Artists

Impressionism was a movement that came about in the late 19th century, most specifically its roots can be traced back the 1874 when a group called the Anonymous Society of Painters, Sculptors, Printmakers, etc. organized an exhibition in Paris. (Samu, 2004). The group led several exhibitions through the 1880’s which brought them into the spot light despite criticism from the conventional art community in France. The movement received its name from one of the movements most now most recognized artists Claude Monet and his piece Impression, Sunrise.

It is said that a critic accused the painting of being a sketch or “impression”. (Samu, 2004) Paintings of this period tended to be outdoor scenes and panoramas. My Grandfather, Lawrence Bird, who was an artist and set designer for Disney modeled his style of art after this period. He was inspired by the artists of this period and their focus on developing their own technique that was more centered around light and its effect on the image.

The painting technique included short choppy and broken strokes with vibrant and light colors adding new dimensions to their paintings. Impressionism did an amazing thing it realized the phenomenon of transitoriness. The artist that carries his canvas out into the great outdoors and strives to record every small detail of what his eye can perceive is in very different state of mind than the artist that creates his art in a studio reconstructed from sketches or studies. (Collins, 2012) The social, economic and political climate of this time saw many changes.

You had the industrial revolution, which replaced small farms and factories with large industrial complexes. This eventually led people into more urban areas out of the country side. There is the release of the communist manifesto by Marx and Engles and of course Darwin’s release of “Orgin of the species. ” (Werner, 1998) Both changing the way people thought and viewed the world they lived in. Due to the above mentioned industrial revolution there are many new and useful items now readily available to artists, authors, sculptors and so forth.

One of these items includes synthetic chemical pigments that often have greater luminosity than previous organic pigments, thus allowing the artists to explore more vibrant styles. The most notable and recognized painters of this time embraced this new medium in which to work with. These artists included: Alfred Sisley, Armand Guillaumin, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Claude Monet and Pierre Renoir. As a former sailor in the United States Navy I have an affinity for lighthouses and depictions of the sea. One of my favorite pieces of this time is Claude Monet’s – Mouth of the Seine, done in 1865.

This masterpiece, with its lighthouse in the distance depicts the coming and going of the many merchant, fishing and leisure vessels as they navigate the waters of the Seine river as it empties into the English Channel. The image to me, represents a simpler time where sailing was an art that was performed by skill rather than instruments and automation. Impressionism was not brought about by a necessity or tragic change in the social environment, more so out of the fact of new ideas and the availability of these new mediums.

This allowed the artists to break free of the “statu quo” and express their view on the world around them in a fresh, new and vibrant way. Impressionism opened up the art world’s eyes and lead to the influence of many new and creative artists that expounded on not only using the optical impressions but also using the new found artistic style to also expression emotion and themes of greater symbolism. (Voorhies, 2000) These artists “rebelled” against the so-called limitations of impressionism.

These artists felt that impressionism was missing many key elements including emotional, structural, symbolic and spiritual representation. (Misialowski, 2006) Artists of this time frame worked, in most cases, independently and today are most often referred to as Post-Impressionists. The style was defined by vibrant colors, thick paint application, real life subject matter, geometric shapes, and distortion of objects figures for expressive emotional effect. Some of the key artists of this time included: Vincent van Gogh, Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges Seurat. Aristide Maillol and Edouard Vuillard.

One of my favorite pieces of this time comes of course from van Gogh. The piece is titled Stra?enarbeiter which means Road Workers. The imagery of this piece is rough and course with distorted views and sharp lines. The shapes of the trees almost draw you away from the what the piece is actually titled after, the road workers who are shown off in the distance and then again on the left edge of the painting. The colors give the image a dark look like it is depicting a late fall day with the workers frantically trying to complete the task before the onset of winter.

Again, like the impressionism movement, there was not really a prime reason for this movement other than the artists wants to more freely express themselves through their work. The social climate of the times were changing allowing for these artists to do what they were doing, however; the majority of these post-impressionism artists were “starving artists” and didn’t gain huge notoriety until after death. The two paintings are similar but completely different. Each of the pieces captures the artists view of the world as they perceive it, the use of color to exact a response from the viewer.

Each artist depicted a scene in which people were working against the elements with those that were there for leisure. Where they differ is in the way the artist wants the picture to be viewed. While Monet wanted to show the beauty of the landscape, ships and buildings, van Gogh showed a different view of it being distorted colorless and hopeless. As impressionism gave way to post impressionism, post impressionism paved the way for modern art. Showing many artists that it was okay to express and play with imagery.

That art was not locked down to someone else’s definition of what it should be. It was what your perception of it was. It could be the anger of a thousand paint splatters. It could be the combination of print, paint, chalk and pastels. What you thought was art was art. As my Grandfather told me, art is not limited or bound by rules nor is it created in a lab. Art comes from within, from your emotions, from your perceptions. Impressionism unlocked chains of a thousand years of oppression to give us the inspiration for what we have now.

The following body of work focuses upon Realism and the artists, Manet (not to be confused with Monet) and Degas, two Parisian artists of the 1800s who captured the lives of the French people through their paintings.  Realism’s definition, it’s three defining characteristics, and its place in the time line of art history will be briefly presented, moving into the similarities and differences, such as mediums used in the artists’ works and their subjects of focus, found between Manet and Degas, in regards to their life’s passion as artists of the 19th century.  Brief summaries of each artist’s life will precede comparison of two selected “famous works” to compare and contrast the artists manifested passions for the work each created.

Realism

Realism is a style of painting which depicts subject matter-form, color, space-as it appears in actuality or ordinary visual experience without distortion or stylization (progressiveart.com).  Through realism, subjects are depicted in as straightforward a manner as possible, without idealizing them and without following rules of formal artistic theory (artcyclopedia.com).  Little emotional value is depicted, as the painter shows nature and people just the way he or she observes them (horton.ednet).

Realism began to appear on the art scene in the 18th century, following the styles of Romanticism and Neoclassicism; French realism, in particular, was considered the guiding influence on the philosophy of Impressionists (artcyclopedia.com).  Manet and Degas were both considered Impressionists as well as Realists, Manet eventually being considered the leader in the Impressionist movement (artchive.com).

Edgar Degas (1834-1917)

Born in 1834 to a wealthy Parisian family, Degas was considered a shy, insecure, aloof individual; he never married.  Due to the family’s status, there was never a shortage of funds for his passion of art (artchive.com)[1].  Receiving his training in Louis Lamothe’s studio, Degas displayed the intense influence of paintings and frescoes he observed on long trips to Italy; his notebooks are filled with these subjects (metmuseum.com)[2].  He eventually came to “maturity” as a painter in the 1860s, where history painting was considered the most popular art at the time (artchive.com).

Degas varied with mediums and supports, ranging from his classical training of oil painting on canvas to working with pastels on paper.  Sometimes he would combine mediums, as evident with his combination of oil and tempera paint on canvas with Dance School, dated 1874.  His subjects were typically women, especially noted for his observation of ballet in the 1880s, and people’s faces, of which he started out with self-portrait work before moving onto Parisians of low class.

*Dance School, 1874[3]

This work captures several different activities going on in a dance class.  There is the instructor, with whom three students are focused on the instruction being given.  A dancer in the left foreground pays attention to the violinist before her, as if waiting for a cue, from the music being played, to either join her classmates directly behind her or perhaps to wander to another part of the room where other students can be found.  This appears to be a possibility with another dancer, who stands poised with her head tilted to the left, listening for the moment to pull her into full stance and move into formation with her fellow classmates.

The young lady directly behind her appears to be distracted, perhaps bored with the routines that are consistently taught, as she places her arms up around her head and looks slightly upward towards the ceiling.  A dancer at the window may be also distracted or bored but the observer is unaware due to the nature of her back being turned towards the class.  A final dancer stands at the bar, leg extended and appears to be concentrating on her balance and poise, or perhaps preparing herself to join the class after a proper warm up.

Light from outside streams into the classroom, softly touching the floor, reaching out to add a sort of quiet lingering in the room; for all the various activities in the room, one would assume a sort of busy, almost chaotic sense would linger, creating distraction for all dancers, and even perhaps the musician and dance instructor, while in the midst of this setting.

Eduard Manet (1832-1883)

Manet was born in 1832, into the Parisian bourgeoisie.  Although well educated, he didn’t excel in the academic world; he displayed a passion for the arts at an early age and was encouraged by his mother’s brother to pursue this passion.  It wasn’t until after serving a brief time in the Merchant Marines in 1850 that he took up study with Thomas Couture, of which he stayed with his mentor until 1856.  During this time, he displayed preference for the works of Valazquez and Goya but felt that “one’s art should reflect ideas and ideals of the present, rather than the past” (artchive.com).

Manet, much like Degas, focused on the lower class Parisian people, a class unlike the class either one were born into.  Manet also had a preference for nude models in his work, of which he displayed in some of his work, the most popular-and controversial work being Olympia, an oil paint on canvas work from 1863.  His mainstay for medium preference was oil paint with a canvas support.

*Olympia, 1863[4]

The painting that caused a stir in 1863, one of which Manet did not intend.  The artist didn’t consider himself a radical, like Courbet but this work caused controversy just the same (artchive.com).  In the painting, there is a woman appearing to be reclining, with a relaxed, non aroused appearance not only found in her expression but can also be seen in her posture.  She wears a few simple pieces of jewelry, a flower tucked behind her left ear, and one of her slippers has fallen off of her foot, yet she doesn’t seem to pay too much attention.  A small black cat, almost hidden in the shadows, arches its back and eyes are wide.

The indentation made by the lady’s elbow emphasizes the softness of the pillows she reclines upon, and the floral scarf or shawl she is holding in one hand-with the remainder appearing out from under her lower body, seems to add a touch of color to the otherwise stark, white of the bedding she is resting upon.  Emerald curtains, perhaps made of velvet or a similar heavy fabric used with window treatments, hang in the background, one pulled aside just right of the subject’s head.

To her left, it appears as if a servant of the house has brought flowers into the room; from a suitor or maybe even from the painter himself-although Manet was newly married at the time of the painting.  The servant’s expression displays a hint of trying to capture the attention of the reclining woman but to no avail.

Compare/Contrast

Degas and Manet were working at the same time, and although Degas worked with other mediums and supports, such as pastel on paper, the two artists focused upon the common people of Paris, mainly women.  Degas has been more noted for his work with dance classes, Manet for his focus with women, such as the subject in Olympia, and the barmaid in A Bar at Folies-Bergeres, 1881-82[5].  Natural, relaxed expressions are to be found on the faces of the women who were the subjects of these two Parisian artists, bodies not posed for endless, exhausting hours appear to be more relaxed, giving a sense of “in the moment” with the work displayed, from beginning to completion.

Similarity is found in the ability to allow subjects to “just be,” as opposed to awkward posing and unrealistic facial expressions. Difference can be found in the quality of the completed work, focusing on the mediums implemented by each artist.  Manet’s use of oil on canvas provides a polished, almost photograph-like appearance, almost as if numerous sessions were undertaken to capture the quality of the resulting work.  Degas’ use of oil and tempera on canvas, sometimes an implementation of pastels and paper, gives a more “on the spot,” beginning on sight and then moving away to completion upon return to the studio quality to his finished work.

Summary

Manet and Degas, Parisian artists of the 19th century, men who were noted as Impressionists as well as Realists of their time, captured the images of the people of France, Paris and low class citizens in particular, and brought them to life on canvas for the world to eventually come to view; their works are displayed across the globe, from such places as Shelburne, Vermont to London to Paris.  Manifesting real life images, in a more natural state of being, was the center of the work Manet and Degas focused on in the duration of their art careers, influencing fellow and future artists to explore capturing the moment, and bringing the moment to life on the canvas.

Works Cited

www.artchive.com

Hughes, Robert.  Nothing if not Critical: Selected Essays on art and Artists.

*Degas

MacDonald, Lisa.  1999.

*Manet

www.artcyclopedia.com

*Characteristics of Realism

www.google.com

*Characteristics of Realism

http://www.horton.ednet.ns.ca/staff/syme/arthistory/tsldo39.htm

*Definition of Realism

http://www.progressiveart.com/art_terms.htm

www.metmuseum.org

Schenkel, Ruth.  Edgar Degas: 1834-1917 Painting and Drawing.  In Timeline of

Art History.  New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dgsp/hd_dgsp.htm

[1] Notes from Huges, Robert.  Nothing if not Critical: Selected Essays on art and Artists.  www.artchive.com
[2] Notes from Schenkel, Ruth.  Edgar Degas: 1834-1917 Painting and Drawing.  In Timeline of Art History.  New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000.  http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dgsp/hd_dgsp.htm
[3] Image can be found at www.artchive.com
[4] Image can be found at www.artchive.com
[5] Image can be found at www.artchive.com

A national artist refers to a person who has been given high recognition for having made significant contributions towards the development of national arts in regard to music, theatre, literature, film, visual arts and other allied arts.  Italian artists are professional artists who have mastered all the themes of fine arts and are Italians by virtual of either working or living in Italy.

Italy is well known for its art and artistic culture.  It has been globally recognised for its numerous monuments such as the Leaning tower of Pisa and the Colosseum in Rome.  Italy is also famous for other fine arts, music, cinema, theatre and other forms of arts.

History of the Italian art

The origin of Italian art can be traced many centuries back with major happenings having began in the early 14th century (Feller 85).  Art in Italy has been marked by several eras or periods as they are commonly known this includes:

The Roman period

This began immediately after the end of the Punic wars which was marked by the invasion of the Greek into the Roman empire.  This era was marked by Hellenistic styles which were common in the Greek civilization.

There was cultic and decorative use of sculptures and mosaic pictorial presentations which are still evident from the remains of many temples and villas.  As the Roman period came to an end, more naturalistic and severe styles of art were developed at the centre of the empire and were later spread to the East of Italy and before moving to the Constantinople.

Byzantine period

Due to the collapse of the western capital of the Roman empire, Italy stayed under the leadership of Constantinople for close to a thousand years.  During this time, artists in the region were involved in many projects throughout Italy and the Byzantine styles were most dominant in all these projects.  This style extended throughout the 14th century.

Gothic period

The Gothic era was marked by various religious disputes and the Franciscans and the Dominicans were struggling to address the controversial issues within the aim of uniting the Roman catholic.

During this time, Giovanni and Giotto being the first painters in Italy revolutionised the role of an artist from being a copier of traditional social norms and beliefs to being a creative individual.  These two artists strived towards improving the depiction of the whole artistic figures into more realistic pictures (Gibbons and George 19).

By the 19th century, the art of Italy was marked with a lot of resurgence.  Italy’s unification which happened in early 1871 had all the local paintings which had been painted decades earlier already expired.  This caused a lot of embarrassment for the Italian artists who had to deal with the lost glory in order to define the national voice of a pre-Garibaldi state which had now been unified from dozens of antipathetic small states.

Panaroma period

Garibaldi Panaroma marked a special form of survival period for the public art in Italy which was prevalent in the 19th century.  During this time, the panaromas were easily found on display on the streets to provide visual and knowledgeable entertainment. This was linear paintings which served the purpose of interpreting history and news concerning such great cities such as Rome and Paris (Mohen 78).

The panaroma art work which depicted the life of Garibaldi is an example of a panaroma which was used to offer commercial entertainment during this era.  In order to keep up with the current happenings, most of the large panaromas were repainted over time but the small ones were just left to wear out.

Recently in 2007, the department of Italian studies offered financial support for the state’s national library to digitize the Garibaldi panaroma and make it available all over the world.  Etruscan bronze figures together with the terracotta funerary relief are some if the examples of the Italian traditions which were denounced after the Roman unification.

Introduction

Skin is a hugely significant part of every individual’s life and story. It can identify our race, health and even consumerism. Our body is what we are, and we are all aware of our own body. We can observe the body in different ways, especially if we consider it in the media and a cultural material. In this essay, I need to be able to distinguish between if the skin is a material object, a piece of meat or if it is something divine, something that has been given to us.

Our skin is one part of us that gives the human body its own language, due to this it gives us a means of understanding life. We become inspired to explore our human body as a text (a language) that we can read and reveal to us a great deal of cultural information.

“This symbolic function of the body applies not only to the taboos and rituals, but to parts of the body, to representations of the human body – in art works, medical texts, racial ideology, and advertisements – and to decorations and modifications of the flesh, from ornaments, hair fashion, cosmetics, masking, costuming, tattooing, piercing, and scarification, to body fattening or thinning, muscular development, and cosmetic surgery. However extreme or seemingly whimsical the practise; it always has meaning, always is shaped by the sociocultural context in and through which people act.”[1]

This quote is a perfect starting point as an example of hoe diverse the literal idea of skin can be. All these changes can be made physically, but also require a certain amount of emotional and mental consideration as well. The idea my chosen essay question poses to me though, is that is this skin that we have a cultural material, and do artists make it that?

Looking at the idea that skin most defiantly is used as a cultural material, we can go back as far as to look at early representations of people, and consider the work of artists such as, Botticelli. His painting of Venus and Mars is a clear depiction of his understanding of the personification of beauty, looking at the skin of Venus, we know that at the time Botticelli was producing this piece, no contemporary woman of that age would have had such perfect features and alabaster skin.

This gives us a clear notion of the idealization that artists of the 15th century had about what they considered beautiful. Even in this era, the depiction of what was considered aesthetically beautiful was still highly regarded, and remained significant in the paintings produced at this time. This figure of Venus is perfectly symmetrical; Botticelli has created the ideal woman that is not only the perfection of physical attractiveness but also the philosophical level of beauty that was demanded by the scholars of the time. Though looking at the painting we can hardly ignore the extremely sexually provocative depiction of Mars, not only has Botticelli created his perfection of womanhood, but the god-like physique and classical features he has given Mars revel a greater depth of understanding to this piece as we begin to understand the artist and the requirements of the culture that surrounded him.

Following this idea of skin depictions through the ages we can go on to look at the 18th century, and in particular on image by Jacques- Louis David, ‘The death of Marat’ (1793).

This one painting by David is a perfect representation of the ideals held in high esteem at the time, and the importance of the portrayal of significant figures in society. His image is telling us about the death of Marat, a man that was an important Jacobin, and who was also friends with the artist himself. Due to his role in the convention and as editor-in-chief of L’Ami du Peuple, he was murdered as he bathed.

As I am concerned with the idea of skin as material culture the importance of Marat’s portrayal in his bath, is crucial to this piece. Marat suffered from a disfiguring skin disease that required him to bath for hours in order to treat It, however as we look upon this piece we can clearly see that there is no trace of such a disease. David has created an idealized image of Marat, partly due to the fact that when he came to produce this portrait, Marat’s body was too badly decomposed. He has painted him as a healthy young man, and although his face is marked by suffering it is also gentle and immersed by a growing of peacefulness. The use of the elements such as light upon the skin are also vital to the composition, as David’s subtle interplay between these factors highlight his blend of compassion and outrage that he felt towards the victim of the piece.

Baudelaire wrote in 1846,

“The drama is here, vivid in its pitiful horror. This painting is David’s masterpiece and one of the great curiosities of modern art because, by a strange feat, it has nothing trivial or vile. What is most surprising in this very unusual visual poem is that it was painted very quickly. When one thinks of the beauty of the lines, this quickness is bewildering. This is food for the strong, the triumph of spiritualism. This painting is as cruel as nature but it has the fragrance of ideals. Where is the ugliness that hallowed Death erased so quickly with the tip of his wingNow Marat can challenge Apollo. He has been kissed by the loving lips of Death and he rests in the peace of his metamorphosis. This work contains something both poignant and tender; a soul is flying in the cold air of this room, on these cold walls, around this cold funerary tub.”[2]

In this quote Baudelaire is restoring David’s work to its honour after being mistake by the Romantics as cold classicism.

The idea of skin as material culture is so apparent here as the masking of a disease is known. I need to now enquire as to why things such as that are hidden and disguised, why is it important to sustain such a perfect ideal.

Bibliography

Onians, J. ‘the biological basis of renaissance aesthetics: in F, Ames – Lewis, M, Rogers, eds. Concepts of beauty in renaissance art’, Aldershot: ash gate publishing Ltd. 1998.

Walters, S. ‘Material girls: making sense of feminist cultural theory.’ University of California press, Ltd. London, England. 1995.

Pitts, V. ‘In the flesh: the cultural politics of body modification.’ Palgrove Macmillan TM. 2003.

Tilley, C. ‘Reading material culture.’ Blackwell publishers, Ltd. 1990.

Hall, S. ‘Cultural identity and Diaspora – theorizing Diaspora: a reader.’ Wiley-Blackwell, 2003.

http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/neocl_dav_marat.html

http://sirl.stanford.edu/~bob/teaching/pdf/arth202/Haughton_Renaissance_beauty_JCosmeticDermatology04.pdf

http://science.jrank.org/pages/8480/Body-SOCIAL-SKIN.html

Discuss the artistic movements of the eighteenth, nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. How does one lead to another and what values conflict and produce the change.

The eighteenth, nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries were characterized by four major artistic movements. They were Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism. More often than not, these movements represented clear break with old and transition to new social, political, and cultural ideologies.Through music, literature, and art champions of these movements reflected on most pressing concerns of their time and seeking for a ways to better the world plague by revolutions and wars. Neoclassicism was the most prevalent artistic movement of the second half of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. Founded on aesthetic attitudes based on the art, literature and culture of ancient Greece and Rome, it emphasized form, proportion, restrained emotion and simplicity.In a number of ways, the rise of Neoclassicism can be attributed to Enlightenment movement.

The expansion, evolution, and redefinition of the European standard classical education, the rise in commissioned art and architecture and the refinement of art scholarship, and the general reaction to the exorbitant styles of Baroque and Rococo revived interest in antiquity and necessitated a return to principles of classicism.In part a revolt against aristocratic social and political norms of the Age of Enlightenment and a reaction against the scientific rationalisation of nature, Romanticism came to replace Classicism in late 18th century. Rejecting glorification of reason and science, Romantic artists focused instead on emotions, intuition and mystical feelings. Through their works, they also strived to create a sense of a shared collective heritage and common cultural past as the basis of a nation.These sentiments are best demonstrated by one of the most important French Romantic painters Delacroix in his famous painting “The Massacre at Chios” that depicts an incident in which 20,000 Greeks were said to have been killed by Turks. By dramatizing the incident, focusing on the suffering of women and children, and using vivid colors, Delacroix sought to appeal to the emotions of the spectators, and create sympathy for the Greeks.As a result of various spiritual, cultural, and social changes that were affecting Europe in the end of the 19th century, Romanticism began to decline eventually giving way to new ideas.

Influenced by industrialization, increased in strength nationalism, and spread of socialist ideas, the intellectual life began to reflect a different kind of sensibility, moving away from emotional and heroic tones of the romanticism. A new artistic movement that emerged from this shift in the line of thought was realism.Unlike their predecessors, realists focused on contemporary people and events rather than grand, historical, or religious subjects. Instead of dabbling in mythological subjects, they sought to expose the truths and realities of people’s existence. This new trend is best reflected in the journalistic reporting from the Crimean Wars that avoided the heroic and jingoistic language to which nineteenth-century readers were accustomed. The term Modernism is applied to the wide range of experimental and avant-garde trends in the arts that emerged from the middle of the 19th century.The modernist movement took place because the idea of traditional forms of art, social organisation and daily life had become tedious and unpleasing to the eye.

In attempt to move forward and force the old ideas aside, modernists changed the way people looked at existing things. This artistic movement encompasses the works of thinkers who rebelled against nineteenth century academic and historicist traditions, believing the “traditional” forms of art, architecture, literature, religious faith, social organization and daily life were becoming outdated.Through their works, Modernists directly confronted the new economic, social and political conditions of an emerging fully industrialized world. Neoclassicism, romanticism, realism and modernism were four artistic movements that mirrored changes in intellectual thought during 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. Reflecting the ideas on the Enlightenment about importance of structured world guided by reason, Neoclassicism emphasized form and proportion.The revolt against principles of Enlightenment brought Romanticism that validated strong emotion as an authentic source of aesthetic experience. Positioning itself against romanticism, Realism revolted against the exaggerated emotionalism of the Romantic Movement and strived to depict subjects without embellishment or interpretation.

Finally, responding to wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society in the late 19th and early 20th century, modernism broke with conservative values of realism, questioning all axioms of the previous age.