FOUNDATIONS OF MODERNISM III:
GET REAL
An example of Realist art: Gustave Courbet (French 1819-1877), A Burial
at Ornans, 1849-50, oil on canvas, 315 x 668 cm
Courbet was not interested in Romantic imagination and fantasy, nor the idealisation of
both Neoclassicism and Romanticism. - ‘show me an angel and I’ll paint one…’
Gustave Courbet (French 1819-1877), The Stonebreakers, 1849, oil on canvas, 165 x
257 cm
Alexandre Cabanel (French, 1823–
1889) The Birth of Venus, 1863,oil
on canvas, 106 x 183 cm.
Cabanel painted Academyapproved, idealised Nudes. This
image was much admired and
loved.
Spot the difference(s)?
Gustave Courbet (French 1819-1877) Woman
in the Waves, 1868, oil on canvas, 65 x 54 cm
Honore Daumier (French, 1808 – 1879)
The Third-class carriage, 1863(?) oil on
canvas, 65 x 90cm
Daumier was best known as a
caricaturist, making political cartoons.
He was imprisoned at one point for
making comments about the King, LouisPhillipe (year). He was very concerned
about the poor and those from the
working class, and wanted to describe their world.
This was seen as vulgar.
The Laundress, 1863(?) oil on wood, 49 x 33cm
The middle of the 19th century in Europe was a very turbulent period politically. The new
Realism in art reflected different ways of seeing the world. The idea of honesty, and
describing the world of the here –and-now rather than looking to Classical Greece and
Rome, was becoming increasingly significant in art practice. (You may recall this
development when we looked at the landscapes of the Impressionists a few weeks ago.)
What is the artist actually
interested in, in this image?
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917) Waiting,
c. 1882, pastel on paper, 43 x 60cm.
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917)
At the Races in the Countryside,
1869, oil on canvas, 37 x 56 cm
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–1917) Ironers, c.
1884
ART CRITICISM - HANDOUT
This piece is an example of some art-critical writing. It is a segment of a longer
article discussing an exhibition of Degas’ Work in 2011. The author is Sebastian
Smee
Edgar Degas (French, 1834–
1917) The Tub, 1886, pastel on
card, 60 x 83 cm
Woman in the bathtub, c. 1886, pastel on paper,
70 x 70cm
Woman at her toilette, 1900-1905,
pastel on tracing paper, 75 x 72.5cm
Remembering the Conceptual Framework, we’ll use the following categories, more or
less:
Artist / artwork; Artist / world; Artist / audience; Audience / artwork; Audience / artist;
Artwork / world.