Unit 6 LectureRealism and Impressionism 1848-1885
ART102 Art History II
Unit 6 LectureRealism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Realism in France occurred around the same time as the Revolution 0f 1848, largely due to Courbet. This style champions socialism, which challenges authority and privilege of the rich. Courbet has painted an image of a funeral, a scene of commoners carrying out a simple social ritual. Devoid of political or philosophical agendas, Realism can literally be described as real: simple, everyday scenes and events.
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Gustave Courbet Burial at Ornans Ca. 1849-1850 Oil on canvas Musee D’Orsay, Paris
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Jean-Francois Millet The Gleaners Ca. 1857 Oil on canvas Musee d’Orsay, Paris
Millet creates a scene of gleaners, who were beggars of the time. These three women are picking the leftovers of grain in a field after the major harvesting (you can see the large harvest in the wagon). At the time of its exhibition in Paris, the people were scared of this scene. It reveals at what cost society has to pay for such wealth for an upper class.
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Manet’s painting is considered to be the one that turned the Parisian art world on its head, and propelled the world into the Modern Art Era. It might not look like much, but this image is actually ridiculing what the traditionalists viewed as appropriate subject matter. This is a contemporary scene, with Parisians having lunch in a park with a naked woman. Another woman wearing a Roman toga plays in the water. It is obvious that this scene would never really happen in real life, and that’s the message Manet was after. He also painted it with bold, thick strokes of color.
Edouard Manet Luncheon on the Grass Ca. 1863 Oil on canvas Musee du Louvre, Paris
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Degas developed a painterly approach to his everyday scenes as Manet had. His compositions appear off-centered, and elements are cut-off on the edges, much like a photograph would crop a scene. This is unusual in painting at the time, and creates a image of spontaneity, as a snap-shot does.
Edgar Degas The Dance Class Ca. 1874 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Impressionist painters were inspired by the Japanese prints that were flooding the Parisian markets at the time. These prints first arrived in Paris as packing materials for other items. Artists were fascinated.
Unlike Western traditions in art, the Japanese prints were not about creating life-like space. Instead, these images are flat, the surface is divided into abstract shapes. The colors are rich, and the objects are cropped on all sides.
Having the ability to see how another culture from across the globe create art was ground-breaking.
Ando Hiroshige Plum Estate, Kameido Ca. 1857 Wood-block print Brooklyn Museum of Art
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Claude Monet Woman with a Parasol Ca. 1875 Oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C
Monet revolutionized the process of painting, and created a style of open brushstrokes that defy details, yet imply the very essence of the subject.
Through this open, colorful technique, Monet managed to paint the light. When looking at this painting, the colors, the energy and the intensity of the surface, you can feel the summer sun on your back, and know how it feels to be drowned in that intense natural light. It is that feeling, that impression, that truly defines the Era.
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Renoir follows the same format at Monet, and creates colorful paintings full of life and energy using bold strokes of paint. This is based on recent scientific discoveries that putting opposing colors side by side, it creates the illusion that they are brighter. These colors are called complimentary, and they are: blue and orange, red and green, yellow and violet. See any complimentary colors side by side in this painting?
Pierre-Auguste Renoir Luncheon of the Boating Party Ca. 1880-1881 Oil on canvas The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mary Cassatt was an American painter, who traveled to Europe to take classes offered to women there. (Art schools were segregated at the time, and women were still not considered worthy artists in society.)
She befriended Degas and quickly developed an Impressionist style, complete with asymmetrical compositions and cropping.
Her subject matter focuses on the roles of women in society, during the growing women’s movement. Oftentimes her paintings depict women and children involved in everyday activities. At a time when infant mortality rate was high, sociologists were putting an increased importance on caring for children.
Mary Cassatt The Child’s Bath Ca. 1893 Oil on canvas The Art Institute of Chicago
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
American painter Whistler was creating paintings in the same Impressionist style.
His white compositions show a variety of colors in the white, ranging from yellows to pinks and blues.
Whistler’s title “Symphony” implies a parallel with music. He saw his paintings as compositions of color and form.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler Symphony in White No II Ca. 1864 Oil on canvas Tate Britain, London
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Winslow Homer was an American artist who stuck with the tradition of Realism. He used realistic color, created fine details and definition, and captured scenes of everyday American life.
Winslow Homer Snap the Whip Ca. 1872 Oil on canvas The Butler Institute of American Art, Ohio
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Burial at Ornans
The Gleaners
Luncheon on the Grass
The Dance Class
Plum Estate, Kameido
Woman with a Parasol
Luncheon of the Boating Party
The Child’s Bath
Symphony in White No. II
Snap the Whip
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Paul Cezanne Mont Sainte-Victoire Ca. 1885-1887 Oil on canvas Courtland Institute Gallery, London
While Realism and Impressionism tried to capture the essence of the modern world, the Post Impressionists were looking for a way to escape it. Cezanne sought to make the new style of painting credible to critics, by working on his canvases almost endlessly in the studio, rather than capturing impressions quickly on-site. His work is bold shapes of color, locked together in a composition of shapes. He let most of the details go, so that the paint itself becomes the subject.
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Seurat created a new style called Pointillism, where he would methodically place tiny dots of intense color side by side to create his paintings. This surface gives the painting an extreme feeling of energy, as the eye bounces around the canvas.
Georges Seurat A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte Ca. 1884-1886 Oil on canvas The Art Institute of Chicago
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Vincent Van Gogh Starry Night Ca. 1889 Oil on canvas Museum of Modern Art, New York
Van Gogh’s unique style of painting was not popular during his lifetime, mostly because it is not understood. Van Gogh searched for emotion through color, making him the father of expressionist painting world-wide. His energetic brushstrokes, strong color, and scenes of his surroundings unadorned are trademarks of his work.
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
Gauguin too found a unique style of expression through his work. The Post-Impressionists are truly the first in history to create such unique styles of painting, as to make them iconic.
Dissatisfied with modern life, Gauguin went to Tahiti, and was fascinated with their traditions.
His painting is an example of symbolism, and represents the three stages of life as was depicted often in Renaissance Art. Birth is on the right, youth is at the center, and the old is on the left.
Rather than using gesture, Gauguin uses bold shapes of intense color to create a tropical, dreamlike atmosphere.
Paul Gauguin Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going? Ca. 1897-1898 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
In other areas of Europe, the Symbolism of Gauguin’s work had a great impact, especially on the Norwegian painter Edvard Munch.
His iconic image of the scream symbolizes all the psychological impact modern society has on human beings.
We can all agree that the isn’t a huge level of precision or even sophistication of his technique, but that’s not what he was after.
The style in which he painted this scene, as well as how he arranged the composition, evokes a feeling of terror and helplessness.
Edvard Munch The Scream Ca. 1893 Tempura and casein on cardboard The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, Oslo
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
The Vienna painter Gustav Klimt worked in a style classified as Art Nouveau, a symbolic style that focuses on natural patterns reinvented in a modern design. The Kiss has a pair in a locked embrace, where organic forms of intense patterns create the illusion of their bodies, as their faces are rendered with realist clarity. The gold gives it an iconic, almost religious feeling, as Glimt is glorifying this simple yet tender moment using luxurious materials and patterns.
Gustav Klimt The Kiss Ca. 1907-1908 Oil and gold leaf on canvas Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
Post-Impressionism 1880-1907
Mont Sainte-Victoire
A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte
Starry Night
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
The Scream
The Kiss
Realism and Impressionism 1848-1885
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