Modernism from the 18 th Century Abraham Derby The Iron Bridge, Shropshire 1779
Wedgwood The Slave Medallion 1787
PART 1: Early Modernism – Realism and Impressionism in 19 th Century France Gustave Courbet ( ). The Stormy Sea (or The Wave) 1869
Realism in the 19 th Century The art-historical definition of realism originated in the movement that was dominant primarily in France from about 1840 to and that is identified particularly with the work of Gustave Courbet. Realism was decidedly an outgrowth of its particular time -- one of great political and social upheaval. This unrest stirred the realists to reject prevailing canons of academic and romantic art and to undertake instead a nonescapist, democratic, empirical investigation of life as it existed around them. They painted ordinary people leading their everyday lives. Although other artists had depicted similar subjects in earlier times, the realists took a fresh and unemotional view.
Realism in the 19 th Century Realism was most emphatically proclaimed in 1855, when Courbet, having been rejected for the Paris Exposition, arranged a private showing of his paintings that centered on his huge The Artist's Studio (1855; Musée d'Orsay, Paris). He also distributed a manifesto of realism outlining his program. Among the other realists were Honoré Daumier, most noted for his incisive mockery of the petty bourgeoisie, and Jean François Millet, whose peasant scenes are more reflective in tone than those of Courbet. The early works of Edouard Manet and Edgar Degas (1860s and '70s) are realist, and, like Courbet's, contain elements that prefigure impressionism. The art of the Pre-Raphaelites in England and of Adolf von Menzel in Germany is also related to the realist movement. Important artists: Gustave Courbet, Honore Daumier, Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, Henri de Toulouse- Lautrec and Vincent van Gogh.
Honore Daumier Third-Class Carriage
Edouard Manet Bar at the Folies-Bergeres
Edgar Degas Laundress (Silhouette) c. 1874
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec Woman Pulling up her Stocking 1894
Vincent van Gogh Self-Portrait with Dark Felt Hat 1886
Impressionism Claude Monet Impression, soleil levant Impression, Sunrise 1872
Impressionism The impressionist style of painting is characterized chiefly by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene or object and the use of unmixed primary colors and small strokes to simulate actual reflected light. Impressionism, French Impressionnisme, a major movement, first in painting and later in music, that developed chiefly in France during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Impressionist painting comprises the work produced between about 1867 and 1886 by a group of artists who shared a set of related approaches and techniques. The most conspicuous characteristic of Impressionism was an attempt to accurately and objectively record visual reality in terms of transient effects of light and colour.
Claude Monet The Japanese Bridge probably Look at the abstract paintings of Philip Guston, Jules Olitski, or Jackson Pollock.
Mary Cassatt The Boating Party
Pierre-Auguste Renoir Seated Bather c
Abraham Derby The Iron Bridge, Shropshire 1779 Modern Architecture of the 18 th Century
Modern Architecture of the 19 th Century W.H. Barlow Engine Shed, St Pancras Station, London 1868
Modern Architecture of the 19 th Century George Gilbert Scott Midland Grand Hotel, St Pancras Station, London 1868
Modern Architecture of the 19 th Century C laude Monet Gare Saint-Lazare 1877
Modern Architecture of the 19 th Century Louis Sullivan Auditorium Building, Chicago,
Modern Architecture of the 20 th Century Daniel Burnham Flatiron Building New York 1902 (photo Alfred Stieglitz 1903 )
Links Rietveld’s Red-Blue Chair – analysis Realism Gustave Courbet Honore Daumier Claude Monet Edouard Manet Edgar Degas Toulouse-Lautrec Van Gogh Impressionism Cassatt Renoir