Art History of Jules Castagnary - Essay Example

Art History: Castagnary’s Critical Analysis In his article d “L’exposition du boulevard des Capucines – les imprissionistes” written on April 29, 1874 for La Siecle, Jules Castagnary sets out to investigate the claims that a new school of painting has been born. He is interested in discovering what are the aims and objectives of this new school, its distinctive features, its elements of style and its contribution to contemporary art of his day. The significant problem that Castagnary sets out to solve is the examination of why a new school of thought in painting faces such opposition and whether or not the painters of this school are indeed the rejects in the field of art. He is faced with the claim made by the jury, that these painters are revolutionaries and subversive elements of the social order. In his article he points to the determination of these artists to proceed with their art and their display of their paintings in a fellow artist’s home. Castagnary examines the paintings and is impressed by their quality. He refutes the label of “Japanese paintings” and substitutes it with “impressionists”. The reason for the use of this term lies in the fact that the paintings in general do not produce a specific subject per se, they merely produce a sensation and impression of the subject. He lauds the understanding of nature inherent in this style of painting and is impressed by the light, alert style. But he characterizes the impressionist movement - not as a revolution in art, but rather as a manner of art, wherein only the means of translation of the art has changed. In this instance, Mr. Castagnary’s argument is a purely theoretical argument, he does not see any sustained future for the impressionist movement. The impressionists are mere dreamers and while Castagnary finds nothing radical or subversive about their paintings, he visualizes the radical movement as a mere rebellion, wherein only a few will survive to make the distinction between romantic impressionist painting and the need for others that demand precise execution. Viewed from the hindsight of history, Castagnary’s comments now appear too dismissive of the Impressionists. However, during that generation, the Impressionist movement must have undoubtedly appeared to be a temporary phase from which some painters would emerge better for the experimentation while others would soon fail. His appreciation of the paintings is the function of his instinct and feel for art, while his failure to recognize the significance of this vital new movement in art is merely a reflection of the prevailing prejudices of the time, wherein these artists were regarded as bohemian elements. Possibly, the Jury and its opinions may have influenced Castagnary sub consciously in making his evaluation, because that accounts for his statement that the Impressionists present that which is unfinished, which I do not find to be an acceptable statement. I strongly disagree with Castagnary on the value of impressionist paintings, particularly his claim that the painters “will abandon impressionism as an art truly too superficial for them”. The impressionists signaled a new era of freedom in art, going hand in hand with the Enlightenment and providing relief from the dark and heavy baroque style of painting. Their special feature is their ability to portray real life and they can hardly be termed as superficial. In fact it would be the Baroque paintings with their religious subjects which could be classed as more unreal, as compared to the Impressionist paintings. They are an enduring style of art capable of evoking intense emotion in a viewer and providing the delightful impressions of optical illusions that change as a viewer approaches or draws back from a painting, make the viewing a fascinating experience, as the paintings seem to come alive and glow, due to the distinctive style they employed of painting in dots (www.encarta,msn,com). In their portrayal of real life, they are profound and moving. For example, one of the classic examples of the early impressionist period is the painting titled “Susan comforting her baby” done by Mary Cassatt. It’s an oil on canvas, done in 1881. This painting is also an expression of a mother’s love for her child. It is a simple, beautiful painting of a woman with her arm around a baby but in its essence, it communicates the purity of love itself. Although the mother and the baby are not looking at each other, yet the manner in which their bodies are closely enclosed in a circular fashion creates an atmosphere of intimacy that reaches out to touch every viewer. The child is closing one ear with its hand, which shows how stressed out it’s feeling yet the curiosity and eagerness in the child’s eyes indicate that it wants to drown out the sound of everything else except the sweet voice of its mother, murmuring words of love and comfort into its ear. The mother’s loving hand on her baby symbolizes the degree of her care and protection of her child. The skilful juxtaposition of colors, the delicate brush strokes and the manner in which the foreground stands out are not easy to paint. The very notion that a painter is likely to find this style of painting superficial and tiresome belies belief. Painting through the use of dots and creating a living portrait without pre-blending colors as was the Impressionist style, is in itself an indication of the development of a new technique, a new school of thought, a degree of skill and talent which Castagnary does not appear to recognize in his criticism. Castagnary also contends that the impressionist will become powerless to “formulate anything but personal subjective fantasies”. I strongly disagree with his assessment. Is Manet’s “A Bar at Folies Bergere” painted in 1881-82, no more than a personal fantasy? The painting is striking and distinctive because of the skill involved in creating the play of light and shadows, reflection and refraction of light from the mirrors in the background. In the painting, we see a woman standing facing us, with her back reflected in the wide mirrors in the background, which also reflects the other people in the bar. The woman is clad in a bright red dress, her features sharp and beautiful. The background is brilliant and bright, the woman is colorful and eye catching as she is meant to be, to attract her customers. Yet the expression is distant and impersonal, the eyes are slightly averted as if the woman chooses to distance herself from the viewer. The averted eyes and shadowed reflections of other patrons of the bar represents the anonymity of modern life and the disinterest inherent among the crowds, portraying the feeling of loneliness and alienation in the midst of a crowded bar room. In the averted eyes of the woman in the painting is a portrait of the loneliness and isolation of every person in a crowded world. While Castagnary contends that the impressionists in general do not aim for perfection and are satisfied with a general impression, with no distinctive techniques, Manet’s painting demonstrates a profound understanding of life and a quality of finish reflected in every part of the glossy painting and in every inch of the mirror, where each reflection has been painstakingly captured through brush and stroke. Castagnary’s claim that the Impressionist style of painting involved no new technique or school of thought is my strongest point of disagreement with his views. An example of sheer scientific precision and skill may be noted in a painting done in the later Impressionist period. The painting titled “Woman powdering herself” was painted in 1889 by George Pierre Seurat and is an oil on wood painting. This painting also represents the impressionist period, yet it was a deviation from it, in that it focused on creating optical effects and the interplay of colors with each other, as opposed to the intuition that guided earlier paintings such as Cassett’s. For example, in the painting of the woman powdering herself, Seurat has painted thousands of tiny dots rather than resorting to any kind of brush stroke. The colors used in this painting are typical of the bright, airy colors used by the Impressionists – Seurat has focused on the use of yellow, blue and red. Bu juxtaposing several tiny dots of varying hues next to each other, the luminosity of the painting is enhanced. While Cassett’s painting represents one phase of womanhood – motherhood, this painting represents another phase of womanhood – the lover. The radiance and luminosity that characterize this painting represent the throbbing ecstasy and happiness of love and the painter has also tried to convey the impression of happiness by painting red “V’s” in the background. The radiant bloom of love which is imparted to a woman is portrayed beautifully in this painting and the differing colors and hues juxtaposed next to each other create optical effects that are equivalent to a woman sitting before a mirror and powdering herself. But this effect was achieved with scientific precision in placement and coloring of dots rather than adhering to earlier Impressionist principles which focused on the creation of completely natural paintings representing reality caught in the stroke of a brush. But the scientific precision of the dots that Seurat has employed in this painting and the hues used, successfully covey the impression of gaiety through the use of warm colors. The painting has a grainy look to it, which is unusual and striking and the entire picture appears to glow with radiance, representing the high point of womanhood, as she experiences joy in the arms of her lover. Castagnary does not address the important social issues that are relevant to this style of painting. They represented contemporary art, a move away from religious subjects towards science and reason – a portrayal of real life. They represent a new technique, a new school, a new style that allowed a painter to challenge his viewer to blend the colors through optical illusion. They are special because they portray warmth, nature and real life subjects – time distilled and moments captured forever on canvas. These paintings allowed people to see for themselves, feel for themselves and think for themselves – they were a part of Enlightenment. References: Castagnary, Jules Antonio. (1874). “L’exposition du boulevard des Capucines – les imprissionistes” La Seicle [Online] Available at: http://www.artchive.com/galleries/1874/74critic.htm; accessed 11/19/2005 Impressionism [online] available at: http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553672/article.html; accessed 11/19/2005 “A Bar at Folies Bergere” [Online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Bar_at_the_Folies-Berg%C3%A8re; accessed 11/19/2005. “Susan comforting her child” and “Woman powdering herself” Available at the Houston Museum of Art. Read More