1919thth Century Century RealismRealism

The world is shrinking…The world is shrinking…• Telegraph• Telephone• Locomotive• Automobile• Photography……

• Literature focused on human nature and social consciousness.– Charles DickensCharles Dickens: Stories on

poverty and factory life.

– Karl MarxKarl Marx: Communist Manifesto, “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs.”

– Charles DarwinCharles Darwin: Origin of Species, evolution.

•Urban areas explode Urban areas explode with people seeking work.

•Human rightsHuman rights come into question with the way factory bosses treat workers with long hours, poor work conditions, and low pay. This leads to . This leads to intense class strugglesintense class struggles.

Function of RealismFunction of Realism

•The function of Realism movement in art was direct observation of society and nature, and political and social satire.

Due to society’s many economic Due to society’s many economic changeschanges, art also saw art also saw numerous changes:numerous changes:

MuseumsMuseums and collectorscollectors became the new patrons.Newspapers and journals Newspapers and journals reached wider audiencesreached wider audiences

• It was rejectedrejected for exhibitionism• Longest title of a major artwork. • He rented his own space and He rented his own space and

became the first one man showbecame the first one man show. 2 spheres: left= ordinary people right=the Paris art

world–The nude symbolizes his turning his back on the Parisian art world.

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In 1824 the Salon de Paris exhibited works of John Constable. His rural scenes influenced some of the younger artists of the time, moving them to abandon formalism and to draw inspiration directly from nature.

John Constable, The Hay Wain, 1821

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Natural scenes became the subjects of their paintings rather than mere backdrops to dramatic events.

Millet, The Gleaners, 1857

Jean-Francois MilletJean-Francois Millet• Romanticism in that it shows “oneness

with nature” • Realism kicks in with the contrast

between the peasants hard, painful work in the foreground, and the comfort of their boss in the rich farm in the background.

• Light vs. dark: The farm is gold and sunny, whereas the peasants are in shadows.

French RealismFrench Realism• Jean-Francois Millet- Barbizon schoolBarbizon school• The Gleaners- 1848, his most famous

work

French RealismFrench Realism• The Gleaners was a controversial

work criticizing a French society that allowed extreme poverty

• Millet claimed that this was not a social comment but rather a celebration of hardworking peasants and their lifestyle.

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He extended the idea from landscape to from landscape to figures figures —scenes of peasant life, and work in the fields.

There is no drama and no story told, merely three peasant women in a field. This was totally new

Millet, The Gleaners, 1857

Jean-François Millet,Jean-François Millet, The AngelusThe Angelus, 1857. , 1857. Realism.Realism.

Man With A Hoe, 1860. Oil on canvas

Symbolizes hard work

The short hoe

causes the man to have to bend over. The hard rocky ground makes him put in extra effort to till the soil, as seen in his expression (exhaustion).

MilletMillet

Gustave CourbetGustave Courbet,1819-1877

known as “the Apostle of the Apostle of UglinessUgliness”

He once said “ show me an show me an angel and I will paint oneangel and I will paint one”

Gustave CourbetGustave Courbet

• His paintings shocked people- somewhat disturbing.

• He was the foremost He was the foremost proponent of Realism.proponent of Realism.

• His subject matter was landscapes, nudes, and still lifes.

• Tried to incorporate all three of these into one painting if possible.

Stone Breakers, 1850

The turned heads and averted eyes does not let the viewer feel sympathy

towards the two figures.

Interior of My Studio: A Real Allegory Summing Up Seven Years of My Life as

an Artist.

By CourbetCourbet

Aka: The Artist’s Studio, 1855

Aka: The Artist’s Studio, 1855He struggled to break from the Romanticism and move onto Realism. His ‘friends’ are workers and collectors on the right.Courbet sits at center like a king. Behind him is his muse, a nude female.

When this was rejected by an 1855 exhibition, Courbet held his own exhibition. Although not very successful, it was the first one-man art show in history.

CourbetCourbet, Burial at Ornans, 1850

Depicts a funeral. The monotonous horizontal colors and patterns reflect rural life in France. It’s also believed the sameness of the figures is a statement in favor of equality.

Honore Daumier, Honore Daumier, 1808-18781808-1878

• Both a RomanticRomantic and a RealistRealist• Primarily a caricaturist• Father of modern caricature• He is best known for his

lithographslithographs

•He was censored and imprisoned for some of his works.

Honore Daumier, Honore Daumier, 1808-18781808-1878

Gargantua

Honore Daumier, Honore Daumier, 1808-18781808-1878

A never satisfied king exploits his subjects and grows fat at their expense Daumier was sentenced to six months and fined 100 francs.

Gargantua

DaumierDaumier, The Third Class Carriage, 1862

The Third Class CarriageThe Third Class Carriage

• Lonely crowd• Genre scene• The shabby

clothing and worn expressions shows that the passengers are lower class

American RealismAmerican Realism

• Thomas Eakins Thomas Eakins -1844-1916• Most important 19th century American

painter• A passion for Realism lead him to use

photographyphotography• He revolutionized art revolutionized art

instruction instruction and allowed women and minorities to be involved artistically.

EakinsEakins, The Gross Clinic, 1875

Operation on a young boy’s broken leg.It was too shocking to display to the public.Two contrasting behaviors: calm Dr. Gross and the scared and nervous mother.

EakinsEakins, The Agnew Clinic, 1889

EakinsEakins, The Agnew Clinic, 1889

It was called a degradation of art

He became known as a butcher of art

Subject is a woman being operated on for breast cancer.

His lighting and shading techniques are said to resemble Rembrandt

Eakins, Eakins, John Biglen in a Single Skull, 1873

WatercolorOut door, bright sunlightmuscular tensionEakins had an intense interest in sports

Eakins used photography to aid in his realism

Henry O. Tanner, Henry O. Tanner, 1854-19371854-1937

• First important black American painter

• His subjects were plantation scenes, and religious subjects

• Studied in Paris for a short time

•First black painter to First black painter to become internationally become internationally famousfamous

Henry O. Henry O.

TannerTanner, The Banjo Lesson,

1893his masterpiecemasterpieceinfluenced by Thomas EakinsGrandfather showing the grandson how to play the banjoShows male bonding and family interaction

Tanner, Tanner, The Annunciation, The Annunciation, 18981898

French RealismFrench Realism

•Most famous artist was

Edouard ManetEdouard Manet•Combined Realism Realism and

ImpressionismImpressionism

ManetManet• He was classically trained classically trained and took his

themes from the great masters• He was excellent at translating great at translating great

traditions into modern termstraditions into modern terms which outraged the public

Velsaquez

Monet

ManetManet•His style: solidity,

flatness, modern elements:

color, light, shapecolor, light, shape•Shallow perspective

Manet. Manet. Luncheon on the Grass, 1863

ManetManet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863

• Scandalized the French public.

• Depicts a nude woman casually having lunch with two men.

• This shocked people, but Manet claimed it was a statement of individual freedom.

ManetManet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1863

• Failed to idealize the nude.

• The public would recognize the men as his brother and brother-in-law.

ManetManet, Luncheon on the Grass

TitanTitan, , Pastoral Concert, 1510

ManetManet, Olympia 1865

• She is thought to be a French prostitute

• The flowers were sent by a client. • Her shoes are still on which

symbolizes street walking.• Small black cat- cathouse , alley cat

Olympia

Naked, not nude. Unclassical proportions. Boldly stares out at the viewer.CourbetCourbet felt the work was too flat looking

ManetManet, Olympia 1865

• Inspired by Titian’s Venus of Urbino• The woman is naked rather than

nude

•SalonSalon- an officially sponsored exhibition of juried art works that were acceptableacceptable to the French Academy.

• As the art world evolved, a huge amount of works were being rejected from the SalonSalon (4,000 in 1863).

• This set off a fire storm of French artists. The result was a special exhibition called the “Salon des Salon des RefusesRefuses”

PhotographyPhotographyIS IT ART?

• people argued that the mechanical technology made it automatic, not an artistic process.

• Photography was allied with industry and science

• 1859- French Photographic society negotiated an exhibition at the same time, and in the same building, as the Salon.

PhotographyPhotography

• Means “drawing with light”• A new method of creating multiple images• Potential for use in portraiture and

journalism was widely recognized

Nadar Nadar (French)

• Used a plain dark background to put emphasis on his sitter.

• Subtle gradations of light and dark

• Sarah Bernhardt, 1864

NadarNadar (French)

• He was a pioneer of aerial photography

• 1856- took pictures from a balloon demonstrating potential of photography for creating panoramic vistas

• He built his own balloon,

“the Giantthe Giant”, the largest in the world

Le Geant , Honore Daumier

England:

Julia Margaret Cameron Julia Margaret Cameron

• Insisted on the aesthetic quality of her work.

• She preferred blurred edges and a dreamy atmosphere to precise outlines.

• Softness of face and collar, which emerge gradually from the darkness, seem literally “painted with light.”

Mrs. Herbert Duckworth

J.F.W Herschel

•…a means to elicit the inner character of a sitter.

England:

Julia Margaret Julia Margaret Cameron Cameron

America

Matthew Matthew BradyBrady

Lincoln, Cooper Union 1860

• Brady depicts the president as a thoughtful, determined man

Robert E. Lee, 1865

• The confederate general is depicted, still standing at the end of the war.

• His neat attire is shown to betray the years of suffering he has witnessed

America

Matthew BradyMatthew Brady

Realism Realism ArchitectureArchitecture

Joseph PaxtonJoseph PaxtonCrystal Palace, London • 1851, the “Great Great

Exhibition of the Exhibition of the Works of Industry of Works of Industry of all Nations”all Nations”

• First of, World’s Fairs • Artists were invited to

submit designs for a building in Hyde Park to house the exhibition.

• The structure was cheap, time-efficient, and because of the extensive use of glass, it was dubbed Crystal Palace.

The Brooklyn The Brooklyn BridgeBridge

The Brooklyn BridgeThe Brooklyn Bridge

• Built by the greatest American bridge builders: J.A. and W.A. Roebling

• Two towers of granite linked by four huge steel cables.

• It is a suspension bridge meant for deep or wide water crossings

The Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty• Edouard de Laboulaye Edouard de Laboulaye wanted to

present the US with a monument to commemorate French assistance during the American Revolution

• The named was changed from “Liberty Enlightening the World” to The The Statue of Liberty Statue of Liberty

• It is a colossal statue of a classically clothed woman holding a torch of liberty and a tablet.

• It was sculpted by Auguste Bartoldi Auguste Bartoldi who used huge copper sheets. The frame was made of steel and wrought iron by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel

The Statue The Statue of Libertyof Liberty

Eiffel TowerEiffel Tower• Constructed by Alexandre-Gustave Alexandre-Gustave

EiffelEiffel.• Built initially as a temporary structure for the

Universal Exposition of 1889. Public fought to have it taken down. It eventually stayed.

• It has a metal truss construction on the base of reinforced concrete.

• Four arches make up base.• All open lattice wrought iron. • Elevators bring people to the top and they are

curved.

Eiffel Eiffel TowerTower