Symbolism and Impressionism of Traditional Methods of Painting - Assignment Example

?Romanticism The speakers define Romanticism as a movement that affected all forms of art and that involved putting human emotions into form. In essence, the speakers outline that Romanticism art was characterized by the demonstration of true emotions by giving the emotions substance that could be physically seen by other people. 2. The first painting of the White Horse by John Constable in 1918 depicts the environment in which constable spent his boyhood. Constable attempts to depict the area as it was truly was to portray a nostalgic feeling towards the place. The emphasis on details demonstrates that constable knew the place well. Romanticism is demonstrated through emotions of attachment and nostalgia. The second painting of the Sea of Ice by Casper David between 1823 and 1825 demonstrates emotions of renunciation and awe towards nature. The painting features the destructive aspect of nature and the hopelessness of man. The third painting Raft of Medusa by Theodore Gericault is of an actual event that took place and Gericault attempts to evoke feelings of empathy by bringing out the emotions that were felt by the people of the raft after they were abandoned by their ship in the middle of the sea. 3. The White Horse and the Sea of Ice deal with the same theme but from different perspectives. They capture different aspects of the theme of man and nature. The White Horse expresses man’s attachment to nature while the Sea of Ice expresses man’s inability to tame nature. The Raft of Medusa on the other hand deals with the theme of desperation caused by man upon his fellow beings. Becoming Modern 1. a) Capitalism created modern by ensuring that people specialize in what they can be able to produce best, and make money by selling the surplus so that they can use the money to buy what they do not produce. This is contrary to the classics period where people produced all they needed. b) Urban Culture created modern through the emergence of totally new ways of living. Towns grew bigger, people bought almost all of their needs, and the gap between the rich and the poor widened. c) Technological advances changed the way people lived and the way people perceived each other and in doing so created modern. d) Secularism creates modern by ensuring that people were less concerned with religious matter but were more concerned with their own emotions and feelings’ e) Optimism created modern by promoting even more change because people were able to perceive change positively. 2. The audience of art changed from the rich and learned to the middle class and learned but with different outlook. Artists were therefore more influenced to depict aspects such as landscape that would be understood by the new audience. These changes made modern more dynamic because people readily embraced and influenced change. 3. Avant Garde was modern artist’s movement that was daring and radical and steered away from the traditional art techniques and influences. A Burial at Ornans 1. The painting A Burial at Ornans by Gustave Courbet is antithetical to modernism beca 2. use it depicts a traditional aspect of burial with all the religious ceremony accompanying it. One of the characteristics of modernism is secularism. 3. Gustave chose the topic to bring about the aspect of realism away from the conventional expectations where artists painted on particular issues for instance politics. Gustave depicted a funeral where people went to mourn but he was also aiming at showing the individual’s contemplation of the aspect of mortality. Some people are mourning; others are distracted, while others like the children are oblivious of the events. However, all these people are brought together to show heroism of the deceased. 4. The art audience at the Paris Salon in 1850 was astounded at the painting because it totally contradicted their expectations. Gustave chose to represent the funeral as it was rather than engage in subjects such as politics or religion. Impressionism: Art and Modernity 1. The term impression had been coined by those who sought to condemn the group. The term implied that whatever was painted by the impressionists was not real but was just a construct of their imaginations. 2. The impressionism techniques were generally considered unconventional because of the emphasis they placed in the use of codes to bring about creativity and essence. For instance, the broken brush method aimed at bringing out different lighting aspects and contrast. Another technique used the impressionists was painting in the open air. Impressionism used significantly used light and painting outside enhanced the perception and portrayal of light on canvas. 3. Manet’s painting opened new opportunities for the impressionists to adopt ways other than the traditional approaches used in painting. The impressionists would later carry on the same idea and they employed different methods from the short hand notation used by Manet. They used techniques such as broken brush and plein air. Manet and Impressionism 1. Manet’s rupture with traditional representation was characterized by the realization that art did not have to follow a set of rules for the message to be conveyed but that message could be conveyed. Manet realized that message could still be conveyed using subjective and abstract approaches. 2. The impressionists were a group of artists who were inspired by Manet’s refute of the traditional way, and who took advantage of the new opportunities created by Manet of using subjective approaches in their work. The impressionists did not conform to any single style but their paintings showed the characteristics of impressionism such as the use of thick strokes and the lack of use of black colors. 3. Manet’s art impacted on the impressionists by giving them new and non-traditional methods of expressing themselves. Initially, art followed a set of rules and most forms of art conformed to the rules. Manet also inspired the impressionists by demonstrating to them that any kind of mark combined with imagination could still produce a good piece of art. However, as a characteristic of impressionism, artists did not conform to one single style. Impressionist artists employed other methods such as painting in the open and the broken brush method in their art as a development of the concept that was created by Manet. Manet had used the short hand notation method. Post Impressionism 1. The term post-impressionism was used to refer to the newer generation of impressionist artists to distinguish them from the older generation of impressionism art. Roger Fry managed to rejuvenate young impressionism. Apparently, Fry had perceived that impressionism was slowly sinking in oblivion and felt the need to encourage the individuals who were still enthusiastic. 2. Naturalism was more concentrated in representing the world in a real sense that they could perceive through their sense. However, the post-impressionist utilized color and style to express their perceptions of the world around using non-traditional methods. Naturalist believed that the world could easily be defined using laws and concepts but the post-impressionists created room for individual expression of subjective rather than real aspects of nature. 3. The “View of Arles” by Vincent Van Gogh is one example of post-impressionism art. Vincent Van Gogh uses brighter colors with more texture at the edges. The painting also demonstrates a touch of emotion depicted by the use of bright colors. The yellow Christ by Paul Gauguin is another example of post-impressionism art. Gauguin also uses color extensively to depict emotions. The use of brighter colors in the middle and darker colors on the edges also outlines Gauguin’s inclination to post-impressionism art. Symbolism 1. Symbolism may be defined as the immanent vision of the artist expressed in a simplified and represented in an abstract manner. Some of the most renowned symbolism artists included Gustave Moreau (1826-1898), Odilon Redon (1840-1916) and Edward Burne-Jones (1833-1898). Symbolism art was characterized by the expression of recreated emotions as perceived by the artist. The symbolism movement was characterized by artists who indulged in their emotions and then expressed the emotions using line and color. 2. Post-impressionism and symbolism were subjective and diverted from the traditional artistic styles. However, as the symbolist attempts to simplify his paintings in an abstract manner, the post-impressionist expresses his ideas of the natural world. 3. Edward Munch in his painting The Scream manages to create the symbolism of pain, fear and frustrations by painting the image of a screaming individual. Munch later revealed that he had actually painted himself to symbolize the anxiety he felt. Cezanne’s Still Life with Apples 1. In the 19th century the painting by Cezanne was considered unfinished and sketchy due to the color contrasts employed by Cezanne and the combination of dull colors that give the painting an end feeling of something unrefined. The use of shade in the back and light in front also gives the painting a sketchy and badly drawn finishing. 2. Cezanne’s work is similar to the hyperrealism of Dutch still life because they both paint still life objects. In addition, they also concentrate on the details managing to do so with both their use of color and delicate brush work to end up with areas of contrast. However, Cezanne seems to use more of dull colors while the Dutch still life was more of an outside affair with bright colors being employed in most instances. 3. The three ways in which Cezanne broke out of western tradition were: a) He used color not as an end but as a tool for the construction of form. b) His paintings were still life. c) His paintings demonstrated some aspect of impressionism. Difference between German and French Expressionism 1. One significant characteristic of expressionism art was the fact that the painters concentrated on emotions and subjectivity rather than the reality. However, the French expressionism was significantly different from the German expressionism. The French expressionism used heavy strokes on the brush while the German expressionism employed lighter strokes on the brush. 2. The German expressionism seemed to have been a response to the French expressionism and as such they sought to distinguish themselves from the French. The Germans sought to approach all aspects of the expressionism from the spiritual and subjective aspect as a way of avoiding the French bias. The Germans sought to express their nationalism by claiming emphasizing on the uniqueness of their techniques as compared to the French techniques. 3. The German expressionism also encouraged the portrayal of the negative emotions felt by human beings and not just the positive emotions. Both forms of expressionism were subjective but the German’s subjective had more to do with being true to feelings. Although the Germans used brighter colors like the French, the Germans depicted human emotions more in negative perspectives as a way of bringing out the inner emotions rarely shown outwardly. The Bauhaus School of Art The Bauhaus School of art in Germany perhaps became one of the art schools to act as the focal point of all forms of art and design and seeking to reclaim the position once held by art in mainstream production and design. The Bauhaus was definitely an avant-garde because it was not just a school but a movement consisting of maters and students in various types of art and design. The masters and students sought to pioneer the rejuvenate art to a state where it would directly impact on modernism. The basis of the movement was to give art and design a purpose in the contemporary issues of production, manufacturing and industry. The all-inclusiveness employed by Bauhaus that allowed women to enroll encouraged other women artists around the world to venture into various forms of art. Furthermore, the Bauhaus ensured that art took an active role in modernism through the creation of new and innovative styles. For instance, architecture no longer dwelt on the traditional or gothic designs but sought to create new designs that would blend in the modern world, and that would be easily understood by the contemporary society. Such developments nurtured creativity and innovation because artists had to keep pace with modern thoughts in creation of designs. The model of the Bauhaus school lives in the Otis College of Art because the college draws it students from across the US and from other countries around the world. The college also emulates the Bauhaus School by incorporating different form of art and design including fine arts. Comparison of Russian Avant-Garde Artist and Mondrian Artists The Russian Avant-Garde Artists and the Mondrian Artists shared both similarities and differences in the world of art. Both forms of art were influenced by other forms that had emerged earlier including symbolism and impressionism. The Russian avant-garde artists pioneered the breaking off of traditional methods of painting but rather concentrated on subjectivity and the use of abstract forms. The movements began during a period when significant political changes were taking place in Russia and perhaps the artists conceived that they could also showcase their radical artistic tendencies. De stijl movement in Holland was also pioneered by artists who sought new artistic ways away from the traditional forms of art. Therefore, both movements can be said to be avant-garde in the respective regions they represented. The Russian avant-garde and De stijl movement in Holland both employed the use of abstractness and the creation of art for purposes such as interior designing and decoration. The movements sought to ensure that art was effectively integrated within other areas and that art took part in the process of modernism. However, the Russian avant-garde and De stijl shared significant differences in the approaches they took in ensuring that art had its rightful place in the society. The Russian avant-garde was conceived during a time when Russia faced political and governance issues. Consequently, the movement spent its effort in attempting to address these issues through art. The movement bore both constructive and destructive tendencies due to the effects of the Russian Revolution. On the other hand, De stijl movement was more concentrated in using only primary colors to come up with paintings that could be incorporated within architecture and interior design. Read More