Modern Art Essay

Contemporary Art: Dealing with Post–Modernity

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"Art worlds consist of all the people whose activities are necessary to the production of the characteristic works which that world, and perhaps others as well, define as art. ... By observing how an art world makes those distinctions rather than trying to make them ourselves we can understand much of what goes on in that world.... The basic unit of analysis, then, is an art world."

– Howard Becker (Art Worlds)

Postmodernism deconstructs Modernism like Modernism deconstructed art

Like the Simpson's episode that explained Po–Mo as "weird for the sake of weird", Postmodernism accepted the philosophy "art for the sake of art". A very free and democratic practice, a natural response...show more content... Postmodernism embraces hypertext and hyperplicity, or the rejection of centralized control. It looses trust in the media and public communication, embracing simulacrum as a hyper–reality that was only long–ago based on some sort of truth. Most importantly, Postmodernism rejects the Modernist idea of high art as normative and dominant. Instead, it merges the concept of "low" and "high" art, effectively canceling them both. Where Modernism saw a work of art as a finished product, signed by the artist and authenticated by the art market, Postmodernism sees art as a recycling of culture, authenticated by whatever audience that may be. Where Modern art is a separate dichotomy of contrasting themes (organic/nonorganic, realist/abstract),Postmodern art mixes all available ideas into a sensational pastiche. Finally Modernism clearly divided normity versus sexual difference and pornography. Postmodernism embraces whatever ideas have an audience, and mixes polymorphous sexuality and pornography with mainstream media. Postmodernist art and media reject the linear way of working, building upon a specific discourse and ideology. It embraces instead, an anything–goes attitude, expanding mediums and messages into multiple directions. As long as there's an audience somewhere, the work can be considered legitimate art.

Modernist trends in the Postmodern Art–World

It is important to note – since the work is still authenticated by its audience, art still

Focus Paper 1: Major Styles in Modern Art

Art in the nineteenth century can be described as very traditional, similar, romantic, and simple. Stepping into the twentieth century, artists turned to color, angles, and new incredibly unconventional styles. Major art forms such as cubism, futurism, fauvism, non–objective, and the international style were born. Artists became more creative and inspired by the new age. All three styles rejected the traditional ways of nineteenth century art and entered the new century with unconventional and revolutionary techniques and pieces that have changed the way artists think and create still to this day.

Cubism is a style of modern art that was influenced originally by Pablo Picasso in the early twentieth...show more content... Futurism originated in Italy in the earlier parts of the twentieth century. Its members aimed to rid Italy of the older culture and integrate the modern era. Futurism artists embraced the new ideas, media, culture, and technology. With its portrayal of popular culture in this movement also came the inclusion of politics in the arts. Artist involved in this movement were enthusiastic about everything that the modern world had to offer from technology and machines, to change, violence, and popular media. Their art was often inspired by, and included, the modern city. The first futurist painting is believed to be The City Rises (1910) by Umberto Boccioni. Similarly, Non–objective art is abstract art. Non–objective or nonrepresentational art does not directly portray an object, subject, person, place, or thing. Abstract art, much like cubism, futurism, and fauvism, was developed in the earlier years of the twentieth century. Non–objective artists focus more on the colors, textures, size, shapes, and processes of a painting rather than actually portraying a certain scene, person, object, or landscape from the natural world. An example of a non–objective painting is Picture with a Circle (1911) by Russian artist Wassily

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Piet Mondrian and Jackson Pollock are both regarded as being major influences within the movement of modern art. During the peak of their careers their artwork took on very different styles. Mondrian was born in 1872, he was a Dutch artist, is famously known for his precise, systematic style of painting. He is renowned for the grid–based paintings that he produced in the early 1920's during his time in Paris (wilder, 2007 p.318). Jackson Pollocks work was erratic and spontaneous, this is particularly noticeable in the late 1940's when he produced an array of works using a drip painting technique (ref). Despite the works of Mondrian and Pollock being at opposite ends of the scale when it came to style and imagery, is it possible their...show more content...

This highlights the importance of having someone to believe in his or her work, and to boost the ego of a doubtful artist. Despite these differences in character both Pollock and Mondrian greatly appreciated the rhythm and pulse of life, but this is expressed very differently on canvas. By comparing each of the artist most prominent pieces of work, the influences and motivation towards their style of art can be investigated. The piece below by Mondrian, Composition with red, yellow and blue (figure 1) was painted in 1921 (Blotkamp 2001 p.180). It is one of his earliest pieces on which he built a collection of works which composed of an asymmetric grid of black lines, set against a white background, with some of the rectangles filled with primary colours. The contrast between black and white paint against the simplistic colours is striking and yet modest, his painting appears effortlessly cool and sophisticated. In contrast the painting produced in 1949 by Pollock, Number 8 (figure 2) is erratic and spontaneous, in the same year he shot to fame when he was featured in Life magazine. He began the drip painting technique a couple of years earlier and the magazine Time famously labelled him as 'Jack the Dripper' (Landau, 2005 p.11). Both images are very large, abstract forms of expression, and despite their differences they both have a sense of movement. With Pollocks

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Contemporary Art Analysis

Contemporary art is showcased through the lenses of traditional gallery settings, as well as festival–like venues. For the audience, this means that art can be discovered and engaged with. What is contemporary art? According to Melissa Ho, assistant curator at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C., "technically," modern art is "the cultural expression of the historical moment of modernity." "With modern art, there is this new emphasis put on the value of being original and doing something innovative," says Ho (Smithsonianmag.com, 2011). The unique creations for contemporary artists such as Michael Landy and Amalia Pica, both international artists from the U.K, are currently on view at The Power Plant, a small gallery space that displays their innovative art. Both exhibits reflect current issues that face modern society, Michael Landy's, DEMONSTRATION, (2017) and Amalia Pica's In Praise of Listening, (2016). Landy's DEMONSTRATION exhibit at the The Power Plant's Fleck Clerestory is a collaborative work between himself and the Canadian public in building a hand–lettered, text–based, red–and–white oil paint style wall work known as protest art. Essentially, the protest art reflects the attitudes, thoughts and feelings on what matters most to Canadians on various current social and political issues (de Leon, Formal Analysis Part A). His goal for this project is to open up the channel of communication among Canadians. Landy's simple and direct approach engages the Get

Postmodern art decided to make revolutionary break with past and questioned previous theories known as "big narratives" of art, politics, economics and overall culture in order to create new theories. The big part of postmodern theory deals with the belief of preexistence of the art all around us. The artist is the one who can recognize these elements of art around as and synthesize them into the art work. This art work becomes object of interpretation which inevitably varies among different generations, social groups, national group, religious groups, and depends on some extent of the educational level of the observers and it is also different in the same individual in different times or environments. The different interpretations of...show more content...

In another words Borges through his character, Pierre Menard, primarily examined the terms of the originality, inspiration, and innovation in the art. Borges argues for strong mutual connections between the written work (art work) and the reader (observer) and written work (art) and the creator. He created his fictional world in which he unfolded the story encompassing his philosophy of art, self examined it from different angles without a fear of overestimating values of his own work because he is just objectively praising Pierre Menard's artistic product. In the story Pierre Menard presents two options how he could write his Quixote. The first option is that he, Pierre Menard, will become Cervantes, in that way that he will learn to speak 17th century Spanish, he will learn the history and examine the circumstances that were surrounding Cervantes while he was writing his Quixote. Of course, this option is denied as impossible (ironically, Borges says it too easy.) The second option, for Menard, is to write his own, Quixote; The Quixote that will, in its appearance, resemble the "original" work, but in its core will be completely different piece. Menard will become different Cervantes, do it through his own experience and knowledge. In this way, he will not only distinguish his "The Quixote" from the "Don Quixote," but Menard still will stay himself. Menard intended to create The Quixote by his own means (talent, brain power, experience) so that it would be

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Contemporary art has evolved into many different forms and genres. The substantial amount of freedom given by the art educational institutions to the artist enables the practice of seeking new ways of expression and evolution. This open mode of creation is necessary for the practice to freely evolve, but the freedom brings a huge responsibility onto the maker too. There is also a question of whether there is a real freedom of expression, in the world governed by the social and institutional rule and order. Shall the artist seek to escape the expectations of the societal responsibilities and demands of the art institutions, and if yes, to what extent is it possible and meaningful for the avant–garde attitudes to exist within the contemporary...show more content...

Should we carry the sense of responsibility, or should we create freely and independently from the social and political pressures of our times?

Where does the freedom stand in the relation to the ethical, social, political and institutional responsibilities? The times we live in can seem unsettling, and this takes us to observe many extremities in the reality and lives of the people. Nowadays Europe is shaken in the spheres of economical crisis, political unrest, social disorder and threat of terrorism and religious conflicts (for reference look for the recent news headlines regarding these). Shall we acknowledge a moral and social responsibility to attempt to transform this reality and remain a productive and active member of our communities? And if yes, in what ways does it reflect in the contemporary art practices? In the current times the works of art often seem too abstract and unapproachable for an average receiver, and often the art pieces remain their meaning only within the context of art institutions, biennials and only the audience, who is already well informed on the subject of contemporary art practices. However I believe that it is essential for the art to become more approachable and influential for the wider audience, including the members of our communities and society. It is vital to have an awareness of contemporary thought on art practices, as it can be used as a tool for understanding the more complex meaning of art practices; which at the first sight may be perceived as controversial, egocentric and useless for the general

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What Is Modern Art? Essay

Ha Lim (Sally) Lee

Term3/Fall15'

Intro to Modernism

Daniel Spaulding

Midterm Essay

What is Modern Art? Modern Art was created roughly during the 1800s to the 1900s. Before this period, art depicted religious or mythological scenes that told stories and guided the audience through art. "Modern Art denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era."(Arnason) This time was usually connected with art that threw the old traditions aside in a spirit of experimentation. This doesn't mean that modern art pieces don't have a story or a meaning behind them. To break out of the tradition, artists had to have courage to do what they loved. In Basic Writings of Kant, Wood states, "Have courage to use your own reason." Modern art can range from paintings to sculptures. Some artists experimented with the expressive use of color, non–traditional materials, new techniques, and new mediums. Two of the most popular modern works, currently presented at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, were "The Jewel" by Jay DeFeo and "Irregular Forms: Creation" by Frantisek Kupka . Both of these paintings were expressed with oil paint on canvas. However, despite the same mediums used in their works, these two have very opposing feeling from each other.

"The Jewel" by Jay DeFeo was started in 1958 and was finished in 1959. This is a gorgeous giant piece which measures up to 120" by 57.5". The Jewel recalls that her works of this period were a marriage of painting and sculpture. She Get

Modern Art Vs. Contemporary Art

Art overall is created and adored by numerous amount of people for many reasons, such as amplifying shared common visual language. The word art often branches into many different movements and components. Modern art or Contemporary art is one those components; this specific genre began mainly in the 1860's to the 1970's. During, this time period artists began throwing aside their own beliefs in a spirit of experimentation and the bringing of new ideas. The purpose of Modern art is to beautify one's surroundings with intrigue, its often very diverse and cannot be easily defined through a list of visual characteristics, artistic themes or cultural concern. Moreover, Modern art is often hard to understand by people because, unlike Egyptian tomb paintings or Greek sculptures, it speaks to the dramatic social, political and technological changes of the last 50–60 years, and questions many of society's values and assumptions. Also, Modern artists known for incorporating a great deal of abstraction into their works and representational forms to convey their ideas more elaborately; Rene Magritte is one of those artists. In the False Mirror by Rene Magritte the artist presents his viewers with an enormous lashless eye illuminated with luminous cloud–swept blue sky filling the iris and opaque, and a dead–black disc for the pupil. The painting is filled with a great deal of allusion, because the artist gives the viewer both a look through the eye as if it's a window and a stare back

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Ancient Art The history of the building techniques is the human's journey to search for exclusivity and excellence. To achieve this goal, ancient civilizations made their own style of building temples, walls, sculptures, and many other antiquities to represent their identity. However, many circumstances influenced the types of building they can construct. For example, the customs, religion, the climate, and the nature of the land. Throughout this paper, ancient antiquities, all are three dimensional sculptures made of limestone from Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt, will be presented. Including, the Assyrian Lamassu, Achaemenid Colum Capital in the form of Man– Bull, and the Colossal Bull– Head, and an Egyptian "servant" statue.

Beginning with ancient Mesopotamian art, one significant art work was excavated in 1929, and now presented in the Oriental Institute in Chicago with its museum number A7369 is the Lamassu from Dur– Sharrukin; also known as the Human– headed Winged Bull. According to the label information, the Lamassu was created around 721–705 BCE during the Assyrian period, which was the last great culture of ancient Mesopotamia.1 The sculpture is made of limestone, and is about sixteen feet tall, and weighs around forty tons. As depicted in figure 1A, the Lamassu was sculpted in such a way that marked so many aesthetic features. At first, it is clear that the sculptor did not base his work on what is natural or real; instead, this work was meant to be symbolic. Get

When you look at an artist artwork are your first thoughts the type of art painting is? Do you look at the artwork and automatically know the style and the time period the art comes from? Or are you the type of person that likes to read the information box underneath or alongside the artwork? If you were to ask me any of these questions this time last year, I probably wouldn't really know and would tell you that I was the type of person that has to look at the information box. With me I always thought I wasn't really into art, but I soon learned without certain artwork or artist a lot of things such as technology or films that we have now wouldn't be accessible for us today. What made me realized this was taking both Intro to Humanities and Humanities 20th Century which allowed me to look at art in a different light. Not only has it done that, but taking those two courses has allowed me to understand why modern art was and will always be very important to us, the types of Modern Art that have been discovered, who and/or what works define Modern Art and lastly how Modern Art have been seen as an expression of its age. The form of modern art that stood out to me was Abstract Expressionism. Modern Art is so important because it has allowed us to have all of the modern technology, films, building, etc. that we admire so much. There are many different types of art style that could represent "modern art" a few examples would be Pop Art, Minimalism, International Styles etc. Like Get

Abstract and modern art have really changed the way society views and appreciation for the amazing contributions and work created by artists. There are so many styles and concepts which those artists have come up with over times which are greatly reflected in their paintings and creations. In this essay we will be going on a journey to find out the inspiration and the intended messages from three paintings mentioned in the above topic. "The Large Bathers, 1898–1905 is the largest of Cezanne's pictures and because it is also the most formal in aspect, it has been cited often as an example of his ideal of composition and his restoration if classical monumentality after its lapse during the nineteenth century" (www.PaulCezanne.org). This painting was one of the most mind–blowing yet interesting pieces during this era because of its unfinished quality which caused quite a stir among writers, artists and historians. The nude forms presented along with the river and triangular pattern in which the trees were painted gives quite an interesting perspective to his work. The composition of the painting did not reflect the ideal typical style from the Renaissance pyramid. Instead it was created in another style where the central part is empty, the apex is intercepted by the frame and the greatest compactness comes in smaller pyramids for the largest figures. One can also notice from Cezanne's work the way he thought about portrayed women. "The abstract nude females present in Large

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Advantages And Disadvantages Of Modern Art

We live in a time where technology accelerates in an incredible speed, from computers, smart phones, social networks with each passing day. Even though the technology has many disadvantages to our critical thinking, for the art, the technology has set a new creative methods. The art has entered a new era with the continuing development of new technologies in the 21st century. For the artists, the technology is offering a new technique methods and tools such as high technology equipment using computers, computer software, high–end cameras, touch tablets and so on, to explore and develop artworks on a whole different level. From the first prehistoric periods until today, the art has undergone big changes, from when the first artist picked up...show more content... Now, the technology offers the traditional artist to display their works on the World Wide Web in a form of online gallery or online portfolio to communicate with other artists. However, modern art exhibitions now include videos and 3D paintings. Modern artist are using new techniques and methods to create artwork. Computer software such as Photoshop or Lightroom allows the artist to easily manipulate photography using different tools. Also 3D programs such as 3Ds Max, Maya and many others offer the artist many electronic tools and endless color combinations which makes the process of creating 3D artworks pleasant and much easier. Technology offers a lot of benefits to the art, however, what is really offending nowadays is that many people think that they are artists because they can start up Photoshop, combine brushes, apply some predefined object shapes and techniques to create art. It is very hard to distinct between artist and person who is just playing with the shapes, brushes and creates some abstract painting. There are also some artist who pretend their abstract shapes represent some way of art and they call it innovative. However, the question is how much of that person talent is reflected in that art which he created digitally with pre–defined presets? However, a traditional artist is more psychically connected

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Modern Art During The 20th Century

Modern art began as early as the nineteenth century, setting trends that would follow in the mid to late twentieth century. Expressionism was among some of the primary modern movements. This particular movement explored artists' desires to portray their experiences and ideals of the world using experimental processes. Prussian sculptor, playwright, and illustrator by the name of Ernst Barlach sat among the famous expressionists in Germany.1 While Barlach received fame and popularity, being somewhat of a genius in his time betweenWorld War Iand World War II, his popularity would slowly dwindle at the rise of the National Socialist Party headed byAdolf Hitler. 2 His work along many other artists found strong criticisms with the NAZI party and Barlach would only live to see the constant threats and removal of his work without ever witnessing the restoration of these art pieces after the second World War.3 His most provoking piece that initiated condemnation from his peers and artists under Hitler was the Magdeberg Ehrenmal.4 It became the centerpiece of many debates that would haunt not only the Magdeberg Cathedral where it was located, but Barlach as a legitimate artist himself. Those who opposed Barlach were mainly Bernhard Heidegger and somewhat of Alfred Rosenberg, both of which directed their attacks specifically towards Barlach's credence.5 It is only now with the further analysis of Alfred Werner and predominantly Peter Paret's writings, who seek further explanation

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Museum of Modern Art in New York

The Museum of Modern Art in New York City is the world's leading modern art. Its exhibits have been a major influence in creating and stimulating popular awareness of modern art and its accompanying diversity of its styles and movements. The museum's outstanding collections of modern painting, sculpture, drawings, and prints range from Impressionisms to current movements. Moreover, there are exhibits of modern architecture, industrial design, sculpture, photography, prints and electronic media. The museum presently has amodern art library of 300,000 books and impressive collections of films that are shown regularly. The Museum is said to be the complementary of the Metropolitan Museum...show more content... Barr submitted the concept of what was to become of the museum. It had to be organized as a multi–departmental structure each devoted for Architecture and Design, Photography, Film and Video, and they should stand side by side with traditional arts such as Painting and Sculpture. Architect Philip Johnson built on this idea. The multi–departmental structure seemed to best fit with the burgeoning International Style, a modernist architectural movement from which Philip Johnson belonged. In this architecture, buildings are designed with simple geometric lines and clean, precise surfaces and with minimum decoration. Walls are made almost entirely of glass, known as curtain walls–a signature Johnson was known for–that are used to give the building a light and airy appearance.

Roxanne Briano

The Museum of Modern of Art was the first to use the words "International Style", which was a fitting term to introduce modernist arts to the world. Johnson and another renowned architect Henry–Russell Hitchcock organized a major show under the title "Modern Architecture: International Exhibition". There they described the International Style that expresses several design principles, that concerns with volume rather than mass and solidity, regularity instead of axial symmetry, and the proscription of "arbitrary applied decoration". Exhibits featured leading European and American architects, especially the likes of Le Corbusier and Ludwig Mies van der

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Appropriating ideas in the context of art is a double–edged sword. On one end, it can bring awareness and attention to artists of other cultures and time periods, but on the other end, it is blatant plagiarism. In the art world, the time period of Cubism through Fauvism (with Futurism being the notable modern art movement in between) was ripe with artists taking from fellow creators. Pablo Picasso was one of the most notable appropriators of others' works. In the masterpiece Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (which is a Cubist work of art), he was inspired by nineteenth–century African masks. He borrowed the lines and shapes of the faces on the masks to make a point about the culture of the French. In Futurism, it is ironic that there was as much appropriation as there was. The movement was all about new and exciting things while the visual artists were painting many of the same subjects, like war, seen in works like Christopher R. W. Nevinson's Returning to the Trenches in 1914–1915 and Gino Severini's Armored Train from 1915. In the last mentioned movement, Fauvism, Henri Matisse was the biggest star. His color made him stand out but the subject of his wife was taken from the father of modern art, Paul CГ©zanne. This is simply because of the awe CГ©zanne ignited in modern artists but also because of what his wife stood for in his paintings completed in the late 1800's. She was a symbol of dread that was so iconic, Matisse had to include her in his works such as Portrait of the

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Introduction Art is a human activity, the product of this activity or the idea that we are in fact deliberately targeting sense, emotions and intellect. Art and writing are different forms of expression but they both can convey the same intensity for the creator. Art can be used to express thoughts, emotions and feelings whereas writing is a form of expressing ideas and opinions. Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway are those two names, which they don't need to identification. They are well–known personality from lifetime works on their own respected fields. Pablo Picasso and Hemingway are most well–known in the 20th century and still popular in art and literature. Both artists created valuable paintings, stories and novels from their imagination and express beautifully that reader and viewer can inspired by them. That why they are always be our inspiration and idol.

How did Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso's literature and art transform the modern era and impact the 20th century? Ernest Hemingway and Pablo Picasso's creations always expressed and related with imagination and real life experiences. Their outstanding creations, imagination have come to form extraordinary priceless creations. Where Picasso invented cubism, surrealism and color theme that brings revolution on arts, Hemingway who wrote many novels and stories based on real life experiences and adventure. Throughout a long, illustrious career, Ernest Hemingway used his work to Get more content

Modern art is better than ancient art, they both have a distinct perspective on what they should be, but modern art could be based on anything, can be inspired on a global scale and is more expressive. Both arts can be interpreted; differently, they are from different time eras, based on various things, cultures, and have different expressions. Ancient art is more limited compared to modern art which is vast. Modern art broke boundaries and tried new things; it has no barriers. "Ancient art, as its name implies, is the art produced during the ancient times. This particular art period ranges from the Paleolithic period to the Middle Ages. Ancient art was produced by early humans, ancient civilizations, and early Christian societies." (Celine) Modern art can be based on anything you want. Ancient art is secluded to being based on religion surrounding it at the time. "Difference Between" states, "Modern art did not get support from the Church and other aforementioned sectors of the society; Ancient art got its support from the so–called Patrons of the art especially the Church and the upper crust members of the society at the time." The Church who governed social norms back then had a lot of influence in what makes great art, and they limited what was accepted by society. Modern art does not have or need the influence of the church because the church does not govern most of the society like they have in the past and because of this Modern Art has an infinite number of things it can be based on. Therefore, modern art is more versatile in all the diverse ways it can be expressed; it was an improvement and a step forward for art. Another reason modern art is better is that it could be inspired on a large scale. Ancient Art could only be inspired by what surrounded you because what surrounds you is all you perceive. For example, if you grew up around trees and lush environments you wouldn't paint the dessert because you don't know what the desert is like. Modern art could be inspired on a global scale from across the world and no matter where you live you can get inspiration from diverse cultures around the world. The reason Modern Art is inspired on a global scale is that of the advancement in technology. The Get more content

Before the 19th century, artists mainly made artwork for the wealthy people and the religious groups. They were controlled by the academy and painted in a way that mainstream society recognized. Many of their paintings depicted scenes of mythology and church. However in the 19th century, industrialization brought many new technologies to ordinary people, making the impossible possible. Many artists began to create artworks to explore the concept of symbolism. Many of their subjects were daily things such as ordinary people, normal places and the things they had direct experience on. They challenged the traditional concept that artists must depict realistic worlds. Instead, they used a wide range of colors, materials and techniques to...show more content...

Van Gogh depicted clouds and stars in whirly shape in order to direct the viewerВґs eye around the painting. When standing in front the painting, one would spontaneously be attracted by those swirls and would follow one swirl to another. These elements make the painting seems to be fluid and abstract. The yellow crescent moon at the upper right corner is blight and mild. It softens the painting to convey a sense of serenity. Compared to other Impressionist paintings, Starry Night is somehow different: van Gogh used very expressive color and distorted form to give the viewers a very bright picture. Van Gogh wrote a letter to his brother to point out that compared to other Impressionist artists of that time, he utilized "exaggeration in terms of composition." He uses techniques such as surrealism to draw those swirls. In Starry Night the landscape seems to be a way to convey the artist's emotion. I believe that the fight van Gogh had against his mental illness is reflected in the painting. When looking at the upper sky in the painting, there is a strong contrast between the sky and the stars, similar to what van Gogh experienced that time: his illness and his hope to recover. Van Gogh painted the village in dark color but on the contrary, he used bright color to draw the windows. I think this contrast gave people the idea that finally human should have hope and try their best to overcome the Get more content

How Did Francisco Goya's Influence On Society

One of the greatest artists in the history of art, Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes had his own and very peculiar life story that affected the way in which he viewed society in the different stages of his life. He became the pioneer of many new artistic tendencies that came about in the 19th century and his work extended over a period of 60 years in which he was both very acclaimed, and badly criticized. Francisco Goya, artist whose different paintings, drawings, and engravings reflected contemporary historical upheavals, influenced many important painters in the centuries that have followed.

Francisco Goya was born in March 30, 1749 in Zaragoza, Spain. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to Jose Martin Luzan, who was a local ...show more content...

It was after this success and achievements that he began to be critical about society, more specifically after being left permanently deaf by a serious illness in 1792. As a result of his deafness he concentrated in the fantasies of his imagination, with critical and satirical observations of mankind. He was attracted to meditation and introspection. He stops seeing society as a group of good customs and starts thinking about its negative aspects as well. From these new ideas he evolved a bold, free style similar to caricature. In 1799 he published Caprichos, a series of etchings satirizing human folly and weakness. His portraits were now penetrating characterizations, revealing the subjects as Goya saw them. His religious portraits were now broad and free in style, with a realism which was unprecedented in religious art. This series was not intended for the same group of people as his earlier works, and so it had to be put away by orders from the Spanish Inquisition. Francisco served as a director of painting at the Royal Academy from 1795 to 1797 and named as the first Spanish courtpainter in 1799. It was after this criticism of society that Francisco Goya became embittered and disillusioned with people and society.

It is now in his old age that Goya is totally disappointed by humanity as a whole. He had to serve as a court painter to the French during the Napoleonic invasion of Spain, and

Contemporary Art : Modern Art

What – aside from its subject matter – makes modern art 'modern'?

Modern art is almost impossible to define or categorise other than it occurred in the rough time span of the 1860s to 1970s. It was a reaction against the perfection of traditional values and strict notion of what art is, creating something more inventive. Modernist art doesn't need a particular use or meaning to exist; it is autonomous in the way that it was art for art's sake. In general it strives to show the world as we really see it rather than through any instrument such as perspective or imagination. It uses experimentation in form, colour and medium to represent the reality experienced by each individual. However subject matter is also important in the understanding of a work of art as 'modern', as rapid political and social changes especially during the 19th century were depicted by artists. Modern art developed gradually, with artists being inspired by modern inventions. Impressionism can be classed as modern due to the subject matter of the Industrial Revolution. With this approach one could also argue that Turner acts as a precursor to modernism especially with his painting Rain, Steam and Speed – The Great Western Railway, 1844, which demonstrates the rapidity of the new technology. Rapid social and cultural changes during the 19th century had a huge effect on the style of artists. Previously artists had worked to commission but the emergence of a new middle class as well as art academies across

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