Art & The French Left During the July Monarchy, 1830-1848 1. Define/ Identify • July Revolution- Second French revolution (1830), middle class rebellion and overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of Louis Philippe (Duc' d'Orleans), it marked the shift from one constitutional monarchy to another • Louis Philippe- (Duc' d'Orleans) King of the French from 1830-1848, forced to abdicate in 1848, last king to rule France • Charles Philipon- French lithographer, caricaturist, and journalist, editor of the satirical political journals La Caricature and La Charivari 2. How would you explain Daumier's Legislative Belly and Charlet's two prints, Strong Class and 1840, Every Man at Home!..Every Man for Himself! as left-wing satires of the July Monarchy? Explain in terms of subject manner, style and content. • Daumier's Legislative Belly is a satirical depiction of the members of the French national assembly, they are presented as corpulent Bourgeois men with animal-like characteristics that evoke greed, self-interest, and conspicuous consumption. Charlet's Strong Class takes a heroic illustration of the Middle Class by differentiating (with attire) the social classes, he poses tension and conflict between the two almost mirrored figures to convey social division instead of unity. 1840, Every Man at Home!..Every Man for Himself! is also a depiction of social distances and possessive individualism versus poverty Gustave Courbet and Realism in France 1848-1860 1. Define/ Identify • Realism- Realism is presenting subject matter truthfully rejecting idealization, Courbet was the first to use the term to describe his work, realism to Courbet was anti-academicism • Charles Fourier- Fourier characterized poverty (not inequality) as the principal cause of disorder in society, and he proposed to eradicate it by sufficiently high wages and by a "decent minimum" for those who were not able to work • Napoleon III- First president of the French Republic and later declared himself emperor, he turned to the arts as a way for propaganda. Numerous buildings & monuments emblematic of his power were constructed including the Napoleon Museum in the Louvre with thousands of artworks from the countries he had conquered • Avant-Garde- Used in a Military sense, it meant advanced scouts Avant (before) but then moves to the realm of culture meaning those artists that are in the forefront (artistic innovators) • Pierre-Joseph Proudhon- Courbet's friend; wrote The Philosophy of Poverty which established him as the leading spokesman for "socialism" • Universal Exposition of 1855- Major exposition under reign of Napoleon in an effort to emulate the British/ more comprehensive than the Crystal Palace show • Comte Henri de Saint-Simone- Early formulator of capitalism; wants to change Capitalism (Predominant social middle class) Proletarian (working) class is disadvantaged, he wanted to transform the ills (inequality) of capitalism into socialism and presents it as a Historical argument • Alfred Bruyas- Well-known provincial collector and close friends with Courbet (bought many of his works)
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Epinal Prints- Woodblock prints produced in the French town of Epinal (contemporary folk art) 2. Explain the social role of the avant-garde artist in the works of Courbet & Manet. How do their works evidence a change in the social role of the avant-garde artist? (Linda Nochlin's Essay) • Courbet coins the term Realism for his joined artistic and political agenda "Realism is Democracy in Art", he gives himself a prominent role in The Painter's Studio by placing himself in an educator role with admirers and a group of fellow avant-garde radicals on the right (Including Charles Baudelaire). Manet limits the avant-garde to the artistic realm and depoliticizes it, taking artistic liberties with unidealized figures, innovative in form and technique but not in political activism (Luncheon on the Grass) 3. How does Stonebreakers express the aesthetic & social ideals of French Realism and Courbet's revolt against academicism & Romanticism in terms of subject matter, style & content? • Courbet publicizes contemporary subjects dealing with labor with no intent to idealize or perfect the subject matter, which came from the artist's experience. Courbet makes the faces anonymous to dehumanize with impersonal labor and merely invoke sympathy for the poor. He uses realism as a tool in order to raise consciousness on the grinding poverty during the July Monarchy. 4. How would you explain the scandalous aspects of Courbet's A Burial at Ornans in terms of subject matter, style & content? • Unlike earlier paintings, Courbet's Burial neither ennobles nor dramatizes death, instead it represents it for what it is -a recurrent and unremarkable event that happens to all of us, and suggested that equality could be achieved even during one's lifetime. Courbet was criticized for glorifying such a trivial subject, but it was mostly a scandal because it was a reminder that under the new republican regime the political picture of France could completely change. 5. What role did folk art (Epinal woodblock prints) play in the formation of Courbet's realism? How is it revealed in A Burial at Ornans and The Meeting? • Courbet's works reminded critics of the folk art woodblock prints because they captured the ordinary & contemporary life (mundane day-to-day affairs) that encompasses realist art. Additionally Courbet gave each figure equal importance and didn't reveal in the past like others before him. 6. How does Courbet present himself as an avant-garde artist in The Meeting and The Painter's Studio? • In The Painter's Studio and The Meeting Courbet presents himself as an avantgarde artist by making nature superior, taking artistic liberties, and politically directing them to the French government 7. How is Courbet's The Painter's Studio a pictorial lesson in artistic and social reform at the Universal Exposition of 1855? • Courbet hinted a parallel between Napoleon and himself, just as the International Art Exposition of 1855 was the culmination of seven years of Napoleon's reign over France, Courbet's exhibition crowned seven years of artistic prominence, while Napoleon hoped to place himself at the center of the political world, Courbet wished to put himself at the center of the artistic world 8. In characterizing The Painter's Studio as a "Real Allegory", Courbet attempted to undermine academic notions of allegory in history painting. Explain. • By the title "Real Allegory" Courbet is contradicting the meaning of an allegory (mythological/imaginary subject). The figures in his painting are based on real people
but used as allegorical subjects, the model signifies truth to the natural and an allegory to inspiration, the small boy is an allegory to the future of art and can be traced to the Education of Achilles (a mythological subject), and the "mannequin" looks like the deposition of Christ (a common subject in Religion) undermining and criticizing religion 9. How does Millet romanticize peasant labor in the Sower and Angelus • In Millet's the Sower the working peasant inspires respect; Millet gives the anonymous figure power, dignity, and a heroic commanding presence, he gives the painting an optimistic notion by showing the peasant not being forced to an earthbound task. Although Angelus does not depict the peasants in a heroic action, there is still a peaceful and serene contemplation. Millet romanticizes both of these works through the landscape which emphasize the country life because it is honest, genuine, and connected with nature versus the city life. Millet achieves this also by the use of light and muted tonalities. Art in Victorian England, 1837-1900 1. Define/ Identify • The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations- The Crystal Palace Exhibition encouraged and promoted design in Britain and help expand its international markets. Foreign countries were invited to participate; the exhibition held a variety of consumer products and mechanical arts with utilitarian objects • Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood- Pre-Raphaelites referred to the time before the artist Raphael, the Late Gothic period. They were a group of idealistic artists and poets who shared a disenchantment for modernity and aimed to revive religious painting; this eventually led to the Neo-Gothic movement. • Nocturnes- Usually depict night-time views of London, used by Whistler to suggest mood and the cycles of nature in his paintings, and relates to his theory of correspondence (symphony of senses, things heard can be visualized with the minds eye and vise versa) (musical connotation= Chopin) • Art for Art's Sake- Art without political or religious ties, just for the purpose of art • Ukiyo-e- (Art of the floating world) type of Japanese prints that depicted common place subjects in contemporary Japan • John Ruskin- Famous art theoretician in Victorian England, sarcastic demeaning criticism humiliating Whistler in public for his Nocturne in Black & Gold, was sued by Whistler and the trial raises philosophical issues about what is art. Whistler defends art for art's sake concepts • Ando Hiroshige- His Japanese prints were influential to the modern style of painting (especially Whistler's) because of their 2D properties/flatness that emphasized the idea of art for art's sake 2. The Crystal Palace Exhibition caused a major reorientation in the thinking about design & ornamentation, explain the impact this exhibition had in the designs of Owen Jones. • Owen Jones concluded that rather than imitating and combining ornaments of the past, designers should instead analyze the principles behind them, so he created a combination of ornaments from different world regions and historical styles. He gave a global cosmopolitan vision to the Crystal Palace which linked architecture and the decorative arts together. 3. Why were the Pre-Raphaelites attracted to the religious art of medieval Italy? What Italian artists did they admire? • The Pre-Raphaelites were disenchanted with modernity because it was spiritually lacking, and to them abstract, emblematic treatment seemed to be a more authentic
statement of spiritualism, they believed that inherent spirituality elevated them above the materialism of the Victorian age. They particularly admired the works of Botticelli and Perugino. 4. How does Rossetti's Ecce Ancilla Domini express the aesthetic ideals of the Pre-Raphelite Brotherhood in terms of subject matter, style, and content? • Rossetti's work depicts the Annunciation, a religious subject (common to PreRaphelites), instead of sentimental genre-subjects of the period, the painting is also filled with symbolism a characteristic of the Pre-Raphelites' symbolic realism. 5. How does Millais's Christ in the Carpenter's Shop express the aesthetic and social ideals of Christian socialism in terms of subject matter, style and content? • Milliais depicts the biblical figures as simple folk, with meticulous execution and insignificant details like Joseph's dirty fingernails rendered with great care, the painting was criticized since biblical figures and scenes were expected to be idealized in order to underscore their spiritual greatness. 6. How does Brown idealize labor in his painting Work in terms of subject matter, style, and content? • Brown idealizes labor in this painting by placing both middle class and workers in the same setting interacting with each other, he also depicts F.D. Maurice and Thomas Carlyle who were both highly concerned with Britain's social situation 7. In what ways do Whistler's Symphony in White No. 3 and Nocturne in Black & Gold exemplify the aesthetic ideals of art for art's sake? • Aside from being depoliticized compositions, Whistler exemplifies these ideals in numerous ways . The creed of art for art's sake is truth to media (what goes into the execution of a painting), and specifically his Symphony in White is treated as a study of the different shades of white. Also, the autonomy of Art for art's sake is against the notion of utility with the main function of pleasuring the senses which is what he does in both works 8. Explain the influence of Japanese Ukiyo-e prints on Whistler's Symphony and Nocturne? Why did this tradition appeal to Whistler? • Whistler's paintings are based on the senses and his aim was to divorce art from life, which in these works is achieved by the flatness presented in these Japanese prints, they were also influential in terms of subject matter because they depicted common place contemporary scenes 9. In what ways was the art for art's sake movement a reaction against photography? • Photography offered members of the middle class an opportunity to record likenesses of themselves without having to pay to have a portrait painted, since taking a photograph was easier and less expensive, artists began to make art for its own sake.