Victorian

 

                                                Victorian

The Victorian era was named after Queen Victoria who owned the throne (1837-1901). During this period, Britian was 'the most powerful nation in the world' whilst undergoing the industrial revolution and technology and culture was moving forward. The Great Exhibition took place in The Crystal Palace (1851) and had its great impact on art and design during this era.

Whilst Queen Victoria ruled England, the economy rose, making more elaborated clothes possible as cloth making was cheaper and easier during the 'industrial bloom of' the time. Fashion created by Queen Victoria became more strict and uncomfortable after the death of her husband as she 'remained in mourning' for the rest of her days.

Regarding fashion, women were to wear corsets which were cut in separate pieces and stitched together in order to shape the hips, slim the waist and round the bust. Materials such as wood, steel or whalebone were inserted up the middle front of the corset, giving a smooth line to the dress bodice more structure.

Victorian furniture was much like Georgian furniture which came before it. Many furniture designs were elaborations of previous ones which an 'increased emphasis' on the surface decoration. As this period progressed critics drew more attention towards the structure and form of these designs.


V&A, Victorian found [online] at http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/v/victorian/

Impressionism

       

                                            Impressionism

                           A group of artists in 1874 organized an exhibition in France, Paris. This launched the Impressionist movement. Claude Monet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro were the founding members of this Movement. They were not praised by the critics, because of their works 'unfinished, sketchlike appearance' However other progressive writers thought it was a good 'depiction of modern life'. Today their work is recognized for it's use of new ideas and technology, depiction of 'modern life' and the way it embodied modernity in it's 'rejection of established styles'.

The Impressionists were given their name after an exhibition in 1874, Paris when Louis Leroy  accused Claude Monte's painting titled Impression, Sunrise of being a 'sketch or impression' rather than a finished painting.

                                                             

Impression, Sunrise (Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris)

You could see the use of the typical characteristics such as short and broken strokes of loose brushwork, unblended pure colours and a certain emphasis on the light effects.
Painters in previous generations had used neutral tones of black and grays to create shadows, however the impressionists gave colour to shadow by painting them with purples, yellows and many other colours. They enhanced the colours that caught their attention.
 In the 19th century synthetic pigments for paints were a new development. They provided vibrant shades of blues and greens and yellows that were new to painters.

Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Starry Night over the Rhone

 

Features short, thick brush strokes as well as vivid colours in light and shadow.

 

 

Will Howe Foote, 1913, Summer

 

Each pure colour is applied separately and gives the impression of 'flickering light' and 'vibrating atmoshpere'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown, Characteristics of American Impressionism.

Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, Impressionism: Art & Modernity, [online] available at http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.

Realism

                                                               Realism

In 1848, a revolution was happening to overthrow the monarchy.
The result sparked a new movement known as Realism.
This movement rejected traditional classicism and Romanticism values.

In relation to art, realism is when the subject is shown by the artist in a realistic manner (showing the natural truth of their subject) as opposed to the idealization of subjects the Neo classicists and Romanticists wanted to portray.

Realists thought that ordinary people carrying out everyday activities were worthy subjects for their art.

Broadly the principle of realism can be understood as the pursuit of truthfulness through art to the life of hardships of ordinary and lower class citizens of society.

Artists painted raw and natural scenes with detail bringing them as close to photographs as possible. Artists used Realism movement to highlight an  aspect in society with paintings that were considered ‘ugly’.

Self portrait of The Desperate Man, 1844-45, Gustave Courbet

Gustave Courbet was one of the artists who lead the French Realism movement and focused on the common people to raise awareness of every individual’s dignity and strength.

‘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 regime except the regime of liberty.’
-Gustave Courbet

The stone Breakers, 1849-50, Gustave Courbet.

This work sheds a light on social realism and depicts two peasants of different ages breaking rocks.This painting was first exhibited at the Paris Salon and was later destroyed during World War II.

Wagon of the Third Class, 1864, Honore Victorin Daumier

This painting tells the story of three women who are attempting to make their way in the world alone. The grandmothers weary face confronts the viewer as to convey the hardships she has lived through. The third class family face away from the other passengers, showing a certain rejection from the rest of society.

Romanticism

                                                                 Romanticism

The industrial revolution marks a big turning point in history, in the 18^th century this revolution brought with it a new way of living, a new market economy based on technology. Machine power replaced animal power, and machine tools replaced human tools. Villages transformed into urban centers and people from farms and countryside moved to take new jobs in the new factories.

Those jobs were still brutal, making people including children work 14 hour shifts. The working poor lived in extreme filthiness in areas where smokestacks polluted and darkened the air with soot.

Whilst the industrial revolution had it’s positive impact, there were those who looked back at the past. Seeing it as a romantic period where people were not commodified and destroyed.

The Romantic Movement exalted the imagination above all else and elevated the individual in the sense that the human being was no longer part of a machinery but instead was now capable of expressing his own true nature, ideals and dreams. This involved a strong reaction against the Industrial Revolution and exploitation of nature, and a belief that one's own spirit and exaltation of the senses could lead to better society and a richer life.

The artists of the Romantic period wanted to inspire an emotional response in those that viewed their art.

Fishermen at Sea, by JMW Turner, 1794

Fascinated by ‘the mood of nature’ and its ever changing effects, Turner used to sketch the clouds, sky and the nature around him. He was even more fascinated by the power of the ocean and also said that he had once asked to be lashed to the mast of a ship to experience the drama of a mighty sea storm.

Romantics believed that nature held evidence of God’s existence, that God was embodied in it.
Turner saw light as a divine emanation and used it in paintings in a way to evoke that truth.

Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, by Caspar David Freidrich, 1818

The German artist David Friedrich was a Romantic artist who represented a perfect example of quality and class. This is a quintessential Romantic painting which conveys both the massive, infinite potential on man and the mysterious grandeur of nature.

In this painting, the man has climbed high and conquered so much, only to see the infinite possibilities still out there before him. The fog is ubiquitous and is hiding what lies beyond.

Romanticism, 26/02/2013, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Paul Brians, 11/3/1998, http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/romanticism.html

Industrian Revolution, 22/02/2012, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_Revolution