19th Century
Neo-Classicism/Romanticism
Birth of a modern era
Beginning – Renaissance models
End – Avant Garde
The enlightenment was a period in the Western thought in the 18th C during which society was being
more “enlightened”
To make the world more ‘explainable’
Neo-Classicism [symmetry & order] was dominant in France in the beginning
David, The Oath of the Horatii, 1784
Figures are dominant in the foreground
Narrative shown through dull colours
Painting & story is more important than the artist
Whole scene is ordered by a rational mathematical order
Academic painting – from the brain
David, The Death of Marat, 1793
Assassinated by royalists
Had psoriasis
Likens the sitter to Christ
Neo-Classicism – to glorify the social and political climate
Romanticism – More expression, drama, emotion and feeling!
Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830
Focused on mystery, sensuality and religion
Delacroix, Dante and Virgil Crossing the Styx, 1822
Styx – River to cross in order to gain access to the afterlife
The afterlife challenged the ideals of Neo-Classicism
Delacroix, Arab Horses Fighting in a Stable, 1860
Sensuality – exotic subject matter (from other countries)
Drama and discovery
Delacroix, Algerian Women in Their Apartments, 1834
Ultimate paradigm of Arabic women
NOT based of real fact, more as a fantasy as foreign men were not allowed inside harems
Contemporary life as important as religious subject matter
Gericault, The Raft of Medusa, 1819
Has removed all women from the scene as the audience at the time deemed it too tragic
Sea creates the drama
Goya, The Third of May, 1808, 1814
Viewers sympathetic with the victims, this is highlighted by the Christ-like figure in the middle
The sublime was an idea that referred to the way humans responded to the awe and
phenomena of nature
Friedrich, Moonrise over the Sea, 1823
The viewers suddenly become aware of all that they don’t know
A slightly belittling effect
Realism represents life in brutal honesty
Working classes would eventually overthrow existing power structures
Courbet, The Burial at Ornans, 1850
Painting on a massive scale
Gold, brown, black – feature colours in realism
Has been accused of looking ‘ugly’ and ‘banal’
The goal of the Avant-Garde was to intervene in everyday life, and by doing this they would
turn passive viewers into active parties
Avant-Garde was to change their world
Everyday contemporary life became the main focal point/subject matter
Impressionism – A form of the Avant-Garde
Cities were the result of industrualisation
Manet, The Luncheon on the Grass, 1863
This painting was shunned; the woman’s blatant ‘sexually inviting gaze’ was seen as vulgar
Statement in favor of the artist’s individual freedom
Manet, Olympia, 1863
Well known prostitute
Inspired by Titian’s Venus of Urbino
What shocked contemporary audiences was not Olympia's nudity, nor even the presence of her
fully clothed maid, but her confrontational gaze and a number of details identifying her as
a demi-mondaine or courtesan. These include the orchid in her hair, her bracelet, pearl earrings
and the oriental shawl on which she lies, symbols of wealth and sensuality. The black ribbon
around her neck, in stark contrast with her pale flesh, and her cast-off slipper underline the
voluptuous atmosphere. Whereas Titian's Venus delicately covers her sex, Olympia's hand
firmly protects hers, as if to emphasize her independence and sexual dominance over men.
Manet replaced the little dog (symbol of fidelity) in Titian's painting with a black cat, which
symbolized prostitution. Olympia disdainfully ignores the flowers presented to her by her
servant, probably a gift from a client. Some have suggested that she is looking in the direction
of the door, as her client barges in unannounced.
Flaneur – someone who sat around observing, painting and recording everyday life
Renoir, Ball at Moulin de la Galette, 1875
Demonstrates the impressionists use of colour and hurried brushstrokes due to the continuous
change of light and shadow during the day
Monet, Houses of Parliament, London, Sun Breaking Through the Fog, 1904
Focus is not so much on the buildings itself but the relationship between the colour,
light and shadow
Monet, Gare St. Lazare, 1877
Painting the same subject matter over & over again but with different times of day and weather
Focused on general reality
Impressionists saw themselves as bohemians
Degas, The Rehearsal, 1877
Unusual viewpoints
Paintings painted from photographs
Degas, Ballet Rehearsal, 1875
Awkward representation of space
Dancers are often cropped
Image extends beyond it’s frame
Connecting it to real life
The relationship between art and everyday life was not a cohesive art movement
Degas, The Absinthe Drinker, 1876
The painting is a representation of the increasing social isolation in Paris during its stage of
rapid growth.
Surat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of the Grand Jatte, 1884-6
Pointillism
Elimination of lines altogether
The paint on the frame connects the painting into ‘our’ world
Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1889
Strong use of line
Image is flat – influence of Japanese art
The art was for the people – wanted to glorify the working class
Van Gogh, The Artist’s Room at Arles, 1888
Arbitrary colour
Gauguin, Nevermore, 1897
‘Primitivism – any culture that is not European
Bold blocks of colour
Arbitrary
Cezanne, Self-Portrait, c. 1879
Instead of using lines he used the direction of the brushstrokes
Painting is the entity
“Art for art’s sake”
We can ‘see’ how the work was made
Painting was an object not a subject matter
Cezanne, Still-Life with Plastic Cupid, c. 1892
Exploration of form and shape in space
Cezanne, Mount Saint-Victoire with Tall Pine, c. 1887
Surface is flat and 2D
Re-dimension of space
