Rise of Modernism - Late 19th c. Art

Show me an angel, and I'll paint one.  Gustave Corbet

Key Ideas

• Realism was based on the theory of being positive (positivism)
• Japanese art had a profound impact on late 19th century painting.
• Impressionist art is all about painting "en plein-air"
• Symbolist painters seek to portray mystical personal visions.
• The Skyscraper is a new type of building due to technological advances
• Art Nouveau unifies painting, sculpture, and architecture with curvilinear lines and organic forms and motifs.
• Artists were inspired by the past but rejected the tradtional subject matter.
• Almost all artworks are purely secular with no religious symbolism or intent.

History

• Europe was in a move from aristocracies to democracies = Revolutions in Sicily, Venice, Germany, Austria, and Lombardy. 
• Franco-Prussian War of 1870
• Concept of positivism fueled by Comte (knowledge must come from proven ideas based off science)
• Darwin and Marx = Human evolution and social equality
• Invention of telephones, motion pictures, bicycles, and cars!
• The avant-garde
• New excavation begins in Greece, Turkey, and Europe

Hokusai's The Great Wave, 1829-1832

Hadrian / Bronze Casting Using The Lost-Wax Technique from Renana Aldor & Kobi Vogman on Vimeo.

The late 19th century, when there was new open trade with Japan between the US and Europe, artists were strongly influenced by this new technique of woodblock printing- ukiyo e, or "floating world" prints.  These prints also captured the fleeting moment and focused on Japanese culture including dance, theater, daily moments in life. 

Mary Cassatt said in a letter "You must not miss it... You couldn't dream of anything more beautiful. I dream of it and don't think of anything else." ​

Additional Resources

Study Sheet
1. Article: Romanticism to Realism (from The Visual Arts: A History 4th ed.)
2. SmartHistory's How the Impressionists' Got Their Name and (a little slow but good clarifying info) a short look at Impressionism.
3. From the National Gallery of Art, take a look into the life of van Gogh and from the Great Artist series, a van Gogh documentary
4. VAN GOGH by Joel Swerdlow
5. Redon's collection of paintings
6. Read more on Whistler's Nocturne in Black and Gold
7. Miniature Japanese woodblock print - Visit this site that has many images of different themes and Ukiyo-e prints
8. The Horse in Motion
9. YouTube: Ukiyo-e master at work
10. Crash Course: Industrial Revolution 
11. Gaudi, Church of the Sagrada Familia
12. Post-Impressionism ​

Vocabulary

Aquatint
Avant-garde
Caricature
Drypoint
Japonisme
Lithography
Modernism
Plein-air
Positivism
Skeleton
​Zoopraxiscope

Artwork List

Realism
The Stone Breakers
Nader Raising Photography...
Luncheon on the Grass
Olympia
The Valley of Mexico from the    
​         Hillside of Santa Isabel
The Horse in Motion
Impressionism
Moulin Rouge
The Sainte-Lazare
The Coiffure
The Starry Night
Where Do We Come From?
Mont Saint-Victoire
Symbolism
The Scream
Art Nouveau
The Kiss
Architecture
Carson Pirie Scott
​La Sagrada Familia
Sculpture
The Burghers of Calais

Notecard Images