Chapter 30 19th Century Art In Europe And The United States 2
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Transcript of Chapter 30 19th Century Art In Europe And The United States 2
Chapter 30: 19th Century Art in Europe and the United States
Realism and PhotographyMagister RicardAP Art History
Consider: Influences of Enlightenment and Science
• How might developments in science and industry affect social change?
• How might these same influences affect art and the ideas of the artists?
• How might the invention of photography affect the creation and intention of art?
The Realist Era
• Typically associated with the 1850’s• Scientific method is used rather than accept dogma• Develops the “Age of Reason”• Industrial Revolution takes shape as factories
produce goods cheaper and faster• Migration from rural areas into cities (urbanization),
economies change from agrarian to industrial• Major inventions are the train and photography
Influential Literature
• Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto• Calls for the abolition of personal, private
property• Predicts the overthrow of the middle class
(bourgeoisie) by the working class (proletariat)• Creates a classless society, calling halt to social
revolution growing out of industrialization, urbanization, and capitalism
What is Realism?
• Enlightenment put focus on scientific method and observation
• Empiricism – knowledge based on what can be measured and directly experienced
• What can actually be seen/experienced in the world
• Realists only painted subjects they themselves could experience (personal experience)
Realism and Positivism
• Developed by philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
• All knowledge could be derived from objectivity of scientific observation
• (Ahem…anyone ever hear of Aristotle??!!)• Social scientists would deduce laws of human
culture• Metaphysical and theological speculation was out• Positivism stressed emphasis on objectivity
Reaction: Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood
• Not everyone was enjoying the world produced by industrialization
• In England, Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood departed from subject matter of French Realists
• Tired of classical themes, focused on medieval stories and spirituality
The Problem of Photography
• What is the purpose of art in the face of photography?
• Vermeer used the camera obscura• Some artists reacted against photography• Some embraced it – much like Vermeer• First surviving photograph dates to 1826, by
1880s portable cameras available