French Arty of XIXth Century - Essay Example

Definition Depiction of different social es in 19th century France Research Diary Expression through art and literature is the measure of the development and freedom enjoyed in a civilization. If one is proud of one's culture, he would certainly like to preserve it for the next generations. The paintings of a particular time generally give an idea of the kind of life led by people of that time. As in the case of French paintings, it could also provide an insight into the social classes and customs adhered to during that period. As a student of .., I was always fascinated by paintings. While observing paintings, I try to get into the mood and timeframe of the painter. From the clothes depicted, I try to make a guess about the period of the paintings, observe the facial expressions carefully to gauge the mood of the subjects and the painter. Paintings of live situations especially fascinate me. Market scenes, dance sequences, party scenes: these bring out the mood of the subjects remarkably well, as compared to inanimate objects, I feel. Of particular interest to me are the paintings by French impressionists. A chance visit to Tate Museum, London created an interest in me for works by French painters. The painting, A Woman o a Bench (1874) by Claude Monet caught my eye and made me feel that I had to carry out some research in this area. The lady sitting gracefully on a bench in the garden seems to be waiting for someone, yet seems so dignified in her waiting. There were hardly any problems faced in Tate Museum, other than the fact that I wanted to see some more paintings by French Impressionists. Next was a visit to the V&AMuseum. The museum is huge, very impressive and a treat for art lovers. Here I found a few paintings by French artists, but not many pertaining to my subject. As the museum concentrates on variety, the collections are vast and range from contemporary to historic exhibits of not only paintings, but sculptures and other works of art. French artists of the nineteenth century do not feature very prominently here. Thus, I was not able to gather much information about my topic of research here. (kindly check with someone who has visited the museum, as I didn't find much online). Next was a visit to The National Gallery. It is a true paradise for art lovers and a great place for Impressionist paintings. There is a formidable collection of paintings by French artists of the nineteenth century depicting the social orders of the period. I will be describing scenes from these paintings in the following paragraphs. Annotated Bibliography Various sources have been used in compiling this report. The annotated bibliography of these sources is given below: 'Miss La La at the Cirque Fernando', 1879. London, The National Gallery. DEGAS, Hilaire-Germain-Edgar 1834 - 1917 French Degas specialised in scenes of contemporary life, including dancers, entertainers and women at their toilette. He was a master of technique, and experimented with various media, including pastel. Degas remains popular today; his changing styles and preoccupations are well represented in the Collection. Degas exhibited from the beginning with the Impressionists in Paris. He was able to follow an independent path; his private income meant that he was not forced to attract buyers. Degas spent most of his life in Paris, abandoning his study of law in 1855 to train with the academic painter Louis Lamothe. In 1855 he studied at the cole des Beaux-Arts. He was in Rome 1856/7, and subsequently often travelled to Italy. He admired Ingres, but soon developed an Impressionist approach, under the influence of Manet, whom he knew well. 'Corner of a Caf-Concert', probably 1878-80. London, The National Gallery. Manet, Edouard was the elder statesman of the Impressionists, but never took part in their exhibitions. He continued to compete in the Salons where he sought approval all his life. His unconventional subject matter of modern life, and his free handling of paint made him an important precursor of Impressionism, though he was not widely appreciated in his lifetime. 'The Skiff (La Yole)', about 1879-80. London, The National Gallery. RENOIR, Pierre-Auguste Renoir's work is about pleasure, and reveals no great seriousness.Renoir painted landscapes, portraits, still lifes, and modern life. Renoir was one of the Impressionists. He used broken brushstrokes and bold combinations of pure complementary colours to capture light and movement. After a visit to Italy in 1881 his style changed, becoming more linear and classical, as in the revisions to part of 'The Umbrellas'. Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Bathers at La Grenouillre 1869 MONET, Claude-Oscar 1840 - 1926 NG6456. Bequeathed by Mrs M.S. Walzer as part of the Richard and Sophie Walzer Bequest, 1979. This painting depicts a popular boating and bathing establishment with an adjacent floating caf, on the Seine near Bougival to the west of Paris. He uses broad areas of colour to indicate the boats moored in the shadows, while dots in the lighted water in the background represent a party of bathers in the river. Jules Breton, Washerwomen of the Breton Coast At the end of the 19th Century, the life of the rural working class became a popular subject among French painters such as Bouguereau. Books and Journals 1. A Social History of France in the 19th Century Christophe Charle This essential overview for history students and general readers introduces and analyses the dynamics and relationships of the various social groups or classes of 19th century France - the nobility, bourgeoisie, elites, middle classes, and petty bourgeoisie. Professor Charles explores the hierarchies, cultural and economic influences, and the failures and successes of each social system. He integrates the many political, ideological and economic interpretations of the period - cited in a comprehensive bibliography - into a coherent and balanced contemporary view. The Social Construction and Deconstruction of the Female Model in 19th-Century France Journal article by Marie Lathers; Mosaic (Winnipeg), Vol. 29, 1996 Journal Article Excerpt The social construction and deconstruction of the female model in 19th-century France. by Marie Lathers In 1887, the French review La Vie Moderne published a series of articles by Paul Dollfus called 'Paris qui pose,' a title suggestive of numerous possible referents since, as Philippe Hamon has shown in detail, the act of posing occupied many 19th-century Parisian figures. Aristocrats and bourgeois, actresses and actors, writers and flaneurs, dandies and artists, all evidenced a will to pose that is admirably translated in Jules Janin's novel Le Piedestal (1832), just one instance of the literary inscription of this posturing. Lacking a pedestal on which to exhibit himself, Janin's arriviste, Prosper Chavigny, is thwarted in his attempt to attract the attention of the Parisian public eye: "Il avait compris ce qui lui manquait, c'etait son piedestal; il n'etait pas en vue, on ne le voyait pas; c'etait sa faute, et non pas celle des hommes" (28-29). Fortunately, Prosper secures a pedestal during a voyage to Italy where he meets his future wife, an Italian beauty who will attract the right sort to his salon. For Janin, successful Parisian posturing requires a supporting base, and a beautiful, preferably exotic woman is the classic form of such support, the most reliable stand on which to display oneself. Janin's reference to sculpture is not fortuitous. Although Prosper is not an artist (he has no particular talent at all), his desire is to emulate the Salon artist by sculpting a work of art, himself, through reference to a woman, his wife. Through his wife's body, Prosper exposes himself, through her he prostitutes himself, through her he becomes both model and copy of the persona he seeks to compose. Art Encyclopedia :Realism Movement in mid- to late 19th-century art, in which an attempt was made to create objective representations of the external world based on the impartial observation of contemporary life. Realism was consciously democratic, including in its subject-matter and audience activities and social classes previously considered unworthy of representation in high art. The most coherent development of Realism was in French painting, where it centred on the work of GUSTAVE COURBET, who used the word ralisme as the title for a manifesto that accompanied an exhibition of his works in 1855. Though its influence extended into the 20th century its later manifestations are usually labelled as SOCIAL REALISM. Wikipedia : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genre_works Genre painting, is the form of painting in which aspects of everyday life are depicted by portraying ordinary people engaged in common activities. These depictions can be realistic, imagined, or romanticized by the artist. Because of their familiar and frequently sentimental subject matter, genre paintings have often proven popular with the bourgeoisie, or middle class. The petit or genre painting is a contrast to history painting or the grand genre. Read More