A Review of 19th Century French Art
Neo-Classicism
Time Period:
18th – 19th centuries.
Definition:
Neo-Classicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual
arts that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or
Ancient Rome. The main Neo-Classical movement coincided with the 18th century Age
of Enlightenment and continued into the early 19th century.
Themes/Styles:
Subject matter depicting religious allegory and ancient myth. Emphasis on realistic
portrayal of subject matter; Human form drawn anatomically correct.
Leading Artists:
-Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825)
-Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres (1780–1867)
Romanticism
Time Period:
18th Century, peak between 1800-1840.
Definition:
A style of art born out of Neo-Clacissism which strove to depict the emotion, esp.
towards the sublimity and untamed nature of existence. The movement served as a voice
during revolts against aristocrat society and questioned political norms left after the age
of enlightenment.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
A strong use of contrast; illuminated scenes set against black negative-spaces. Use of
one primary lighting source (a candle, a sunset, etc.). Less anatomically-correct
portrayal of figures but figures still possess realistic qualities. Strove to convey emotion,
the exotic, experience, feelings and consciousness. Subject matter includes nature,
Christianity, political revolutions, portraits, nature and landscapes.
Leading Artists:
Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson (1767–1824)
Antoine-Jean Gros (1771–1835)
Pierre Narcisse Guérin (1771–1833)
Théodore Géricault (1791–1824)
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796–1875)
Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)
Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867)
Jean-François Millet (1814–1875)
Théodore Chassériau (1819–1856)
Gustave Doré (1832–1883)
Barbican School
Time Period:
1830-1870
Definition:
An art school in Barbizon, France which taught Realism techniques; beginning of the
Realism movement.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Art style includes tonal qualities, use of color, loose brushwork, softness of form, use of
mixed colors with black, and abandoned formalism.
Subjects include rural scenes, nature landscapes, everyday people (people at the bottom
of the social ladder).
Leading Artists:
Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot (1796–1875)
Narcisse-Virgile Diaz de la Peña (1808–1878)
Constant Troyon (1810–1865)
Jules Dupré (1811–1889)
Théodore Rousseau (1812–1867)
Jean-François Millet (1814–1875)
Charles-François Daubigny (1817–1878)
Félix Ziem (1821–1911)
Naturalism/Realism
Time Period:
1880s-1940s
Definition:
Art movements which idealized the portrayal of everyday life, strove to depict an
unbiased objective reality.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Depictions of the working classes and agricultural workers, field workers, social
environment, local factories, mines and popular cafes. Possesses tonal qualities, use of
color, loose brushwork, softness of form, use of mixed colors with black, and abandoned
formalism.
Leading Artists:
Ignace François Bonhomme (1809–1881)
Gustave Courbet (1819–1877)
Théodule Ribot (1824–1891)
Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884)
Impressionism
Time Period:
1870s-1880s
Definition:
An independent Parisian art movement focusing on form, color, tone and the passage of
time.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Styles include small thin brush strokes, visible brush strokes, open composition, quick
and short strokes of paint, colors applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible ,
rejects the use of the color black (preferring to use complimentary colors). Subject
matter includes how light and the passage of time affects objects, movement, human
perception, shadows, natural light, essence of subject rather than it's details, everyday
objects/subjects
Leading Artists:
Eugène Boudin (1824–1898)
Camille Pissarro (1830–1903)
Édouard Manet (1832–1883) (considered a precursor)
Edgar Degas (1834–1917)
Henri Fantin-Latour (1836–1904)
Claude Monet (1840–1926)
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841–1919)
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894)
Post-Impressionism
Time Period:
1886 - 1914
Define:
An art movement extending beyond the limitations of Impressionism; provided the
foundations of pointillism and cubism.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Use of vivid colors, pointillism, thick paint, distinctive brush strokes, bright, unnatural
or arbitrary color. Strove to depict everyday life and developed the use of geometric
form.
Leading Artists:
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906)
Henri Rousseau (1844–1910)
Paul Gauguin (1848–1903)
Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)
Georges-Pierre Seurat (1859–1891)
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901)
Symbolism
Time Period:
End of 19th c. into the 20th c.
Definition:
An art movement in revolt to Realist and Impressionist ideals of the time, Symbolists
strove to create esoteric meaning out of objects, color and form.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Many symbolists strove to depict subjective subject matter such as dreams, imagination,
mysticism, and consciousness. Symbolists lacked a sense of value in their works,
painting objects using plains of flat color.
Leading Artists:
Odilon Redon (1840–1916)
Gustave Moreau (1826–1898)
Pierre Puvis de Chavannes (1824–1898)
Les Nabis
Time Period:
1880s-1890s
Define:
An art movement which focused on abstract and non-representational methods of art
with the goal of integrating art and daily life.
Prominent Themes/Styles:
Artists used, color, flat plains, cardboard, posters, prints, textiles, and furniture.
Inspired by Japanese print and Impressionism, Les Nabis wanted to depict the life and
will of the ancient prophets of Israel.
Leading Artists:
Aristide Maillol (1861–1944)
Paul Signac (1863–1935)
Paul Ranson (1864–1909)
Paul Sérusier (1865–1927)
Félix Vallotton (1865–1925)
Ker Xavier Roussel (1867–1944)
Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947)
Édouard Jean Vuillard (1868–1940)
Georges Lacombe (1868–1916)