35'

Pop art; Humorous combination of phallic/militaristic imagery; Meant to be platform for protesters

Claes Oldenburg, 'Lipstick on Caterpillar Tracks'

Flemish Baroque painting; 'Breakfast piece' (still life w/ bread and fruit); Black background negates any sense of deep space; Enhances depth by placing leaves of flower on ledge; Paved way for many Dutch artists

Clara Peeters, 'Still Life with Flowers, Goblet, Dried Fruit, and Pretzels'

Baroque; Atmospheric and linear perspective turn landscape into ideal classical world bathed in sunlight in infinite space; Infused nature with human feeling

Claude Lorrain, 'Landscape with Cattle and Peasants'

Impressionist; Impressionist movement's namesake

Claude Monet, 'Impressionism, Sunrise'

Impressionist; Loose, sketchy quality; One of many in series of same cathedral with slightly different angles at different times of day, year, weather conditions, etc.; Record not of the cathedral itself but of the light and the artist's impression of it; Focused on light/color to reach greater understanding of form

Claude Monet, 'Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (in Sun)'

Impressionist; Shows importance of expanding railway network; Capture energy/vitality of train station with agitated brushstrokes; Smoke contributes to filtering of light and other atmospheric qualities

Claude Monet, 'Saint-Lazare Train Station;

Rococo sculpture; Shows how Rococo = best-suited to small-scale works with sensual mood; About 2 feet tall; Incorporates echoes of Italian Mannerist sculpture; Erotic playfulness; Nymph female pours wine into satyrs mouth (followers of Roman wine god Bacchus)

Clodion, 'Nymph and Satyr Carousing'

Olympia = direct gaze, rigid/upright posture ; Venus = subtle brushstrokes; Similar cat and dog at foot of bed; Maids in background; Scenes divided by curtain

Compare/contrast Manet's 'Olympia' and Titian's 'Venus of Urbino'

Cabanel = strongly opposed to impressionism, esp. Manet; Venus has a shy, playful gaze; Both at 1863 Salon, Cabanel received much more positively; Venus = ethereal/pastel palette, Olympia = yellowish skin tone with darkly outlines figure; Venus = appeals to male gaze; Olympia = shields herself, but not out of shyness

Compare/contrast Manet's 'Olympia' with Cabanel's 'Birth of Venus'

1. Analytic = Form analyzed from all vantage points, views combined into whole; Color not emphasized (Example = Braque's 'The Portuguese') 2. Synthetic = Paintings/drawings made from objects/shapes cut from paper and other material to represent parts of a subject; Engages viewers with pictorial issues like figuration, realism, and abstraction (Example = Picasso's 'Still Life with Chair Caning') 3. Orphic Cubism/Simultaneisme = Delaunay's version of cubism which creates spatial effects and kaleidoscopic movement solely through color contrast

Compare/contrast analytic, orphic, and synthetic cubism.

Early 20th century; Russian; Naum Gabo, 'Column'; Sculptures built piece by piece in space instead of being carved or modeled; Relies on relationship of mass/space to suggest nature of time-space

Constructivism

Early 20th century; Rejected naturalism; Preferred compositions of shapes and forms abstracted from conventionally perceived world; Picasso, Braques, Delaunay

Cubism

Romantic; Commemorates 1830 French Revolution against Charles X; Allegorical figure of Liberty wearing red hat (symbol of freed slave); Shows coming together of different classes, races, ages, etc.; Background = Cathedral of Notre Dame (balances contemporary historical fact with poetic allegory)

Eugene Delacroix, 'Liberty Leading the People'

1807; "lighted room"; Replaced camera obscura (box with hole in one side); Small prism lens on stand aimed downwards at an object, projecting image of object onto sheet of paper; Artists found this process difficult, leading to the invention of photographic methods: daguerrotype and calotype

Explain the 'camera lucida' process

Early 20th century; Led by Matisse; Color = most important formal element and primary conveyor of meaning; "Wilde beasts"; Simplified design and bright color

Fauvism

"Amorous festival"; Type of Rococo painting depicting outdoor amusements of French upper-class society; Antoine Watteau = known for small canvases featuring light colors and elegant figures in ornate costumes moving gracefully through lush landscapes

Fete galante

Romantic; Interest in subconscious; Owls and bats from unconscious attack artist while he sleeps (Comment on how true artists must face these monsters)

Francisco Goya, 'The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters', from 'Los Caprichos'

Romantic/realist; Horrified expressions of peasants encourage sympathy, give them humanity absent from French firing squad; Massacre = retaliation of attempted expulsion of French troops from Spain; Peasant about to be shot similar to crucified Jesus; Emotion heightened by stark lights and darks and extending time frame

Francisco Goya, 'Third of May, 1808'

Postmodern; Deconstructivist; Dissolution of form, plays with feeling of safety; Exterior = plates similar to scales; Irregular/unbalanced forms

Frank Gehry, Guggenheim Museum

American Modernist; Site-specific; Meant to bring occupants closer to nature; Boulders = part of house; Stairs lead to river; Juxtaposition of natural/manmade textures (jagged rock vs. smooth concrete); Flooring = stone; Far removed from earlier prairie style; Made during Great Depression (shows wealth disparities during that time)

Frank Lloyd Wright, Fallingwater

Modernist; Example of architect's "architecture of democracy"; Prairie house (Flat/open; engages with/complements nature); Wandering plan (Intricate joining of spaces grouped freely around central fireplace; Few doorways; Facilitates feeling of community); Strip windows, enclosed patios, and overhangs = unexpected light sources and glimpses of outdoors; Overall, a sense of space in motion

Frank Lloyd Wright, Robie House

Post-painterly abstraction; "What you see is what you see"; Attempt to achieve purity by painting evenly spaced pinstripes on colored ground; No central focus, no painterly/expressive elements, no tactile quality'; Reminder that painting is simply pigment on flat surface

Frank Stella, 'Mas o Menos'

Mexican modernist; German and Mexican selves linked by common artery clasp hands; Artery ends in forceps held by German twin and in portrait of her husband held by Mexican twin; Not solely autobiographical, also political; Commentary on struggle facing Mexicans in early 20th century in defining their natural cultural identity

Frido Kahlo, 'The Two Fridas'

Neue Sachlichkeit; Critique of capitalism seen in skeletal remains and large red coin blocking out sun; Bloody sword represents war casualties; Four headless men = advisors ("yes-men") who can't think for themselves; Capitalist whispers in president's ear; Donkey represents public, wearing blinders, eating paper (propaganda)

George Grosz, 'The Eclipse of the Sun'

Cubist collage; Pipe in foreground seems to lie on newspaper but is actually cut out from it; Plays with form/void; Shows cubist interest of multiple perspectives

Georges Braque, 'Bottle, Newspaper, Pipe, and Glass'

Analytic cubist interpretation of guitar player; Dissection of form placed in dynamic interaction with space; Letters added to canvas, abstracted from context, adds to analytic approach of breaking things down

Georges Braque, 'The Portugese'

Post-Impressionist; Pointillism/divisionism = colors divided into component parts then applied in tiny dots, only comprehensible from distance; Impressionist influence in recreational themes and interest in analyzing light and color, but more rigid and remote; Repeated motifs create pattern/rhythm and suggest depth (female form, parasol, cylindrical figures); People from various classes

Georges Seurat, 'A Sunday on La Grande Jatte'

French Baroque; Biblical scene as genre painting (no halos); Light comes from candle instead of Jesus himself; Simplifies volume of figures through large, flat planes (see Mary's drapery), similar to classical/Renaissance art, no motion or emotive gesture, suppressed surface detail; Dramatic lighting in night setting; Meeting of contradictory elements: classical composure, fervent spirituality, and genre realism

Georges de la Tour, 'Adoration of the Shepherds'

Precisionist; Reduces NY skyscrapers to large, simple, dark planes punctuated by small windows that add rhythm and energy;

Georgia O'Keeffe, 'New York, Night'

1. Degenerate Art; Nazi attack on avant-garde/modernist art; Walls very crowded and graffitied; Art sometimes hung upside down; Art = confiscated 2. Great German Art Exhibition; Style of traditional art academies; Focus on ideal human figure and triumph

German Exhibitions, 1937

1905-1925; Influenced by van Gogh and Munch; Charged with emotional/spiritual vision of world; Two major groups: Die Brucke (The Bridge) and Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider); Known for clashing colors, disturbing figures, and perspective distortions; Ragged outlines and agitated brushstrokes; Kirchner, Kandinsky, Kollwitz

German Expressionism

Futurist; Interest in motion and Cubist dissection of form; High-tech armored train with cannon on top holds shooting soldiers; All forms broken into facets/planes, suggesting action/movement; Light/bright color + absence of death/destruction highlights cleansing of war; Sharp contrast to Goya's 'Third of May'

Giacomo Balla, 'Dynamism of Dog on Leash'

Futurist; Reflects Futurist faith in cleansing act of war; Captures Futurist

Gino Severini, 'Armored Train'

American Modernist; Regionalist; Against avant-garde and abstract; Similar to Nazi ideology (nationalistic); Coping with national crisis through search for cultural roots; "Gothic" refers to window in background, reflected in long faces of figures and tines of pitchfork; Serious expressions capture American virtues (such as integrity); Sometimes seen as insulting Iowans

Grant Wood, 'American Gothic'

Impressionist; Absence of Impressionist brushstrokes, but has informal/asymmetrical composition with figures that seem randomly placed and arbitrary frame cropping (suggests transitory nature of modern life); Captures Haussmannization (Rebuilt Paris to accommodate growing population; wider boulevards/radial streets)

Gustave Caillebotte, 'Paris: A Rainy Day'

Led to founding of realism; Focus on rural working poor; Shows father and son breaking stones; Represents labor with no end by juxtaposing youth and age; Followed 1848 revolution that raised issue of labor as national concern; Browns/grays = dreary/dismal nature of manual labor; Pose of older man suggest mechanical monotony

Gustave Courbet, 'The Stone Breakers'

Symbolist; Features biblical 'femme fatale' Salome; She dances before King Herod and demands John the Baptist's head; Combination of hallucinatory imagery, eroticism, precise drawing, rich color, and opulent setting = hallmarks of Moreau's Symbolist style; Precursor to Surrealism

Gustave Moreau, 'The Apparition'

Post-painterly abstraction; Color-field painting; Placed color by pouring (no brushstroke); Spontaneous/accidental quality; Emotion less important than solving formal problems

Helen Frankenthaler, 'The Bay'

Fauvist; Simplified objects and flat forms; Table and wall seem to merge b/c of identical color/pattern; Window could be painting (further flattens image); Process of overpainting reveals importance of color in producing desired emotional response (painting was first predominantly green, then blue before it was red)

Henri Matisse, 'Red Room'

Fauvist; Wife depicted in conventional composition; Seemingly arbitrary colors and sketchy forms; Color not meant to imitate nature, but to produce reaction in viewer

Henri Matisse, 'Woman with the Hat'

Symbolism; Artist = self-taught; Lion at once doll-like and menacing sniffs at dark dreaming figure in mysterious landscape; Suggests vulnerability of subconscious during sleep

Henri Rousseau, 'Sleeping Gypsy'

Post-impressionist; Glaring lighting, masklike faces, and dissonant colors; Influenced by Degas, Japanese prints, and photography seen in oblique/asymmetrical composition; Distortion by simplifying figures/faces anticipated Expressionism

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, 'At the Moulin Rouge'

Romantic; Nightmare embodied in incubus (male demon who lies upon sleepers in hopes to engage in sexual activity); Interest in subconscious/macabre, as well as sexuality; Horse with flaming eyes thought to be source of painting's name; Name actually is 'night' + 'Mara' (spirit who torments/suffocates sleepers)

Henry Fuseli, 'The Nightmare'

1. History painting (historical, mythological, biblical) 2. Portraiture 3. Genre painting (le petit genre) 4. Landscape 5. Animal painting 6. Still Life

Hierarchy of painting genres

Commemorates court decision to acknowledge photographs as works of art by copyright; Nadar = early advocate of photography; Literal elevation seen Nadar taking pictures in a rising hot air balloon

Honore Daumier, 'Nadar Raising Photography to the Height of Art'

Realist; Unfinished; Suggests that separation of classes on trains facilitates urban alienation; Captures arbitrary moment to give viewer glimpse of subjects' lives (unposed attitude, vague/unfocused faces); Anticipated spontaneity/honesty of scenes captured in photography by end of century

Honore Daumier, 'Third-Class Carriage'

American group known for Romantic landscapes; Explored individual's and nation's relationship to land; 'Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains','Twilight in the Wilderness'

Hudson River School

French Baroque; Embodies Louis XIV by reflecting his status and awe; Standing on raised step so he appears to look down on viewer; Throne in background under canopy; Draped in cloak made of same fabric as cushion/throne (fleur de lis = represents French royalty); Presentation of self in artificial manner; Red heels = sign of royalty; Legs exposed to show off dancer's physique; Heels + elevated platform to make him seem taller; Hint of classical architecture; Painting hung over throne (represents king even in absence)

Hyacinthe Rigaud, 'Louis XIV'

Postmodern; Juxtaposed to surrounding architecture; Symbol of sun

I.M. Pei, Louvre Pyramid

Late 19th century; Values abbreviation/speed/spontaneity; Interested in human experience/perception; Associated with interest in changing light under different conditions; Mostly scenes in/around Paris; Associated with loose, sketchy quality; Sought to capture fleeting moment to convey illusiveness/impermanence of images/conditions; Often got inspiratation from Japanese prints; Monet, Manet, Renoir, Degas, Pissarro, Morisot

Impressionism

Style of 20th century architecture associated with Le Corbusier; Influenced modern office buildings/skyscrapers; Rejection of decorative 19th century style; Volume/balance more important than mass/symmetry; Emphasis on geometry; form over function

International Style

Early 20th century; Advocated violent break with past; Saw war as cleansing; Emphasis on simultaneious views (Cubist influence); Importance of dynamism/motion; Glorified originality; celebrated speed/dynamism of modern technology; Boccioni, Balla, Severini

Italian Futurism

Daguerrotype; Commissioned by Agassiz (used photographs to prove his racist theories); Series of pictures of slaves born in Africa or to African parents

J.T. Zealy, 'Renty'

Gestural abstraction/action painting; Emphasis on creative process; Interest in Jung's collective unconscious; Parallels automatism of Surrealism in improvisation and reliance on subconscious

Jackson Pollock, 'Number 1, 1950 (Lavender Mist)'

Dutch Baroque; Landscape taken from higher level to give illusion of hilliness; 3/4 of painting = sky; Foreground celebrates Dutch progress/industry (dotted with windmills; bleached linen stretched to dry)

Jacob van Ruisdael, 'View of Haarlem from the Dunes at Overveen'

French Baroque; Thieves being comforted by priests then hanged in presence of army; Men bet on belongings of executed (allusion the soldiers who bet on clothes of crucified Christ); One of first realistic pictorial records of the human disaster of military conflict

Jacques Callot, 'Hanging Tree' from 'Miseries of War'

Art under Napoleon; Neoclassical; Documents Napoleon crowning his wife with pope as witness, underscoring authority of state over church; Later changes added: pope raising hand in blessing, Napoleon's mother added in; Appears at first to be detailed, objective record of historical event, but actually a crafted scene so Napoleon could be seen as he wished

Jacques-Louis David, 'Coronation of Napoleon'

Neoclassical; Shows Marat in his bath after being killed by a woman from rival political faction; Figure based on Michelangelo's Pieta; Elevation of contemporary to historical context; Cold neutral space above body = chilling oppressiveness; All narrative details in foreground = sharpens sense of pain/outrage;

Jacques-Louis David, 'Death of Marat'

Neoclassical; Hard-edged masculinity; Shows conflict between Romans and neighboring town they have intermarried with; Contrasts male sense of honor and female sense of empathy/grief; Celebrates Roman patriotism and sacrifice; Statuesque figures and classical architecture; Shallow space similar to stage; Figures arranged in manner reminiscent of ancient relief sculpture; Rigid/angular male forms contrast with soft/curvilinear women

Jacques-Louis David, 'Oath of the Horatii'

French Baroque; genre painting; Alludes to selfishness, pettiness, and jealousy; Uses children's activities as satirical comments on foolish adult behavior

Jan Steen, 'Feast of St. Nicholas'

Pop Art; Drawing attention to everyday objects; Painted with encaustic (wax-based, very thick) mixed w/ newsprint to lend handmade texture; Ties to surrealism in choice of flag (dreamed himself painting a flat) and in concept (Magritte's 'Treachery of Images'; "This is not a flag"); Reverses traditional perspective (Closer flags = smaller); Repetition drains meaning; Three overlapping canvases

Jasper Johns, 'Three Flags'

Dadaist; Torn paper squares dropped onto sheet of paper and glued; Reliance on chance reinforces anarchy essential in Dada

Jean Arp, 'Collage Arranged According to the Laws of Chance'

Neoclassical; Grand manner; Referencing Roman republic in fasces (13 rods represent the 13 colonies) and plow of Cincinnatus (dictator during time of war who returned to farm after war service, similar to Washington); Wears badge of Society of Cincinnatti; No sword

Jean-Antoine Houdon, 'George Washington'

Art under Napoleon; Neoclassical; Apotheosis = becoming a god; Homer seated like Zeus being crowned by Victory; Surrounded by poets and philosophers (become more contemporary as they move away from Homer); allusions to Raphael's School of Athens; Female personifications of Iliad and Odyssey (books written by homer)

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 'Apotheosis of Homer'

Art Under Napoleon; Shows turn from neoclassicism to romanticism; Orientalist nude shows Romantic taste for exotic, although reclining female nude = Greco-Roman subject; Figure proportions = not classical (smooth, boneless quality with small head and long limbs similar to mannerism)

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, 'Grande Odalisque'

Realist; Rural painting; Criticism of social order; Gleaners = pick up stray grain after harvest; Artist's relatively dignified depiction of gleaners antagonized them by causing middle-class landowners to resist granting gleaning rights

Jean-Francois Millet, 'The Gleaners'

Rococo; Epitome of Rococo style; Bishop pushes young woman in swing while her lover watches in the shadows; Kicks off shoe flirtatiously; Cupid holds finger to lips; Landscape similar to Watteau's, resembles stage scene for comic opera; Glowing pastel colors + soft light convey the theme's sensuality

Jean-Honore Fragonard, 'The Swing'

Dutch Baroque; Allegory of painting inspired by history; Artist wears old-fashioned clothes, but space is contemporary; Paints model holding attributes of Clio (trumpet and book, wearing a wreath), muse of history; Another reference to history in map of provinces on back wall; Unseen light source = light of artistic inspiration;

Johannes Vermeer, 'Allegory of Art of Painting'

Dutch Baroque; Genre painting; Very defined light source from window (seen often in Vermeer's work); Vermeer = Roman Catholic; Painting in background = Last Judgment; Woman holding scale represents Christ weighing souls; Scale is in perfect balance (captures perfect/unlikely moment of stillness); Jewelry = vanitas counterpoint to religious message; Light from window common in artist's paintings, directs attention to scales; Woman ignores mirror, gold, and pearls (signs of vanity), in favor of scales, probably an allegory for leading a temperate life

Johannes Vermeer, 'Woman Holding a Balance'

Pre-Raphaelite; Shows Ophelia from 'Hamlet' drowning herself; Background painted on-site; Figure based off friend lying in bathtub

John Everett Millais, 'Ophelia'

American Realism; Looser and more dashing style than Eakin's carefully rendered details; Influence of Velazquez's 'Las Meninas'; Casual positioning of figures creates sense of fleeting spontaneity, consistent with Realist interest in recording modern people in modern contexts; Scale of screen, vase, and rug emphasizes slightness of the children

John Singer Sargent, 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit'

"Natural" art; Not grand manner; Emphasizes down-to-earth character, differentiating this American work from European; Plain setting w/ clear/revealing light; Direct gaze

John Singleton Copley, 'Paul Revere'

Mexican modernist in America; Made in aftermath of Mexican Revolution; Central figure = stoic revolutionary, represents integrity of Mexican people in face of corruption

Jose Clemente Orozco, 'Epic of American Civilization: Hispano-America'

Enlightenment era; Dramatically lit painting celebrating scientific advances of Enlightenment; Orrery = mechanical model of solar system; Composition = circular to echo orrery's orbital design

Joseph Wright, 'A Lecture at the Orrery'

Feminist Art;"Feminist Last Supper"; Honors 39 women (such as Sacagawea, Georgia O'Keeffe) from antiquity to 20th century America; Triangular form and materials (china painting, needlework) traditionally associated with women, as well as notion of dinner party; Originally 13 women (number of witches in coven); Sits on white tile floor with 999 more women, signifying the guests rest on a foundation laid by other women; Each place has plate and table runner unique to woman sitting there and incorporate butterflies (liberation) and vulva (female sexuality)

Judy Chicago, 'Dinner Party'

French Baroque; Simple architecture design, complex ornamentation; Mirrors (favorite element of Baroque interior design) reflect light from windows to lighten and expand space and reduce tunnel-like quality of room

Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Charles le Brun, Hall of Mirrors

Cubist sculpture; much more abstracted than Archipenko's; Figure reduced to interplay of curves, lines, and planes -- complete abstraction

Julio Gonzalez, 'Woman Combing Her Hair'

German Expressionist; Print derived from Pieta, but shows more primal emotion; Transformed into universal statement of maternal loss/grief; Artist's own son used as model for dead child

Kathe Kollwitz, 'Woman with Dead Child'

Suprematist; Wanted art to be enjoyed universally by reducing images to basic planes and shapes

Kazimir Malevich, 'Suprematist Composition: Airplane Flying'

Contemporary Social art; Sought to correct discriminatory imbalance of whites and blacks in art; Reworks historically important portraits with young black men in contemporary clothes to situate them in the "field of power"; Based on Jacques Louis-David's piece; Vibrant/ornate wallpaper-like background

Kehinde Wiley, 'Napoleon Leading the Army Over the Alps'

One of the first plates Daguerre produced after perfecting his photographic process; Composition inspired by 'Vanitas Still Life', symbolic meaning in objects suggests even art will not last forever; Nothing can be altered to create stronger image

LJM Daguerre, 'Still Life in the Studio'

Includes Art Nouveau and American skyscrapers; Casa Mila, Van Eetvelde House, Eiffel tower, Guaranty (Prudential) Building

Late 19th century Architecture

Modernist; International style ("form over function" seen in only entrance at back); Inverts traditional structure by placing heavier elements on top; Windows on all sides

Le Corbusier, Villa Savoy

French Baroque; Genre painting; Shows dignified resignation of peasant family during 30 Years War; Reflects 17-th century French social theory (celebrating natural virtue of peasants)

Louis Le Nain, 'Family of Country People'

Modernist; Steel cage construction (allows for greater height/weight) + intricately carved terracotta exterior ornamentation (gives sense of refinement/taste) = synthesis of industrial structure and ornamentation; Bringing high culture to working world; "Form follows function"

Louis Sullivan, Prudential Building

French Baroque; Synthesis of French and Italian classical elements; Central pavilion on classical temple front, two corner pavilions, all resting on podium; Paired columns; Even roofline broken only by central pediment; No sign of Gothic verticality; Expression of new French taste and symbol of centrally organized authority

Louvre east facade

Modernist sculpture; Dada humor; Laundry iron equipped with row of tacks, subvert its purpose; Displacement of found object; Used dislocation of ordinary things to surprise viewers into new awareness

Man Ray, 'Gift'

Dadaist; Readymade = mass-produced multiples modified by the artist; Raises urinal to status of art to force people to see object in new light; Signed R. Mutt (play on Mott plumbing company and the Mutt and Jeff comic strip duo); Challenges artistic conventions

Marcel Duchamp, 'Fountain'

American modernist; Cover of Life magazine; Celebration of American engineering and achievement at height of Great Depression; People in foreground lost next to monumentality of dam; Composition almost abstract due to cropping

Margaret Bourke-White, 'Fort Peck Dam, Montana'

Chromatic abstraction; Hazy rectangles of pure color hover in front of colored background; Simple composition but visually compelling; Believed color could express basic human emotions

Mark Rothko, 'No. 14'

Modernist painting; Mourning of lover killed in battle; Military-related images against somber black background; Flattened/planar appearance = influence of synthetic cubism

Marsden Hartley, 'Portrait of a German Officer'

Neue Sachlichkeit; Amplifies horrors of war by personal allegory (home invasion); Used himself, wife, and child as models; Comments on condition of postwar society; Awkward angles and rough surface contribute to savageness; Objects seem dislocated/contorted and space appears illogical (woman's hands bound to window, but her body hangs vertically instead of lying across the table)

Max Beckmann, 'Night'

Surrealist; Fur-lined teacup; Shows humorous side of Surrealism; Anthropomorphic quality, animated by quirky combination of fur with functional object; Captures surrealist flair for alchemy; Incorporates sensuality/eroticism

Meret Oppenheimer, 'Object'

Predominantly sculptural American trend of 1960s; Generally lack identifiable subjects, colors, textures, and narrative; Rejection of illusionism; Reduction to basic geometric forms

Minimalism

Feminist Art; "Femmage" = points out women had been doing fabric collages long before Picasso; Incorporates patterns from Japanese Kimonos

Miriam Shapiro, 'Anatomy of a Kimono'

Western art movement developed in late 19th century; Sought to capture images/sensibilities of the age; Involves critical examination of premises of art itself (Similar to manet in 'Luncheon On the Grass'); Influenced by Marxism/Darwinism; Although modernist viewpoints were already expressed by Realists, it emerged more forcefully in Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism

Modernism

Early 20th century; Louis Sullivan, Frank LLoyd Wright, Le Corbusier

Modernist architecture in America, 1900-1930

1. Man Ray, 'Gift' 2. Marsden Hartley, 'Portrait of a German Officer' 3. Aaron Douglas, 'Noah's Ark'

Modernist painting and sculpture in America, 1900-1930

Mexican artists based art on indigenous history and culture of Mexico before arrival of Europeans; Part of idealistic rethinking of society that occurred in conjunction with Mexican Revolution and its aftermath

Modernist painting in Mexico, 1930-45

Although there were many modernist European artists in America in the 1930s and 40s, the leading American painters were primarily figural artists with limited interest in abstract composition

Modernist painting in U.S., 1930-1945

In the decades between the 2 world wars, photography emerged as a respected branch of fine arts; Edward Weston, Alfred Stieglitz

Modernist photography in America, 1900-1930

Most influential museum of modern art; Attempt to expose public to energy and challenge of modernist/avant-garde art; Commissioned 'Lobster Trap and Fish Tail'

Museum of Modern Art and Avant-Garde

Art Under Napoleon; Neoclassical; Meant as temple of glory for Napoleon's armies; Based on ancient temples in France, linking Napoleonic and Roman empires; High podium and broad flight of stairs leading to deep porch; Three interior domes actually reflect architecture from Byzantine/Romanesque churches

Pierre Vignon, La Madeleine

Impressionist; Shows leisure activities often present in Impressionist works; Dappling of sunlight blurred into figures produces effect of floating/fleeting light

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, 'Le Moulin de la Galette'

Baroque; Memento mori (reminder of mortality) seen in skull, timepiece, tipped glass, and cracked walnut; Vanitas (pleasures/luxuries of life = fleeting; everything dies); Image of artist himself in convex reflection of metal orb (emphasizes element of time by immortalizing artist); Brings together organic and luxury to represent Dutch prosperity; Both scientific and poetic

Pieter Claesz, 'Vanitas Still Life'

First appears in 1950s England; Incorporates elements from consumer culture, mass media, and popular culture (movies and advertising); Vibrant, commercial, American; Jasper Johns, Warhol, Claes Oldenburg, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg

Pop art

1880-1910; Artists more systematically examining properties and expressive qualities of line, pattern, form, and color; Rooted in Impressionist precepts/methods but not stylistically homogeneous; Includes: Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat, and Cezanne

Post-impressionism

Extremely eclectic (drawn from many styles); Rejection of International style; Interest in juxtaposition and challenging very notion of architecture; I.M. Pei, Frank Gehry

Post-modernist architecture

American art movement; Emerged in 1960s; Cool, detached rationality (compared to passion/intensity of Abstract expressionism) emphasizing tighter pictorial control; Developed from Abstract Expressionism; No evidence of artist's hand; Embodies idea of "purity" in art

Post-painterly abstraction

Late 20th century; Reaction against "elitism" of modernism; More encompassing/accepting; Wide range of styles; Often includes irony or reveals self-conscious awareness of art-making processes or the workings of the art world

Postmodernism

French Baroque; Broken classical architecture represents break with pagan culture and prominence of new Christian society; Idealistic landscape despite John composing Book of Revelation (prophetic vision of last judgment); John's pose similar to Greco-Roman river god; No atmospheric perspective, everything presented with clarity

Poussin, 'Landscape with Saint John On Patmos'

Two competing doctrines divided French academy at turn of 18th century; Poussinistes favor form, Rubenistes favor color; Watteau = Rubeniste

Poussinistes vs. Rubenistes

Mid 19th century; Group of English painters opposed to restrictions of Realism; Chose to represent fictional, historical, and fanciful subjects but w/ convincing illusion; 'Ophelia', 'Beata Beatrix'

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

American art movement from 1920s to 1930s; Concentrated on portraying man-made environments in clear/concise manner to express beauty of perfect/precise machine forms; Largely influenced by Synthetic Cubism; 1st indigenous modern-art movement in U.S.

Precisionism

Emerged in mid-19th century France; Reaction to Romanticism and history painting; Related to positivism and empiricism, embraced due to advances in industrial technology in early 19th century; Concerned with the reality of paint and canvas, not just subject; 'The Gleaners', 'The Stone Breakers', 'Third Class Carriage', 'Olympia', 'Luncheon on the Grass'

Realism

Realism = highly embraced in America 1. Winslow Homer, 'Veteran in a New Field' 2. Thomas Eakins, 'The Gross Clinic' 3. John Singer Sargent, 'The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit'

Realism in America

20th century American art movement; portrayed American rural life in a clearly readable and Realist style; Includes Grant Wood and Thomas Hart Benton

Regionalism

Dutch Baroque; Artist's version of Dutch group portrait = surgeons clustered on left side; Diagonally placed and foreshortened corpse disrupts strict horizontal/planar orientation of traditional portraiture; Poses/facial expressions of students suggest varying levels of attention, student at top gazes at viewer, another looks at book

Rembrandt van Rijn, 'Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Tulp'

Dutch Baroque; Uses both engraving and etching (demonstrates master of all aspects of printmaking); Nickname comes from expensive cost; Shows the humanity/humility of Jesus; Christ preaches lesson of charity to sick (rich should give away to charity and live humbly; wealthy young man unhappy with message, has head in hands, dressed lavishly); Light radiates from Jesus' face and touches audience; 2nd source of light from right makes visible shadow of praying figure on Jesus' robe; Great tonal range

Rembrandt, 'Christ with the Sick around Him' ("Hundred-Guilder Print")

Dutch Baroque; Shows religious scene in Protestant perspective; Spiritual stillness contrasts sharply with frenzy of Italian Baroque Counter-reformation artists; Shows youngest of two sons, after spending all his money on life of sin, kneeling before and being embraced by his forgiving father; Fine modulation of light directs attention by highlighting father and son and veiling witnesses; Light as emotional/psychological signal

Rembrandt, 'Return of the Prodigal Son'

Surrealist; "This is not a pipe"; Questions nature of representation and reality; Challenges reliance on conscious/rational thought

Rene Magritte, 'The Treachery of Images'

Orphic Cubist; Tribute to 1st person to fly across English Channel; Almost purely abstract, except for plane and Eiffel tower in top right and propellor in bottom left; Mostly circular abstract shapes suggest whirling propellers and blazing suns

Robert Delaunay, 'Homage to Bleriot'

Contemporary Social art; Shows androgynous artist confronting viewer with steady gaze; Part of 'Perfect Moment' show (featured children, nude, homoerotic, and sadomasochistic images) that led to landmark court case on freedom of expression for artists and new legislation establishing restrictions on gov't funding of the arts; Show also featured artist's changing appearance while he suffered from AIDS;

Robert Mapplethorpe, 'Self-Portrait

Pop art; "Combine" (similar to assemblages); Gray area between painting and sculpture; Various recognizable images/objects seem unrelated and defy consistent reading, although they were chosen with specific meaning in mind; Based on Rembrandt painting of Jupiter as an eagle carrying boy (seen in photo) to heaven (hanging bag = visual pun for boy's butt)

Robert Rauschenberg, 'Canyon'

Environmental art; Site-specific (Designed in response to location, not imposing unrelated concept on site); 1500-foot-long coil of basalt, limestone, and earth in Great Salt Lake; Inspired by failed attempt to extract oil from site (saw as testament to enduring power of nature and inability of humans to conquer it)

Robert Smithson, 'Spiral Jetty'

18th century France; Elaborate ornamentation; Light and airy feel; Sense of delicacy; Reaction against Baroque; Principal motifs = shells; Often seen in Parisian townhouses; Feminine look suggests taste and social influence of women; Primary motif = shell; Artist most associated with French Rococo = Antoine Watteau

Rococo

Center of Parisian society; Introduced in early 1700s; Shows move to more intimate and decentralized culture based in private homes; 'Salon de la Princesse' = typical French rococo room; Salon culture = wealthy, ambitious, clever society hostesses (femmes savants) competed to attract the most famous/accomplished ppl. to their salon, enthusiasm/sincerity looked down on; Known for delicate colors, sinuous lines, gilded mirrors, elegant furniture, and small paintings/statues

Rococo Salons

Rococo appeared in France around 1700 primarily as an interior design style; Exterior often simple/plain with exuberant interior; Seen in Salon de la Princesse, Hall of Mirrors at Amalienburg, and Neumann's pilgrimage church

Rococo architecture

19th century; Often used nature as allegory; 'Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains', 'Twilight in the Wilderness', 'Wanderer above a Sea of Mist'

Romantic Landscapes

1750-1850; Western phenomenon; Based on Rousseau's philosophy; Shift from reason to feeling; Interest in medieval period, sublime (awe + terror), unconscious, supernatural, macabre, and exotic; Based in desire for freedom; 'The Nightmare', 'Sleep of Reason', 'Third of May', 'Raft of Medusa', 'Death of Sardanapalus', 'Liberty Leading the People'

Romanticism

Pop art; Immortalized comic book excerpts (meant to be read and discarded) on large canvases; Tended to paint melodramatic scenes from romance comic books; Printing technique = benday dots, similar to pointillism; Overall, artist transfers visual shorthand language of comic book to realm of monumental painting

Roy Lichtenstein, 'Hopeless'

French Baroque; Essentially rectangular, but b/c apse is same height as nave, central space takes on curved Baroque quality; Light from windows lacks dramatic effect of Italian Baroque, instead providing bright/even light; Corinthian columns above piers; Pew at rear, accessible from King's apartment at Versailles; Restrained decoration; Drama/complexity of Italian Baroque seen only in illusionistic ceiling paintings

Royal Chapel

Surrealist; Shows cessation of time; Non-organic clocks transformed into organic forms; Closed clock swarmed by ants (only sign of life); Attempts to make irrational concrete

Salvador Dali, 'The Persistence of Memory'

Late 1960s to 1970s; Similar to Pop art (sought medium more accessible to public); Emphasized meticulous accuracy; Audrey Flack, Chuck Close

Superrealism/photorealism

Putting forward supremacy of pure feeling in art; This feeling can not be attached to real objects; Requires abstraction

Suprematism

Succeeded Dada; Interest in unconscious, dreams, fantasy; Improvisational techniques used to activate unconscious; Inspired by psychoanalysts Freud and Jung; Two types: Naturalistic (recognizable dream/nightmare image; Dali and Magritte) and Biomorphic (largely abstract, predominated by 'automatism' [creating art w/o conscious control]; Joan Miro)

Surrealism

Late 19th century movement; Thought realism was trivial; Wanted to depict a reality beyond that of the everyday; Rejected materialism and celebrated fantasy/imagination; Subjects often mysterious, exotic, and sensuous; Includes: Rousseau, Munch, and Moreau

Symbolism

Romantic; Artist sought to capture horror, chaos, and emotion while invoking the grandeur/impact of Neoclassical history painting; Rejects Neoclassical compositional principles in favor of X-shaped jumble of writhing bodies; Shows survivors of shipwreck trying to survive on remains of boat; Black figure at peak of composition = statement against slave trade and racism; Gericault interviewed survivors and studied corpses to get realistic scene; Subdued palette + prominent shadows = ominous; Diagonal placement of raft draws viewers into scene

Theodore Gericault, 'Raft of the Medusa'

American Realism; Depicts operation in progress to reflect public's increasing faith that scientific/medical advances could enhance/preserve lives; Painted things as he saw them rather than how the public wanted them portrayed; Combines admiration for accurate depiction w/ hunger for truth; Consistent with empiricism

Thomas Eakins, 'The Gross Clinic'

"Natural" art; Contrasting blend of "naturalistic" representation and Rococo setting; Sought to match woman's beauty with that of landscape; Rustic setting, soft-hued light, and feather brushwork = Rococo influence; landscape similar to Watteau

Thomas Gainsborough, 'Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan'

Modernist; Regionalist; Figural, but more expressionistic; Subject = history of Missouri, both documented and fictional; Unidealized and inclusive (features slaves and Native Americans); Commentary on both positive and negative of modern life; Corrupt politicians take long lunch with strippers and are the only relaxed figures; Everyone else is at work to emphasize the importance of labor; Message = slightly socialist (shows capitalist living off of everyone's else's labor)

Thomas Hart Benton, 'Pioneer Days and Early Settlers'

Neoclassicical; Modeled on Palladian farm/village architecture of 16th-century Venice; Rotunda with centered pediment front; Jefferson wanted Neoclassicism as official architectural style of America b/c it represented idealism, patriotism, and civic virtue

Thomas Jefferson, 'Monticello'

Futurist; Shows how moving figure affects space around it; Highlights formal/spacial elements of motion instead of its source (the figure); Figure disappears behind blur of its movement

Umberto Boccioni, 'Unique Forms of Continuity in Space'

German Expressionist; Der Blaue Reiter; Influenced by theories of Einstein and Rutherford (Material objects have no real substance); One of first painters to explore complete abstraction; Emotional over physical; Emphasis on spirituality

Vassily Kandinsky, 'Improvisation 28'

French Baroque; Symbol of Louis XIV's power/ambition; Surrounded by satellite city with 3 radial avenues that converge at king's bedroom; Rational design proclaims mastery of human intelligence over disorderliness of nature; Formal gardens change with seasons and offer transition from geometric to more organic

Versailles Palace

Art Nouveau; Every detail of interior functions as part of living whole

Victor Horta, 'Van Eetvelde House'

Post-Impressionist; Meant to convey oppressive atmosphere, communicated by juxtaposing vivid hues; Steeply tilted perspective, especially seen in pool table; Thickness, shape, and direction of brushstroke complement intense color schemes

Vincent van Gogh, 'Night Cafe'

Post-Impressionist; Sky represents artist's feelings about vastness of universe; Church may be attempt to reconcile conflicted view about religion; View consistent with asylum artist was at at time of painting; Color + turbulent brushstrokes = quiet but pervasive depression

Vincent van Gogh, 'Starry Night'

1. Voltaire = embodiment of Enlightenment; Opposed nobility and clergy; Against religious intolerance 2. Rousseau = believed man's natural state corrupted by culture/society; wanted return to "natural man"; feeling over reason; all men created equal

Voltaire vs. Rousseau

1839 - Technologies develop to chemically capture light of camera; Takes a long time; Doesn't allow for movement; Spread rapidly around the world; Commonly used for portraiture; Relatively easy; Cheaper than painting; Mirrors Realist movement; Debate over whether photography was an art form or just scientific

What are some aspects of early photography?

"Natural art"; Enlightenment era; Distinctively English; Part of series (Marriage a la Mode) of narrative paintings; satirizes marital immoralities of moneyed classes in England; Shows young couple's morning after; Steward holds bills and gestures to heaven; 3 religious paintings next to obscured nude in background; Example of the democratization of knowledge/culture fostered by the Enlightenment

William Hogarth, 'Breakfast Scene'

American Realism; Implies smooth transition to peace after Civil War (seen as evidence of national strength), but single-bladed scythe (symbol of Grim Reaper) symbolizes death of soldiers; Simple/direct commentary on effects/aftermath of Civil War; Uniform and canteen identify man as veteran

Winslow Homer, 'Veteran in a New Field'

Modernist painting; Graphic artist important in Harlem Renaissance; Flat planes evoke sense of mystical space and miraculous happenings; Suggests deep space by repeating male form in different sizes; No illusion of 3D depth; Expresses culture history of African Americans by incorporating motifs from African sculpture; Transparent angular planes characteristic of Synthetic Cubism

Aaron Douglas, 'Noah's Ark'

1st major American avant-garde movement; 1945-1980; From NYC; Abstract paintings express state of mind; Meant to evoke emotion; Two types: Gestural/action (subject = act of painting) and chromatic (focuses on emotional resonance of color)

Abstract expressionism

1. American (1775-1783) 2. French (1789-1799); Most land is owned by nobility and clergy; American revolution inspires peasants to revolt against this; Monarchy is briefly abolished, resulting in Reign of Terror (public executions of aristocrats by guillotine) 3. Industrial (1760-1840)

Age of revolutions

Cubist sculpture; About 3 inches tall; Explores Cubist notion of ambiguity; Head replaced by void in shape of head

Aleksander Archipenko, 'Woman Combing Her Hair'

American modernist; Abstract sculpture; Artist used engineering knowledge to combine organic forms and motion to create mobiles; Expresses nature's innate dynamism; Can be seen as geometric or organic; Non-mechanized, only set off by air currents

Alexander Calder, 'Lobster Trap and Fish Tail'

Reflects how new materials/technologies + modernist aesthetic led to radically new architectural designs in the late 19th century; Symbol of 19th-century civilization; Exposed iron skeleton blurs distinction between interior and exterior

Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel, 'Eiffel Tower'

Modernist photography; Artist most responsible for elevating stature of photography; Shows lower deck of ship filled with Europeans refused entrance to the U.S.; Haunting mixture of found patterns and human activity

Alfred Stieglitz, 'The Steerage'

Collected images of criminals to see if there were certain qualities indicative of a criminal

Alphonse Bertillon, Guide to physiognomic interpretation of photographic mugshots

Rococo; Organic interplay of mirrors, crystals, and stucco relief; German adoption of Rococo

Amalienburg Hall of Mirrors

Environmental art; "Collaborations with nature"; Pebbles of different sizes split in two, scratched white around the cracks, and arranged in spiral; Only uses nature itself; B/c works are ephemeral, artist captures them in photograph)

Andy Goldsworthy, 'Cracked Rock Spiral'

Pop art; Often depicted icons of mass-produced consumer culture repetitively to reflect their omnipresence in American Society; 'Green Coca-Cola Bottles', 'Marilyn Diptych'; Emphasizes how rich and poor buy essentially the same things; Silk-screen allows for endless (but slightly varied) prints, emphasizing images' connection to consumer culture;

Andy Warhol

Rococo; fete galante; Lovers travel to Cythera, island of eternal youth/love, sacred to Aphrodite; Haze of color, subtly modeled shapes, gliding motion, and air of suave = very Rococo; Woodland park filled with amorous cupids and voluptuous statuary

Antoine Watteau, 'Pilgrimage to Cythera'

Art Nouveau; Building conceived as whole and molded it like a sculpture from clay; Twisting chimneys cap undulating walls/roof; Rough surface suggests naturally worn rock; Entrances look like eroded sea caves

Antonio Gaudi, 'Casa Mila'

Frank Lloyd Wright; Free individuals move about w/in "free" space, a nonsymmetrical design interacting spatially w/ its natural surroundings

Architecture of democracy

1913 - Avant-garde comes to America; Mixing American and European art; Mostly negative reaction from Americans; Featured Duchamp's 'Nude Descending a Staircase' (Cubist/Futurist influence)

Armory Show

Modernist architecture; Descended from Art Nouveau; 1920s-1930s; Sought to upgrade industrial design as "fine art" and work new materials into decorative patterns; Streamlined, elongated, and symmetrical design; Seen in Chrysler building

Art Deco

"New art"; Late 19th/early 20th century; Tried to synthesize all arts to create art based on natural forms that could be mass produced by industrial technologies; Developed out of Arts and Crafts movement; Adapted twining plant for needs of architecture, painting, sculpture, and all decorative arts;

Art Nouveau

Beginning of 19th century, many artworks glorify Napoleon; Napoleon embraced Neoclassical style in order to associate his regime with the ancient Roman empire; Eventually gave way to Romanticism and Realism; 'Coronation of Napoleon', 'La Madeleine', 'Apotheosis of Homer', 'Grande Odalisque

Art Under Napoleon

Superrealism; Commentary on tragedy of Marilyn Monroe's life, unlike 'Marilyn Diptych', which celebrates celebrity and makes no allusions to her death; Questions nature of photography and extent to which it constructs understanding of reality; Image projected onto canvas; Uses airbrush to duplicate smooth gradations of tone/color found in photos; Similar to Dutch Vanitas painting in references to death, passage of time, and transience of life on Earth (B&W photos of youthful/smiling Monroe, fresh fruit, hourglass, burning candle, watch, and calendar)

Audrey Flack, 'Marilyn'

"Advance guard"; Late 19th/early 20th century; Emphasized innovation and challenged convention

Avant-Garde

Rococo; Adoption of Rococo to religious architecture; Light/delicate interior; Has energy of Baroque but not its drama; Large windows give even, bright, cheerful light; Plan of church features undulating lines and composition of tangent ovals/circles within outlines of traditional rectilinear basilican church

Balthasar Neumann's pilgrimage church

Contemporary Social art; Feminist art; Incorporates aesthetic of magazines and billboards; Comment on the male gaze; Word/photograph collage challenges culturally constructed notions of gender; Attempt to expose deception of mass media; Photo = classically beautiful sculpted female head; Words must be read with rhythm (delays understanding and intensifies meaning; Similarity to work by Guerilla Girls (known for text-only pieces)

Barbara Kruger, 'Your Gaze Hits the Side of My Face'

Chromatic abstraction; Single red color field split by narrow vertical bands ("zips"); Zips not meant to be viewed separate from background but as energizing the field and giving it scale; Simplified compositions increase color's capacity to express feelings about tragic conditions of modern life and the human struggle to survive

Barnett Newman, 'Sublime Heroic Man'

Blanket term for European art from 1600-1750; Stylistically = dramatic theatricality, elaborate ornamentation (contrast to simplicity/rationality of Renaissance)

Baroque

1920s Modernist German school of architecture; Formed by Walter Gropius; Emphasized unity of art, architecture, and design ("total architecture"); Avoidance of "romantic embellishment and whimsy"; Influenced art schools everywhere to structure curriculum after it;

Bauhaus

Impressionist; Open brushwork and 'plein air' (outdoor) lighting characteristic of Impressionism; Sketchy brushstrokes record quick perceptions; Slightly filmy, soft focus conveys feeling of airiness; Impressionist composition: figures fall informally in place; Work praised for sensibility, grace, and delicacy; Artist = sister-in-law of Manet

Berthe Morisot, 'Villa at the Seaside'

Op art (Began in Britain); Simple geometric shapes create optical illusions of depth and motion; Embraced Renaissance notion of creating illusion of depth through perspective

Bridget Riley, 'Fission'

William Henry Fox Talbot; Second major photographic invention; Positive image is made by shining light through negative image onto sheet of sensitized paper

Calotypes

Impressionist; Busy Paris square seen from several stories above street level; Similar to photographs in flattening spatial effect of high viewpoint and arbitrary cutting off of figures at edge

Camille Pissarro, 'La Place du Theatre Francais'

German Romantic Landscape; Perfectly expresses Romantic notion of sublime in nature; Solitary man on rocky point gazing at panorama of clouds, mountains, and thick mists; Sensation of hovering in space behind figure enhances aura of mystery; Artist communicates almost religious awe at beauty/vastness of natural world

Caspar David Friedrich, 'Wanderer Above a Sea of Mist'

Precisionist; Grain elevators reduced to geometric forms amid Cubist transparent diagonal planes; Title can be read positively (favorable comparison between Egyptian pyramids and American grain elevators as cultural icons) or negatively (cynical comment on limitations of American culture)

Charles Demuth, 'My Egypt'

Contemporary Social art; Black, simplified version of Mary, floating in indeterminate space; Bright colors applied to canvas in layers of beadlike dots; Surrounded by tiny pictures of genitalia and butts from porno mags (similar to putti); Elephant dung on Virgin's breast and holding up canvas (literally incorporates artist's African heritage); Wants viewer to move beyond cultural associations and see materials in new ways

Chris Ofili, 'The Holy Virgin Mary'

Environmental art; 11 small islands surrounded with pink fabrics; Lasted only two weeks; Sought to intensify awareness of space/features of rural and urban sites; Did not physically alter land like Smithson, but temporarily modified it with cloth

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 'Surrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Miami, Florida, 1980-1983)

Superrealism; Translates photographic information into painted information; Deliberately avoids creative compositions, flattering lighting effects, and revealing facial expressions; Use photographs as reference; Reduces variables in paintings to focus on methodical presentation of faces; Large scale causes abstraction upon close scrutiny

Chuck Close, 'Big Self-Portrait'

Realist; Olympia = stereotypical name for prostitute; No shame/flirtatiousness = not defined by male gaze; Black maid brings flowers from client; Cat at foot of bed reminiscent of dog from 'Venus of Urbino'; Manet starts own exhibition that leads to impressionism; Rough brushstrokes and abrupt changes in tonality (?)

Edouard Manet, 'Olympia'

Symbolist; Landscape's sweeping curvilinear lines echos man's mouth and head, symbolizing how the cry reverberates through the setting; Evokes visceral/emotional response through color, line, and figural disortion

Edvard Munch, 'The Scream'

Impressionist; Artist known for interest in ballerinas; Arbitrarily cut-off figures and stairs, patterns of light splotches, and blurry images reveal artist's interest in reproducing fleeting moments and in photography; Diagonal floorboards lead viewer in; Large, off-center negative space creates illusion of continuous floor connecting viewer w/ figures;

Edward Degas; 'The Rehearsal'

American Modernist; Artist know for "emptied-out" urban scenes; Comment on alienation of modern urban life; Surrounded by people but still alone; Emphasized by viewer's POV (We stand in dark, separated by glass from indifferent people in lit diner)

Edward Hopper, 'Nighthawks'

American Romantic Landscape; Shows natural beauty of American West; Reinforces Manifest Destiny (justified America's western expansion)

'Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California', Albert Bierstadt

French Baroque; Dramatic waterfall in gardens of Versailles; Influence of Greco-Roman sculpture; Arrangement inspired by Poussin (figures = varied but harmonious); Apollo = sun god, reference to Louis XIV (sun king); Classical style + mythological symbolism suited French glorification of royal majesty

'Apollo Attended by the Nymphs'

Minimalist sculpture; Emphasizes "objecthood" and concrete tangibility; Prevents viewers from drawing on assumptions/preconceptions

'Die', Tony Smith

"Natural" art; Grand manner; Unidealized realism; Heroic themes of battle, courage, and patriotism reflected in posture and setting

'Lord Heathfield', Sir Joshua Reynolds

American Romantic Landscape; Expresses romantic notion of the sublime; Painted during Civil War, presents idealistic view of America free of conflict

'Twilight in the Wilderness', Frederic Church

Minimalist sculptureBoxes made of undisguised industrial materials (Plexiglas gives access to interior); Precise/simple sculpture w/o deception/ambiguity; Not metaphorical or symbolic;

'Untitled', Donald Judd

Modernist photography; Close-up perspective makes it hard to recognize as a pepper; Amorphous quality; Resembles seated nude figure seen from behind; Artist "previsualizes" still life before taking picture, choosing exact angle, lighting, and framing he desired

Edward Weston, 'Pepper No. 30'

1. Empiricism (scientific method, direct observation) 2. Reason (valued over faith) 3. Progress

Enlightenment

American art form that began in 1960s; Monuments of great scale and minimal form; Transform some section of environment; Calls attention to land itself and hand of artist; AKA "earthworks"

Environmental art

Neue Sachlichkeit; Bronze sculpture; Peaceful yet melancholy; Arms crossed, flying over tomb with WWI dates on it; Soul flying to afterlife; Melted by Nazis for ammunition

Ernst Barlach, 'War Monument'

German Expressionist; Die Brucke; Shows influence of Matisse/Fauvism in color pallette; Jarring/dissonant in composition and color; Perspective distortions, disquieting figures, and harsh/garish colors show influence of Fauves and Edvard Munch.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, 'Street, Dresden'

Artist known as colorist; Created visions from imagination; Orientalist history painting; Sardanapalus going to commit suicide, has harem and possessions burned first so enemy can't take them; Heightened sexuality for exotic other; Gratuitous display of female bodies

Eugene Delacroix, 'Death of Sardanapalus'

Early 20th century; Emphasizes random/nonsensical/absurd; Influenced by horror/destruction of WWI; Not a visual style, but a mindset; Disdain for convention; Emphasis on spontaneous/intuitive;

Dada

Main photographic process until 1850s; LJM Daguerre; Made on plate of chemically treated metal; Very tiny images (no enlargement process); Very fragile (sealing, casing, etc. to avoid scratches; Able to capture amazing detail and finely graduated tones of light and shadow

Daguerreotypes

Pre-Raphaelite; Literary portrait of Dante's Beatrice after she is transported to heaven; Woman sits in trancelike state while red dove (messenger of love and death) deposits poppy (symbol of sleep/death) in her hands; Memorial to artist's wife, who died of opium overdose (double meaning of poppy)

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 'Beata Beatrix'

Abstraction in sculpture; Abstract metal sculptures of simple geometric forms reflect natural light/color of outdoor settings; Gestural elements similar to Abstract Expressionism (Texture created by swirling random-looking patterns on surface by burnishing w/ steel wool)

David Smith, 'Cubi XII'

Began in 1970s; Attempts to disorient viewer by disrupting conventional categories of architecture; Challenges viewers assumptions about form as it relates to function; Characterized by disorder and seeming randomness

Deconstructivism

Mexican modernist; Mural depicting conflicts between Mexicans and Spanish; Complex composition with simple monumental shape and areas of bold color make story easy legible; Sought to create national Mexican style focusing on Mexico's history and also incorporating popular, generally accessible aesthetic keeping with socialist spirit of Mexican Revolution; Heart = important Aztec symbol (Mexican nationalists see Aztec as last independent rulers of their land)

Diego Rivera, 'Ancient Mexico'

American modernist; Artist commissioned to photograph effects of Dust Bowl; Used to arouse public sympathy/support; captures mother's strength and worry

Dorothea Lange, 'Migrant Mother, Nipomo Valley, 1935'

1609 - founding of Bank of Amsterdam makes Amsterdam financial center of Europe; Prosper from maritime trade and colonization of East Indies and parts of Africa, despite its small size and lack of natural resources; Local industry in textiles

Dutch Republic

Stop-motion; calotype print; Set up cameras along racetrack that were tripped as horse went by; Revolutionized painting by showing how anatomy actually looked in motion; Demonstrates scientific correctness of photography; Highly influenced modern cinema; Work presented by zoopraxiscope (device invented by artist to project sequences of still photographic images; predecessor of modern motion-picture projector)

Eadweard Muybridge, 'Horse Galloping'

Impressionist; Use of mirrors opens up space; Reflection does not line up with perspective (Manet's signal to us of his control of the picture; self-reference); Spatial inconsistencies draw attention to canvas surface, shows modernist interest in examining basic premises of painting; Blurry/rough brushstrokes

Edouard Manet, 'A Bar at the Folies-Bergere'

Impressionist; Choppy, short, broad brushstrokes; Documents artistic practices and relationships of impressionists; Painting outdoors led to invention of synthetic colors, premixed paint in tubes, and portable easels; Interest in painting modern suburban life; Wife = both admirer and muse; Factories/smokestacks in back represent opposite side of life

Edouard Manet, 'Claude Monet in His Studio Boat'

Transition from realism to impressionism; Two clothed males, one clothes and one nude female (all based on real people); Nude = unidealized in terms of pose (awkward and twisted; matter of fact, no shame); Disliked by Salon and public, criticized for style (soft focus, colors, broad brushstrokes = flatness, strong contrast between light/dark; sets figures off from setting); weaves together multiple genres to give summary of history of painting (portraiture, pastoral, nude, history); Similar to 'Pastoral Symphony' by Titian; Move away from illusionism toward acknowledgment of paint's properties

Edouard Manet, 'Luncheon on the Grass'

Opposes rococo; Late 18th to early 19th century; Renewed interest in classical ideals fueled by "Grand Tour" (traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means) and excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum; Style of the revolution; Influenced by political models of Greece and Rome; Coincides with and reflects Enlightenment ideals: realism, rationality (geometric harmony)

Neoclassicism

"New Objectivity"; German response to WWI; Dark, graphic, violent; Attempt to presents clear, direct, and honest image of war and its effects

Neue Sachlichkeit

Baroque period; Grand manner style; history painting; Figures (3 Arcadian shepherds) point to inscription of title of painting ("Even in arcadia am I" = Death is present even in paradise); Figures inspired by ancient statuary (rightmost male = Neptune); Instead of movement/emotion,we see Raphael's order/stability; Female = spirit of death, reminder of mortality; Classical figures complemented by classically compact/balanced grouping, even light, and thoughtful/reserved mood

Nicolas Poussin, 'Et in Arcadia Ego'

Neue Sachlichkeit; Recalls traditional triptych altarpieces; Left panel = marching into distance; Center/right = results of battle with mangled bodies in eerily lit apocalyptic landscape; Self-portrait in right panel as ghostly soldier dragging comrade to safety; Bottom panel = dead or sleeping soldiers; Lacks theme of hope/salvation/resurrection seen in Isenheim altarpiece; Shows the devastation war inflicts both on terrain and humans

Otto Dix, 'The War;

Primitivist/Cubist; Originally a representational portrait; Head painted as simplified planar form, inspired by Iberian stone heads; Striking contrast between face and rest of portrait

Pablo Picasso, 'Gertrude Stein'

Cubism not meant to be associated with politics, but people came to associate radical art with radical politics; Shows Picasso's changed mindset about intersection of art and politics; Both abstracts and universalizes suffering (no specific reference to event); More representational but still disconnected; Uses Cubist techniques of fragmentation and dislocation to create expressive condemnation of Nazi bombing of Basque; Bull = brutality/darkness; Color suppressed to emphasize severity/starkness

Pablo Picasso, 'Guernica'

Cubist sculpture; Shows intersection of 2d and 3d; Explored volume of guitar via flat planar cardboard surfaces; Allows viewer to examine both surface/interior and mass/void; Ironically, sound hole (central void in real guitar) is only solid form

Pablo Picasso, 'Guitar'

Cubist/Primitivist; Dissolution of figure and ground, abandonment of perspective; Attempt to show different sides of figure simultaneously; Reflects Picasso's collection of non-Western art, especially African masks (in right two figures) and Iberian sculpture (in left 3 figures); Influence of Cezanne's late paintings; Figures broken into ambiguous planes suggesting combination of views, clearly seen in squatting woman

Pablo Picasso, 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon'

Plays with idea of reality vs. representation; Illusion of layers; Photolithographed pattern of cane chair contrasts with abstract areas, points to the fact that just because the abstractions don't imitate anything in real life doesn't make them any less "real" than the chair caning; Letter = Jou, could be first letters of Journaux (newspaper) or Jouer (to play)

Pablo Picasso, 'Still Life with Chair-Caning'

Post-Impressionist; Reveals analytical approach to painting; Captures solidty of bottles/fruit by juxtaposing color patches; B/c objects viewed from several angles, resulting abstract shapes = not optically realistic; Kept with modernist concern w/ integrity of surface by presenting both 2D and 3D surfaces simultaneously

Paul Cezanne, 'Basket of Apples'

Post-Impressionist; Strays from Impressionist focus on effects of changing atmospheric conditions and instead focuses on analysis of line, plane, and color; Creates volume/depth through color (receding cool colors, advancing warm colors)

Paul Cezanne, 'Mont Sainte-Victoire'

Post-Impressionist; Uses native women and tropical colors from Tahiti to present pessimistic view of life cycle's inevitability; Artist moved to Tahiti to escape European materialism

Paul Gaugin, 'Where do we come from? Where are we Going?'

Post-Impressionist; Rejection of Realism and Impressionism; Traditional Breton women visualize sermon they have just heard and pray; Pure unmodulated color fills flat planes/shapes bounded by firm white lines; Austerity of peasant life/ritual reflected in hard contours and sharp angles

Paul Gauguin, 'Vision after the Sermon (Jacob Wrestling the Angel'