Yesterday in class we looked at works from the Post-Impressionism movement. There were 2 main tendencies within the movement, one emphasized form, while the other emphasized personal expression. The overarching trait of Post-Impressionism was color. We began by considering the work of Paul Cézanne, who often made series of the same landscape, capturing his familiar view of Southern France from different angles. We took note of how Cézanne applied paint to the canvas, which he did in a painterly style. The brushstrokes are visible and take on a repeated pattern of straight lines. Through this style of application, the canvas becomes flattened. As opposed to the previous Impressionists who sought to make their works dissolve into a lightness, Cézanne, and other Post-Impressionists, focused on the reduction of natural forms to be as solid and simple as possible.
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Today’s class focused on post-impressionist paintings. There are two categories: one is form, including artists like Cezanne, and the other is personal expression, including notable artists like Van Gogh. We spent much of the beginning of class focussing on two of Cezanne’s paintings, including Mont Sainte-Victoire. These painting were both of the same location but their differences outlined the emphasis and study of light. I really enjoyed seeing how this change in coloring affected the whole composition and feeling of the paintings. The more vibrant colorful version drew my attention much quicker than the other which was interesting to me.
Another highlight of the class for me was looking at the series of paintings based around fruit. The required urgency of these paintings makes them very impressive, considering many other artists were taking much more time for their paintings. I also really enjoyed how active each of these paintings felt. At any moment, a piece of fruit could roll or change orientation. I think that the cloth/fabric falling out of the frame aided in this active feeling.
I also enjoyed our brief discussion of conte crayon and improvements in artist technology. It is very interesting how technological advances happen and then affect the artifacts. We don’t often think of art as a technology-based domain, but I would consider improvements in tools to be technological advancements.
Today we talked about post-impressionism and its two-pronged departure from impressionism through form and personal expression.
Paul Cezanne, a native of Aix-en-Provence, made a name for himself through his reductionistic and relatively abstract depictions of his native landscape. Concerned more with shape over light, Cezanne’s flat and uniform brushstrokes imbue his landscapes with a flat planarity that reduces the provincial landscape to a symphony of colorful polygons that are given depth and perspective through the properties of color. Though perhaps not as privy to the science of color as his contemporary Seurat, who didn’t mix paints on the canvas but rather placed individual dots of color for our eyes to mix (Pointillism), his paintings certainly capture the lush and verdant atmosphere of provincial France.
Van Gogh’s paintings are also richly colorful, but his choice of palette reflects the messages and ideas his works were trying to convey. In his Potato Eaters, van Gogh renders a destitute family of coal miners in a dark, earthy, color palette that reflects not only their living and working conditions but also the family’s deeper connection to the land in general, as opposed to the haughty Parisian urbanites. Similarly, van Gogh subverts the properties of warm/cool colors and their ability to render space in his Night Café. Instead of having the warmer colors closer to the front of the picture plane and cooler colors in the back, he flips the orientation of the two with a large cool green pool table standing on a strong diagonal at the center of the painting and large dark redd-burgundy walls framing the space. This inversion serves to flatten the image and create a general sense of unease within the space, that might reflect van Gogh’s personal sense of unease given his regularly poor mental and physical health.
The first picture created was done through a lengthy process in which pewter hardens to create an image. Americans liked photography because of its ability to replicate things from the real world. One picture from American photography is a photo of John Brown. He was a famous American abolitionist. He is shown holding a flag and making a vowing gesture with his right hand.
Moving on to impressionism, paintings were characterized through their use of light and brushstrokes. It attempted to show the transitory nature of life. This can be seen in Claude Monet’s, The Gare Saint-Lazare. Here he is attempting to capture the impression of a moment in this train stating including aspects like the way the light was, as well as shadows. This was done through using a multitude of brushstrokes, each with its own color.
Another work by Monet, Impression, Sunrise, was the basis for the name of the Impressionism movement. It shows a port during sunrise. Many elements such as form and composition are not there. The shapes of the objects as well as the colors were not painted to encapsulate the things painted. I do wonder what the actual scene looked like as the actual colors and buildings are sort of imagined by the viewer filled in with knowledge of what the world looked like at this time.
Today’s lecture was recorded and we focused on several topics. We started the lecture by discussing early examples photography and its emergence as a medium. It was noted that photos were important for Realism artists to capture exactly what they saw when painting. In this section of the lecture we also discussed portrait photography and photojournalism.
We then began our discussion of Impressionism, starting with the work of Manet. Manet was well-read and sought to bring a modern art style in to capture the change and vitality of mid-1800’s Paris. Manet took themes from old masters but avoided their naturalism and balanced compositions. He was painterly and used thick brushstrokes and bright color palettes. Manet’s style was revolutionary and brought on a new period. Other impressionists include artists like Monet. They also captured the world they saw in a dreamy, new way. Monet specifically played a lot with light conditions and rendering the feeling/impression of landscapes/cityscapes. Monet painted outdoors, which was interesting yo me, and painted one color at a time. This allowed for optical mixing that provides a shimmering effect to many of his paintings.
During today’s class, we wrapped up our discussion on the realist era. We then shifted our focus to impressionism. The impressionist era rebelled against classical subject matter and embraced modernity. Artists desired to create works that reflected the present world that they lived in. Light was used to help create art that reflected this modernity. We discussed Manet’s “Luncheon on the Grass,” and how there was controversy surrounding the scene that Manet portrayed. The scene depicts a nude woman picnicking with two fully clothed men in a rural setting, which was very unconventional at the time. This painting challenged traditional norms of beauty and “proper” subject matters. It was fascinating to learn about the stir Manet’s painting caused in society, as today I feel it would not be seen as controversial at all.
Today’s lecture began with a discussion of the methods of early photography, like the photograph of the abolitionist John Brown, before finishing realism and moving to impressionism. Impressionism is a very interesting period and is the movement in which important painters such as Monet and Manet worked. I have been to Monet’s gardens at Giverny before, which contained his gardens where he worked and several of his fascinating paintings. The discussion of Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass was very interesting, covering the scandal covered by the painting, as it was considered a condemnation of the values of the nobility. The allusion to the painting by Giorgione was very interesting, and not something that I had considered previously.
In today’s lecture, we shifted toward the realist movement and various works produced in the period. Realism was often made to convey some form of social commentary regarding the piece or current events, which makes each Realist work fascinating to delve into and find the hidden meaning. It was very interesting to look at Bonheur’s Plowing the Nivernais, a fascinating piece that looks so photorealistic it’s almost surprising that it’s a painting.
We discussed the method of lithography, using a piece by Honoré Daumier, another commentary on the current events in France at the time. We then moved to another interesting painting, Snap the Whip by Winslow Homer. The painting provides a look into a childish game popular at the time, while also commenting on the rapidly urbanizing and industrializing American population.
This recorded lecture focused on Impressionism. Key features of the impressionist movement include visible brushstrokes and an emphasis on light as a fundamental feature in the works. There was also a desire to capture the feeling of modern life. We began by looking at the works of Édouard Manet. In Manet’s works, we get a sense of the flatness that came with many Impressionist paintings. We can see this flatness in Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass, especially in the sizing and placement of the woman in the background. Her large size does not align with how far she is intended to be placed back, creating a sense of flat space. We later moved on to the works of Claude Monet, an artist who focused on painting en plein air. The shift to painting en plein air moved artists out of the studios and outside, opening up opportunities for them to paint exactly what they saw before them at a specific moment.
Our second online lecture started with examples of early photography, and more generally the advent of the medium. We didn’t touch on Pictorialism, but Professor Plesch did note that the photos were important references for Realist painters trying to capture exactly what they saw in their everyday lives. We also touched on the popularity of photo portraiture and photojournalism in America as well.
We then stepped away from realism and into Impressionism with the work of Manet. A well-read man and noted flaneur, Manet sought to capture the change and vitality of mid-1800’s Paris with an equally modern art style. Though he took thematic cues from the old masters, Manet’s intentionally skirts their naturalistic and balanced construction. Employing bright colors and quick, thick brushstrokes, Manet’s space and figures are rendered flatly within the picture plane in a manner totally anathema to the huaghty curriculum of the Academy. In essence, Manet’s style was made for his period.
Other impressionists, like Monet, also captured the dreamy world they saw. Interested primarily with light effects, Monet’s paintings render the impressions of land and cityscapes. Painting primarily outdoors, Monet painted one color at a time, and allowed the paints to blend indirectly in our eyes and on the canvas, creating a twinkling, shimmering effect to many of his paintings.