Ch.12 - Progress, Modernity, and Modernism - French Visual Culture during the Second Empire, 1852-1870 Flashcards
Opera, 1861-75
Charles Garnier
People of this time had money to enjoy theatre and entertainment, which sparked the creation of this celebratory Neo-Baroque structure
The Dance, 1866
Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux
One of the four monumental allegorical sculptures on the front of the façade. The four sculptures represent the main artistic elements of an Opera:
composition, instrumental music, lyric drama, and dance
Some people were offended by the grouping of nude women around a nude male, whose genitals are hidden.
The women are also not idealized, and are drunk/fat.
This sculpture threatened public morality, because it didn’t instruct or edify like public art (especially sculptures) were known to do.
The Cock Fight, 1847
Jean-Leon Gerome
Gerome preferred classical antiquity. This piece provides a window on daily life, as well as ancient times.
Sparked a trend in painting and interior design that aimed at recreating life in classical antiquity.
The Birth of Venus, 1863
Alexandre Cabanel
Immediately acquired by Napoleon III for his private collection.
Nude was highly popular in the Salon of 1863, but the subjects had to be placed as mythological figures or part of a specific narrative
Indicative of a paradox, in that it’s a façade of morality and virtue. It was known that wealthy men of this time had mistresses and escorts. Sexuality was hidden behind the veneer of this period
The Horse Fair, 1853
Rosa Bonheur
Shows bi-weekly horse market in Paris.
Women were usually limited to painting flowers and still life, and didn’t have access to training like men did.
Rosa depicted animals with immense power and nobility, and she sometimes would show human figures as being insignificant.
Rosa took the role of man in her career, and became successful as a result. She proved that women could do more with art.
The Gleaners, 1857
Jean-Francois Millet
A depiction of the poorest of the poor. A mounted Constable is shown in the background. The position and bending-over of the figures symbolizes the lowly and debased position of peasants during the nineteenth century.
At the same time, the women’s orchestrated poses and gestures indicate dignity and epic grandeur.
This painting actually alluded to biblical heroine Ruth, and thus this painting assumed a moralizing and potentially religious importance.
Recall of the Gleaners, 1859
Jules Breton
Breton became the most widely recognized peasant genre artists of the second empire. His works were foten bought by the government, since they had a more positive and even epic vision of peasant life (In contrast to Millet’s)
Symbolizes the allegorical event of a harvest. The figures are not sad, troubled, or in pain. Faces are shown, and the mood is less serious or sympathetic.
Wheat placed on the woman’s head is a religious symbol
Strikingly different portrayal of peasant society than Millet’s. Shows disagreement and different interpretations of peasant life existed.
Seen as a realist piece, because the figures were based off of models!
Young Ladies on the Banks of the Seine, 1856
Gustave Courbet
Courbet preferred to depict urban life on a larger scale.
This piece subtly shows many aspects of modern life and contemporary society.
The women are actually prostitutes, and are accompanied by at least one man. Police would patrol the banks of the Seine, so these cocottes would have a fishing rod with them to pretend they were fishing.
Luncheon on the Grass, 1863
Edouard Manet
Refused outrightly by the Salon of 1863. Also shows two cocottes, but these two have undressed entirely.
This piece was huge, but it wasn’t a historical depiction, which made it stand out even more. It was wildly successful and popular. Manet absolutely rocked the art world.
Nobody wanted to acknowledge this type of scene in art.
Men are actually upper-class, which is controversial. The style is hard to pinpoint. Very rough and unblended. No clear distinction of foreground, middle-ground, and background. Very choppy. Almost seems unfinished.
Manet chooses rough flat and blunt brushstrokes
-He was criticized about the female figure on the left, who was modelled in flat even lighting, as opposed to dramatic light and dark contrast. Lack of idealization in her body, with rolls on her stomach and neck.
People were used to seeing ideal representations of the female form, which this piece breaks away from. Woman’s facial expression almost makes the viewer feel like they’re intruding the scene.
The “intruding” feeling that the viewers felt caused controversy. People weren’t used to feeling this way, more commonly they would feel the opposite when looking at a depiction of a female figure.
Left woman defeats all the expectations of a female figure in a painting
Olympia, 1863
Edouard Manet
Woman’s name is Olympia. She is a rare example of a woman with personal wealth and independence in Paris.. She was in charge, and was paid well.
Her gaze shows her power, and makes the viewer uncomfortable, as if they’re intruding the scene.
The servant is presenting her flowers, but she isn’t paying attention/ doesn’t care about them. She’s a no bullshit/serious woman who is all business.
This piece is racially charged, with choosing to show a black servant during a time when slavery was already outlawed.
The footwear and choker on Olympia show that she is not a classical figure, but a contemporary one. She is more of a mercenary love goddess than a mythical being.
Influence of Japanese print is prevalent in this piece. Flat lighting. Artists begin looking outside of Europe in this time.
