Realism and Impressionism in Art

• Unit 4 Quiz Study Guide vocabulary and key artists with study points

Aestheticism

• Art movement that emphasized art for art's sake
• Rejected the idea that art should have a moral or societal message
• Focused on beauty, form, and artistic expression
• Prioritized aesthetics over function or political content
• Whistler is closely associated with the Aesthetic Movement
• The movement prioritized art for art's sake and emphasized beauty over any moral or social purpose
• Whistler focused on mood and atmosphere rather than storytelling

Formalism (Formal Art History)

• Analyzing art by focusing on the formal elements of a work
• Considers line, shape, color, and composition
• Minimizes consideration of content, historical context, or social meaning
• Seurat's Pointillism aligns with formalism, focusing on color and shape to create vibrancy
• Seurat's paint application emphasizes structure and visual aspects

Art for Art's Sake

• Central belief of the Aesthetic Movement that art should be valued for its beauty and expressive qualities
• Importance over any moral, political, or functional purpose
• Whistler is a key figure in this philosophy, believing in the intrinsic value of beauty and form
• Rejects concern for narrative or moral message

Arts and Crafts Movement

• Late 19th and early 20th-century movement reacting against industrialization and mass production
• Emphasized handcraftsmanship, traditional techniques, natural materials, and functional design in art and architecture
• William Morris was a leader, emphasizing craftsmanship and a return to handcrafted, functional design
• Reaction to the mass production of the Victorian era

Decorative Arts

• Arts involving the design and production of aesthetically pleasing and functional objects
• Includes furniture, textiles, pottery, and other crafts
• Morris was heavily involved, known for textiles and wallpaper designs
• Designs emphasized craftsmanship and beauty in everyday objects

Socialism

• Refers to art that conveys a clear social or political message
• Highlights inequality and class struggles
• Advocates for political change through realist depictions
• Courbet's Stone Breakers exemplifies socialist art, addressing social inequality
• Challenges romanticized view of labor

Realism

• Art movement to represent the world as it truly is
• Focuses on depicting everyday life and ordinary people
• Often addresses social issues
• Courbet championed Realism, depicting unidealized, everyday scenes
• Focuses particularly on the struggles of the working class

Impressionism

• Late 19th-century Parisian art movement born out of industrialization, urbanization, and modernity
• Focused on the effects of light, capturing fleeting moments, and the movement of people or nature
• Monet pioneered Impressionism, focusing on light, atmosphere, and fleeting moments
• Monet painted often outdoors (en plein air)
• Degas focused on movement and urban life, particularly ballet dancers

Social Art History

• Perspective that examines how art reflects and challenges social structures
• Focuses not just on technique or aesthetics
• Considers issues such as class, race, gender, and politics
• Manet's works like Olympia and A Bar at the Folies-Bergère reflect social commentary on modern life and the changing roles of women
• Degas's ballet dancer works explore social class and the position of women in society

Feminist Art History

• Field of study investigating the representation of women and gender roles
• Examines the exclusion of women from art history
• Critiques patriarchal biases in art, recovering the work of women artists and challenging traditional narratives
• Cassatt was a key figure, depicting women in private, intimate settings, focusing on the role of women in family and society
• Manet's Olympia is often analyzed for its depiction of a nude woman challenging traditional representations

En plein air

• French term meaning "in the open air"
• Refers to painting outdoors, with the subject directly in view
• Captures natural light and atmosphere
• Monet is famous for his en plein air painting, often working outdoors to capture changing effects of light and nature

Bourgeoise

• The upper middle class
• Often depicted in art as engaging in leisure activities, travel, or other pursuits of comfort and status
• Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère depicts the bourgeois leisure class of Paris
• Focus on alienation and commercialization of modern urban life
• Degas's studies of ballet dancers reflect the bourgeois interest in entertainment and leisure

Flâneur

• A French term for an urban observer or stroller who leisurely walks through the city
• Observes modern life
• Traditionally male, explores public spaces in Paris, often reflecting on urban life
• Manet captures Parisian city life in works like A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, aligning with the concept of the flâneur
• Degas's paintings of dancers and cafe scenes often reflect experiences of the flâneur

James McNeill Whistler

• Known for Whistler's Mother
• Focused on color, tone, and atmosphere, part of the Aesthetic Movement

William Morris

• Known for Trellis Wallpaper
• Leader of the Arts and Crafts Movement, advocating for handcrafted art and design

Gustave Courbet

• Known for The Stone Breakers
• Realist, focused on unidealized depictions of modern life and working-class struggles

Édouard Manet

• Known for Olympia, A Bar at the Folies-Bergère
• Early Impressionist, blending modern subjects with bold brushwork

Claude Monet

• Known for Impression, Sunrise
• Founder of Impressionism, focusing on light and color in outdoor scenes

Mary Cassatt

• Known for The Child's Bath
• Impressionist, focused on intimate domestic scenes, often with women and children

Edgar Degas

• Known for The Rehearsal
• Known for ballet dancers and use of unusual perspectives and movement

Georges Seurat

• Known for A Sunday on La Grande Jatte
• Developed Pointillism, using small dots of color to create vibrant scenes

Vincent van Gogh

• Known for Starry Night
• Post-Impressionist, famous for emotional intensity, thick brushstrokes, and vibrant color

Paul Gauguin

• Known for Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
• Post-Impressionist, explored symbolic color and primitivism, often in exotic locations

Gustave Courbet, Stone Breakers, 1849

• Leading figure in the Realist movement
• Concerned everyday life and the struggles of ordinary people, without idealization or romanticization
• The peasants appear nearly life-size
• Departure from portraying lower-class subjects on a smaller scale
• Used a large scale typically reserved for history paintings
• Elevated manual labor to the level of "high art," challenging the French Academy's focus
• Depicts two peasants breaking stones, grueling, poorly paid work for the lowest members of French society
• Reflects Courbet's sympathies with the working class and his belief in portraying ordinary people's struggles
• Laborers rebelled against the bourgeois in France in 1848, demanding better working conditions
• Rejected traditional restraints of the Royal Academy and Salon, and the Legion of Honor award
• Used muted, earthy colors mirroring manual labor in 19th-century France
• Figures portrayed in a straightforward, realistic manner
• Aims to make people think about the struggles of the common man and society's inequalities
• Aims to show truth
• Depiction of labor symbolizes challenging conditions of the working class

Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies Bergere, 1882

• Blends Realism and Impressionism
• Focuses on contemporary life and social realities, especially everyday scenes in modern urban spaces
• Incorporates Impressionist techniques like loose brushwork and a focus on light and reflection
• Features a soft focus with loose brushstrokes
• Includes rough pigment application creating a sense of immediacy and unfinished quality
• Captures the excitement of Parisian nightlife at the Folies-Bergère
• The barmaid appears disinterested, reflecting alienation of modern life
• The mirror behind the barmaid reflects a customer, creating a sense of connection and distance
• Objects on the bar are meticulously painted, emphasizing commodification in modern life
• Highlights the commercialization and alienation of urban life in Parisian cafe culture
• Still life of objects on the bar emphasizes materialism of the setting and the modern world
• Detached expression and reflection create distance between individuals in the busy modern world

Mary Cassatt, In the Loge, 1878

• Comments on the role of gender, looking, and power in social spaces of the nineteenth century
• Shows upper-class woman holding a fan and looking out into the theater, while a man looks at her.

Flâneur Definition

• French term for an urban observer or stroller who leisurely walks through the city, observing modern life
• Traditionally male and associated with exploring public spaces in Paris

The Gaze Definition

• A concept in art and cultural theory
• Refers to how viewers perceive or look at subjects in an artwork
• "Male gaze" refers to the objectification of women in visual media

Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886

• Known for using Pointillism, precise dots of paint applied uniformly across the canvas
• Pointillism builds on the observational nature of Impressionism
• Uses small brushstrokes creating a tapestry-like surface made of complementary and contrasting hues
• Use of color flattens the picture, reducing space and volume
• Places complementary colors next to each other, enhancing vibrancy
• Applied small touches of pigment that combined in the viewer's eye, creating greater vibrancy
• His optical mixture requires active participation from the viewer to achieve the desired vibrancy
• Influenced by French physicist theories on the emotional qualities of color and line
• Aims to evoke a sense of timelessness, inspired by ancient art, portrayed modern people in the same way as figures on ancient friezes
• Depicts bourgeois leisure in Paris, a way of life recently made possible by the factory-driven industrial revolution
• Carries undertones of social critique and depiction of isolated people
• Butterfly symbolizes fragility, possibly referencing consequences of the Industrial Revolution
• Contrasts the upper and working classes, and by making figures life-sized
• Few figures interact suggesting social isolation
• Attempted to capture many societal attitudes, from the elegant bourgeois to workers and soldiers

Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal, 1874

• Focuses on ballerinas, allowing study of the human body in motion
• Has no single focal point resulting in a more dispersed and dynamic composition
• Figures are placed off-center
• Captures the human form in unconventional and dynamic positions, emphasizing movement and energy
• The subjects come from the lower classes
• Degas adopts a voyeuristic perspective
• Figures are scattered across the canvas
• He painted from varying angles, important step towards Cubism
• This creates a sense of spontaneity and realism

The Starry Night, 1889

• The church spire looks like a flame, and the swirling clouds and stars in the sky have curving shapes that match it
• The sky feels alive with swirling waves of clouds and stars
• The moon is in the upper right corner, balancing the image
• This exhibits thick brushstrokes, a technique called impasto
• The strong brushstrokes fill the sky with energy and emotion
• Inspired by Japanese prints, which use flat space and curving lines
• Not a literal view but more of an emotional response
• Contains thoughts on life and death
• A quiet town contrasts with the vast, swirling sky
• The pulsating stars seem to move and pulse signifying that the world if full of life and energy