Modern Period
1750-1900
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Societies changed quickly
Political revolutions in America and France sparked a move towards democracy.
Invention of the steam engine started the Industrial Revolution.
Many different styles of art developed
New discoveries in Pompeii and Rome sparked an interest in classical art forms
Pointillism–
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Impressionism
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Wanted to capture impressions of light and color
Applied colors side by side
Often painted outdoors
Eventually they quit using drawn lines, shadows, and dark colors.
Romanticism
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Used some of the ideas of Impressionism
Used tiny dots or points of separate colors
Gives shimmering effect
More interested in analyzing the way we see color
More interested in nature than science
Paintings should express emotions about man in the modern world
Valued truth and sincerity above classical order and conventional beauty.
Some portray nature as will wild and powerful, beyond mans ability to control it.
Permanence of nature was an anchor for man in a world where everything was changing.
Neo-classicism style was born
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Used models and forms from the classical times
Stressed order, reason, and serious moral messages
Usually had grand themes of history or legend
Human figures remind of of Greek or Roman statues.
Angelica Kauffman
Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus
Artist:
-Swiss
-No classical artist.
-Woman! Trained by her father
-Founding member of British Royal Academy and neoclassicism
artist.
-Regarded for her portraits and her history and legend paintings.
-Rare for women to be artist at the time because it was considered
improper for them to study the human body. Since she
couldn’t study the human body, her figures are based on
classical statues.
-Art has some characteristics of the Rococo style.
Painting:
-Based on Greek legend Ariadne fell in love with Thesus and
helped him kill a monster and escape death. Instead of
marrying her as promised, Thesus abandoned her on an
island.
-Wall paintings of Ariadne found in Pompeii.
-Figure based on a Roman Statue of Ariadne out changed the pose
by adding the used arm.
-Dark gloomy sea unlike the sunshine and water of the Greek
islands is used to show her mood of disappointment and
seriousness.
Sir Joshua Reynolds
Portrait of Mrs. Jelf Powis and her Daughter
Artist
-British.
-Traveled to Italy and studied the classical art and sculpture
and the great masters of Renaissance painters.
-Founding member and first president of the British
academy.
-Knighted by King George III
Used classic poses from statues or Renaissance paintings.
PAINTING
-Drape of mothers clothing reminds us of ancient Rome
-Life size image-Large urn suggest ancient architecture
-Dress is a combination of antique style and of her day
-Hair is from their time
-Used several techniques to separate the mother and the
daughter and focus our attention on them
1. Warm pinks and white clothing separate them
from the background
2.Texture and shine of clothing contrast with the
rough wall and step
3.Figures and faces are detailed why background
is in broad loose strokes
4. Bright blue of daughters sash contrasts with the
warm pinks neutral tones.
Jean Honore Fragonard
Girl with a Pearl Necklace: Portrait of
Rosalie Fragonard
Artist
-French Rococo artist even after style ended
- Daughter one of his favorite subjects/models
- Studied with Chardin
- Famous for genre scenes and paintings of much and
allegory
-Left in poverty when there was no market of his work
Painting
-Of his daughter
-A direct personal record of the girl. Like Durers and
Rembrandt’s portrait
-Quick, broad strokes
-Face and pearls are painted in sharp detail.
-Curving lines in hair, jewelry and dress add to the light,
pleasant mood.
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Sheerness as seen from the Nore
Artist -British
-Son of a barber with little formal schooling
- Father worked as his studio asst. and encouraged his talent
-Became famous as a teen for watercolors
-Later his interest in light and color led him to create images that
were almost abstract
-He had a major influence on the Impressionist
Painting
-Romantic seascape
-None is a sandbank and ship anchorage located where the Thames
and Medway Rivers come together as they reach the sea.
Churning currents make the waters rough.
-Sheerness is a part city seen in the background
-Point of view is like your in a small boat tossing on the water
-Dark colors and realistic detail
-Shows his interest in effects of light, weather, and sky
-Morning glow
-Curving lines gives feeling of energy and movement
-Sunlight against dark clouds and dark water adds drama.
Asher Durand
Haystack Mountain
Artist-American
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Applied Romantic style to American painting
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Had a successful career as an engraver and
illustrator. Did currency design for the U.S.
government.
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Part of the Hudson River School – Artist who painted
the Hudson River. Often had symbols and hidden
meanings.
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Loved landscapes and painted the gentle harmony
rather than the wild majesty of nature.
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Paintings based on sketched and observations.
Painting
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Shows Durand’s interest in texture and light.
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Uses color to show perspective.
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Symbolism:
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Dead Tree – Passage of time and shortage if life.
Mountain – Permanence or eternity.
Tiny Figures – Man’s insignificance compared to nature
Manet
Brioche with Pears
Artist
- French
-Believed paint and colors on the canvas had life of its own.
He wanted us to look at the painting itself not the
objects.
-Didn’t use techniques of perspectives painting was often
flat, concentrating on patterns of color.
-Father objected to his career choice.
-Work strongly influenced the Impressionists although he
never exhibited with them, but were friends.
-Art critics didn’t honor work until end of life.
Painting
-Similar to Baroque in their subject of matter.
-Triangle composition gives stability and order.
-Creases of table cloth line of pears, and placement of
roses emphasize the geometry.
-Pears are almost 2-demension blocks of greens.
Cezanne
Bottom of the Ravine
Artist
-French
-sometimes exhibited with the Impressionist
-concerned with using color to show form and structure
-interest in landscape painting due to influence of Pissarro
-developed own personal style that influenced later artists
-called the father of modern art
-father disapproved of career.
-believed nature should be seen as geometric shapes
Painting
-used geometric shapes and small flat patterns of color to
create patterns and structure
-uses warm colors in the rocks facing us are cool blues and
grays to make them look 3-d and look further away
-zigzag pattern of diagonal lines create movement leads our
eyes through the landscape
Porter
Still Life
Artist
-American
-Soft focus of image is characteristic of style
-Best known for still life's of flowers or fruit.
-1st African American to study at New York's National Academy
of Design.
-Mark Twain gave him a letter of introduction and financial aid
when he traveled to France
-troubled by financial hardships and racial prejudice
-sold his paintings door to door to support himself towards the
end of his career.
Painting
-realistic picture with out symbols and messages
-dark background and plain surface keep attention focused on
objects
-subjects themselves are important, not the setting
-Almost all shapes are round and organized a horizontal band
created a rhythm of quiet harmony
-uses variety of textures and contrasts
-dark background and bright light in foreground adds drama.
Bonheur
Deer in the Forest
Artist
-French
-painter specializing in animals
-woman
-woman's fashion at the time not suited for walking or
working outdoors. It also drew attention to her as
women of the time didn’t belong in such places so she
got permission to wear men's clothing
Painting
-looks like a landscape because of detail , but is a painting
of deer because they are the main subject
-horizontal bands create peaceful mood.
-diagonals add variety and interest
-muted shades of complementary colors (red and green)
unifies the painting.
Camille Pissarro
Peasant Woman Carrying Two Bundles of
Hay
Artist
– French
- Oldest of the group known as the Impressionists
-Only Artist who participated in all 8 exhibits of Impressionist
-Lost 1500 paintings when the Prussian Army invaded
France in 1870
-Impressionist was a name given as criticism
-Broken brushstroke, unmixed colors gave the work an
unfinished look – “catching a passing moment” was
what they were trying to do
Painting
- details are left out and edges of objects are blurred. We
only see what the eye would catch at a glance
- small blunt color. Looks tan but it’s a combination of
browns, yellows , greens, and even blue
-Grass is reflected in the shadows under the woman's face
Capturing the effects of light was Primary goal of
Impressionism
Homer
Casting in the Falls
Artist
-American
-Interested in showing nature and mans relationship to it
-Often used small patches of red
-Loved to fish
-1st career was illustrator for magazines and books which
included drawing @ Lincoln’s inauguration and civil war
soldier
-Used watercolors
Painting
-14 by 20
-Point of view is at bottom of falls
-Is a genre painting but may also be considered a landscape
-Watercolor on paper
-Lines down are shown through transparent watercolor
-Red is repeated
-Diagonal lines are formed visually by shadows.
Theo van Rysselberghe
Jeanne Pissarro
Artist
-Belgian
-Leading member of the Belgian art world
-Painted, designed furniture, jewelry and stained glass
-The only Pointillist artist who focused on portraits
-Pointillism – small dots of color. Based on scientific study of
color
Painting
-Pointillism portrait of Camille Pissarro's daughter
-Up close you can see many colors are used
-Colors seem to shimmer and move
-Red and green makes up large part of painting
-Orange in left compliments the blue throughout the painting
-Bright yellow compliments shades of violet
-Whole composition seems based on complimentary colors.
John Henry Twachtman
Edge of the Emerald Pool, Yellowstone
Artist
- American
-Admired and collected Japanese woodblockprints which used flatten perspective,
unusual points of view, and figures and
objects cut off at the edge of an image
-American Impressionist
Painting
-Impressionist painting
-Painting of small thermal pool in Yellowstone
National Park
-Looks like a seascape
-Shows influence of Japanese style
-Point of view is like we are at the edge of the
pool