Art History Exam #3 Images and Description

- impressionists painters built on the innovations of realists in turning away from traditional mythological and religious themes in favor of the newly industrialized french capital - in contrast to the realists, the impressionists sought to convey the elusiveness and impermanence of the subjects they portrayed - *add more* - paintings look like sketches - depict the instaneuos fleeting moment - urban scences in and around Paris - showing people who have time for leisure - unconditional spacial systems - based off of japanese prints

impressionists background

- the revolution of 1789 initiated a new era in france, but the overthrow of the monarchy also opened the door for Napoleon Bonaparte to exploit the resulting disarray and establish a different kind of monarchy with himself at the head - Napoleon launched a disasterous invasion of Russia that ended in retreat. Forced to abdicate the throne, Napoleon went into exhile on this island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic where he died six years later - the more significant changes happened during the first half of the 19th century were technological and economic; the industrial revolution caused a population boom in european cities, and railroads spread to many parts of the continent facilitating the transportation of both goods and people - the century opened with neoclassicism still supreme but by 1870 romanticism and realism in turn had captured the imagination of artists and public alike - authority of the artist - 1800-1840 - takes on a variety of styles unlike the neoclassicism movement which are very much the same from artist to artist - identification to the common man and how they matter in the world - empathy for the suffering that is imposed on the powerless caused by the powerful; anti-aristocricy -illustrate literature, poetry, etc - sense of nostalgia that we have lost something - the landscape comes into its own during the 19th century

romanticism background