Evolution of the 19th Century European Paintings - Term Paper Example

Evolution of the 19th Century European Paintings It is vital to ponder at early definitions of the term "art" to best understand how the role of art has evolved. During the 11th to 12th century, art was defined as "skill at doing anything as a result of knowledge and practice." This was taken from the Oxford English Dictionary. At a given time, a medieval painter conceived the understanding of an artist to be the same as craftsman. Very little has changed by the end of the 16th century and later during the time of Holbein and Rubens, art was still viewed as a set of expertise, valued as essentially a source of livelihood. However, towards the age of enlightenment in the 18th century, perceptions have been changed. Art is then described as a pursuit or profession in which skill is geared towards the achievement of taste or creation of what is beautiful. And although the skill is there, art is further associated with taste, class, elegance, and beauty. An account has been made that Mme. de Pompadour contributed in the development of new standards for such taste and elegance, but also did so much to heighten the status of the artists in the society. During this century, artists and writers became frequent guests in aristocratic rendezvous. In the 19th century, artists already began to show more extensive emancipations with conventional ideas and techniques, interpretation, and appropriate subject matter. The manifestations of the artists' skills are greatly shown in their works. Their ideas of beauty and creativity coupled with their skills were radiated to superior works of art that have entertained spectators. With this, artists held special and sublime class, in some ways distinct from ordinary humans. Another noted consideration of the 19th century perception of art and its relation to present day is the ability of paintings to persuade and teach. At that time, it has been the most powerful visual image and the window of people to get information about the world around them. Thus, wealthy and powerful supporters used art for the purpose of education. This concept has transcended to the creation highly technological visual images used today. Somehow, the theories that apply to the use of art during the olden centuries have been handed down to current generations. It is a very important tool to facilitate learning and it continuously advances to graphic designs in cyber technology. Also during the 19th century is the spread of democracy and at this stage, avenues have been provided for artists that allowed them to present vast diversity of visions and messages. This was also because of the fact that there has been an increase in the middle class that already patronize their works; like today, exhibits are held to publicly display an artist' masterpieces. There were still convictions, as there have been in the past, in the supremacy of art to shape human minds. But now, these works of art became expressions of visions and the thus the artists were foreseen as prophets. They somehow provide moral and spiritual guidance and to project beauty and significance for the emergence of the industrial age; to reinvent and develop the visual arena to meet the changing times. As noted in the past, the later years of the 19th century gave rise to significant movements such as modernism, impressionism, expressionism, and symbolism. In many ways, these movements are clearly seen in today's concept of arts. The quest for innovation and updated-ness is inherent in the artist's goal of producing fine arts. Nonetheless, there are still many who remain to patronize the traditional, nostalgic techniques and endeavored to hinder the accelerating rate of change. The appearances of such arts are with intricate, elaborate, and decorative details, as opposed to modernist penchant to simplify forms and diminish decorative details. Similar to present setting, there is a diverse range of themes in modern paintings. There may a touch of contemporary inspiration or the traditional and melancholy mood. However these paintings may appear, they are still highly appreciated by spectators. There have been various impressionist painters during the 19th century that painted about simple scenes like people in the parks or any life around the painters. One brilliant painter who favored the subjects in movement, Edgar Degas, interprets motion as if it was caught in candid camera. For the most part, the impressionist painters also experimented with the use of light and color that they are able to present a convincing picture of a drab light of winter on snow-capped ground to a shimmering sunlight that strike on trees during springtime. I believed that this inspiration also contributed to the advancement in photography. Capturing movements from basic to peculiar positions but still present a beautiful work of art. Complementing the impressionist style is the expressionists, who are concerned with taking into account the subjective feelings and the appropriate responses, with the use of twists of line and color. It mostly deals with emotions that they sometimes present it not in the exact appearance of the actual. The cubist style on the other hand is concerned with surfaces, picture planes, and it deviates from traditional perspective and modeling. All these various styles and specific expertise contributed greatly to how the present visual arts entertain humans. These did not only manifest themselves to advancement in technology and art forms, but also encouraged individuals artistic inclinations for an avenue of expression of ones feelings, religious and political beliefs, and other societal influences. The greatest contribution however to the innovation of arts is the abstraction because it introduced a wide range of new artistic methods that is used to interpret modern art, and its most important qualities and means of expression. As we know, modern art encompasses an exceptional miscellany of styles, movements, and techniques. It is now that artists make use of every possible material available to them to express their artistic desires as oppose to most of the traditional methods where they make use of oil and canvas. This then led to the growth of what is now called conceptual and performance art that is even considered radical in nature for its expansion not just physical object but to ideas and actions alike. Although conceptual arts have been developed during the late 1960s but in current times the conceptual works were diminished to the documentation of an event or occasion through photographs and video footages. It paved the way to the performance art encompassing the genre that involves great creativeness to where artists draw that are inspired by dance, music, drama, usually in the ensemble of all these forms of expressions. Arts nowadays are not limited to certain individuals but for all to use as a form of expression. Age is not also a hindrance. Anyone of any age is already capable to produce some type of art and be welcome to express it because of the evolution and transition of the various styles from the past particularly from the 19th century. The collaboration of talents of the past paved the way to latest innovation in various arenas. One significant area is technology. Due to the evolution of the perception of art, people are able to invent high definition photography and video, computer software such as photoshop and adobe, and even cellular phones are gadgets or instruments used to capture any form of beauty around. Needless to say that, artists are given the ultimate freedom to use art to express feelings, beliefs, religious and political inclinations, and such products of the mind to where art can be a way to convey them. The 19th century art works are considered great influences for modern-day pieces nevertheless, it does not end now. Art is an ever changing and evolving expression of someone's personality and talents. References and Sources: (1) Eisenman, Stephen. Nineteenth Century Art: A Critical History (Paperback). Thames & Hudson, 1994. Print. ISBN-13: 9780500277539 ISBN: 0500277532. (2) Chipp, Herschel, Peter Selz, Joshua Taylor, Theories of Modern Art: A Source Book of Artists and Critics California Studies in the History of Art). California: University of California Press, 1984. Print. Read More