Art History: Impressionism to
Early Modernism (AHIS 206Winter)
Tuesdays, 6:30-9:30
Instructor, Danielle Hogan
Email: hogan_danielle @shaw.ca
Fresh Eyes
Impressionism (1860’s-1886)
Realism (1850-1900)
Romanticism (1800-1850)
Neoclassicism (1780 – 1820)
Rococo era (1723-72)
Baroque art (1600-1750)
Pre Baroque? Yup, lots
more great art. But we
aren’t covering that…
Impressionism...how did we
get here?
‘Realism and the Birth of
Impressionism ’
Realism
In a sense, Realism had always been a part of Western art. During the
Renaissance, artists overcame all technical limitations and represented
nature with photographic accuracy. From van Eyck to Vermeer to
Velazquez, artist approximated visual reality with consummate skill. But
before Realism, artist in the 19th century modified their subjects by
idealizing or sensationalizing them. The ‘new’ Realism insisted on precise
imitation of visual perceptions without alteration. Realism’s subject matter
was totally different. Artists limited themselves to facts of the modern world
as they personally experienced them: only what they could see or touch ws
considered real. Gods, goddesses, and heros of antiquity were out.
Peasants and the urban working class were in. In everything from colour to
subject matter, Realism brought a sense of muted sobriety to art.
-The Annotated Mona Lisa
French Realism
Literary Art
Honoré de Balzac
1842
French Realism
Visual Art
‘Show me an angel and I’ll
paint one.’ - Courbet
Bonjour, Monsieur Courbet, 1854
Gustave Courbet
“I am fifty years old and I have always
lived in freedom; let me end my life free;
when I am dead let this be said of me: 'He
belonged to no school, to no church, to no
institution, to no academy, least of all to
any régime except the régime of liberty.' [1]
Gustave Courbet, The Artist's Studio; A real allegory summing up seven years of
my artistic and moral life, oil on canvas, 1854-55 (Musée d’Orsay, Paris)
Gustave Courbet
A Burial at Ornans, 1849-1850,
oil on canvas, 314 x 663 cm
Gustave Courbet
The Oak at Flagey (The Oak of Vercingetorix)
1864
Oil on canvas, 35 x 43 3/8 in (89 x 110 cm)
Gustave Courbet
The Stormy Sea (or The Wave)
1869
Oil on canvas
3' 10" x 5' 3 1/2" (117 x 160.5 cm)
Gustave Courbet
The Cliff at Etretat after the Storm
1869
Oil on canvas
52 3/8 x 63 3/4 in (133 x 162 cm)
Gustave Courbet
Sleep
1866
Oil on canvas
Gustave Courbet
Omnia vincit Amor, 1599
Agostino Carracci (Italian, Bolognese, 1557–1602)
Engraving
The Origin of the World
1866
Oil on canvas
Gustave Courbet
Early Impressionism
Edouard Manet
1832-1883
Edouard Manet
-arguably referred to as the Father of Modern Art
-Manet’s work is difficult to classify, not quite a realist yet also not fully
an impressionist.
-He never exhibited with the Impressionists
-Classically trained
-Often borrowed from great master’s works (as we will see tonight)
-What outraged the public and made him a hero to young rebels was
his translating to Great Tradition into modern terms. Manet stripped
away idealizing mythology to portray modern life candidly.
-He alos eliminated the subtle glazing and detailed polish of academic
technique.
-many felt at the time that his sketchy brushwork gave his paintings
and unfinished look.
-History credits Manet with launching “the revolution of the color
patch.” With this new technique, Manet suggested form through
broad, flat, areas of colour.
-The public was forced to look anew at the painted picture surface.
Notes from, The Annotated Mona Lisa
French Fashion Plate
1864
Olympia
1865
Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
Venus of Urbino
1538
Oil on canvas
Titian
A Bar at the Folies-Bergere
1882
Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
A Bar at the Folies-Bergere
1882
Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
Las Meninas
1656
by Spanish Baroque artist Diego Velázquez
Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe
1863
Oil on canvas
Edouard Manet
Pastoral Concert
C1510
By Italian Renaissance artist, Titian or Giorgione
The Balcony
1868–1869
Edouard Manet