UNIT 12 - DVD and BOOK - Impressionism to post impressionism

I usually write this up straight after doing the reading and the viewing but due to a number of time constraints have only just got round to it a week or two later so will see how good my notes are this time!!

Still v much based around France and French artists.

19th Century - the impressionists and post -impressionists about a movement away from the traditional, using different methods, different subject matter, unconventional.  Away from influence of the salon. In 1863 the Salon des Refuses opened to exhibit works rejected by official salon.

Outraged public attacks on artists weren't rare in mid 19th C.  Public were used to seeing smooth, finely painted and highly finished paintings but now they saw rough with broken colour patches like casual sketches. 

Archetypal Impressionist Painting.... (elements seen before but not all together)

• landscape/out of doors subject
• comparatively small scale
• painted mainly 'on the spot' not in the studio
• high toned palette - clear bright colours
• varied, broken brush strokes
• white (not brown) primed canvas
• colours blend optically when viewed from correct distance
• what it really looks like to the artists not following conventional rules

Monet advised  young artist not to think about what he is painting but to notice the colours - a bit of blue here, some pink over there (this is similar to the advice given at start of OCA foundation art and design  for first still life painting.)

Japanese prints

Usually - popular/vulgar subject matter, unorthodox in view point,  fresh and brilliant in colour, 3D simplified to 2D

These started to be imported and had a dramatic effect on Western art in second half of 19C.  First time Western artists able to learn from other cultures.  catalyst for painters to throw off tradition and find new ways of looking. 

Neo-Impressionists

Mid 1880s some artists started going against the ideas of impressionism.  Wanting to get away from casual and fleeting images of impressionism and wanted to put more meaning and time into their work.  Most members were active supporters of the socialist anarchist movement.  Not propagandist but painted mainly proletariat (rather than the bourgeois of the imps) subjects.  But still in agreement that modern Paris is the place to paint. 

Artists include - Seurat, Signac, Pissaro, Henri Edmond Gross

Symbolism

Movement came about from young artists wanting to escape from objective naturalism.  Baudelaire influences - imagination, fantasy, the private world of the self.  Dream like, fantastical paintings.


 

Unit 11 - 19th Century

Chapter Romanticism to Realism
DVD Episosde 13 - Painting the Modern World

There were loads of changes in the 19th Century both in society and the arts.   French revolutionary ideas travelled around Europe and further afield.  Conflict aimed at the monarchy, aristocracy and the church.  Industrialisation led to larger prole populations in the cities and growth of new social structures.  Marx and Engels wrote manifestos in mid century. 

History dominating everything (taking place of reason in 18C). 

New ideas about art and artists.  Different styles of art coming about due to technological advances e.g. caricature (lithographs allowing mass reprodcution of images for newspapers) and photographs.  Although lots were political they were more concerned about artistic freedom.  Mainly working for and coming from the middle classes.  Rise in female artists but they still weren't allowed in the official art schools and definately not allowed to do any life drawing.

ROMANTICISM - Early part of century
Artists "sought to express only thier own feelings, beliefs, hopes adn fears in all their myriad forms" (page 641)  Not coming after neo-classicsim rather lots of different styles coming out of it.

• artists individual creativity
• uniqueness of their work
• relationship to society
• importance of expression and representation
• power to go beyond consiousness

PHOTOGRAPHY
Came about through 2 main different sources.  Fox Talbot and Louis Jacques Daguerre.  Talbot (British) developed methods as wanted to sketch beautiful landscape when on honeymoon but frustrated by his lack of ability.  He thought how nice it would be if could print camera obscura images on to paper.  He experimented in England and came up with a wawy to record negative images on to paper which then had to be fixed and through more chemical processes to make a postive print.  This process allowed a numbe of prints to be made from a single print.  Daguerre (French) worked on the dageurreotype - image fixed on to a copper plate coated in silver.Dagerurreotypes were better qual images initially and were used in Europe and America for 2 decades (From 1840).  Early portraits were similar to painted - same formal poses. 

PRE-RAPHELITES
Group of artists in England who wanted to return to nature and stop immitating Raphael.  Name misleading cos nothing to do with Raphael.  Wanted to go against frivoulous art.  Holman Hunt, Millais, Rossetti and more.

REALISM - after Romanticism
Art should be concerned with our own time.  Current social and moral problems.  Heroes and people and places of the day.  Political ideas.

IMPRESSIONISM
Started as radicals.  As often the case term was first used in a derogatory way (after a Monet painting exhibited named Impression, Sunrise).  The artists were called inept, incomprehensible and immoral.  Critics didn't like the subjects they chose or the way they painted them - e.g. as they were seeing them, the greens and purples on flesh, the blur of faces in a crowd, the same emphasis given to faces, clogthes, fences and chairs.  They liked to paint at the scene rather than in the studio and also would paint anything - lots of subjects not previously thought of as art

ARCHITECTURE
Architects were much more bound to what there patrons wanted and technical possiblites so couldn't go with romantic ideas.  Not much changes or much to make it stand out.

(Artists in artist post)

Unit 10 - Reading and DVD - 18C Romanticism and Neo-Classicism

This unit moves away from Italy and Holland and focuses mainly on France.  Louis 14th's palace of Versaille, Rococo art in the first half of the century and then the French revolution from 1790 center this period onto France.  Reference is made to other countries as well but just not so much.

1700s time when industrialization, bureaucratized government and ideas of equality were taking over.  No longer thought that kings were God appointed.  Christianity maintained hold til end of century but the architecture and works of art for religious buildings were mainly imitative of previous centuries.


The Enlightenment - ideas taken from philosophers of 17th C (Descartes, John Locke)  Isaac Newton coming up with rational explanations regarding workings of the universe.  Empirical scientific thought and study. 

Gap between artist and craftsman widening.  Architects/Interior designers could now do all the design but not the actual work.  Another example Josiah Wedgwood could design pottery but craftsmen painted it. 

First half of century
Louis 14th built massive house and formal gardens at Versaille.  So big - over 120 windows per storey looking out over the lake!!!
Rococo art has curly shell like bits, soft mingling colours, lightly infringed rules of classical composition.  Rococo style comes about when Louis wanted paintings that were more light and youthful.  He transferred favour from artists sticking to ideas of The Academy to dissenters.  Academy - Pouissinists - importance of drawing, superior to colour as appeals to the intellect.  But the Rubenists say colour necessary for imitation of nature which is what art should strive to do and that art should be pure physical pleasure received through the senses which is how colour is seen.

Some Rococo symbolism!!!
ladies on swings - the inconsistent and teasing nature of women!
Dolphins pulling the water chariot of Venus, being driven by cupids - the impatient surge of love
Hats - to cover accidentally exposed male genitalia!
a girl's naked foot - lost virginity (previously a broken pitcher was used)

Then in 1750s reaction against the rococo set in almost simultaneously in France, Germany and England.  A call for morally instructive art.  Statues and paintings of those who have served the country - through fighting wars or their genius.  Demand for a new art - back to ancient Greece again - Neo-Classicism

Other countries

Britain - the landscaped park.  The rich building grand houses with grand gardens to match.  Match the style of ancient Rome - running brooks, lakes, groves of mixed trees, classical temples, grottos.  Look like paintings by Claude. The rich would have a nostalgia for their grand tour to Italy.
Foundation of Royal Academy in 1768.

America - Declaration of Independence.  Art starting to come out of America.

Germany and Italy - almost impossible to tell difference between baroque and rococo art.

18c artists (more info on artists post)
Watteau, Boucher, Chardin, Fragonard, Hogarth, Gainsborough, Reynolds, Kauffman, David

Unit 9 - reading and DVD

This chapter and episode concentrated on the non-Italian 17 century painters.  The majority were Dutch as Holland had just become very rich and important at that time. 

Art market increased massively and painters started to produce speculative works rather than purely commissions.  Demand was for non-religious subjects and smaller easel paintings as protestant churches didn't have art in them and no aristocracy so buyers were from upper and middle classes.   An English traveler of the time noted that butchers, bakers, cobblers and blacksmiths had paintings hung in their shops, workshops and stalls - the whole country loved paintings.  Lots of landscapes, seascapes, portraits, low-life scenes, still life etc. 

Some painters may have been v famous at points but popularity declined.  Book says "In the competitive Dutch art world a premium was set on individuality and also on novelty with the result that painters' reputations swiftly rose and declined." Page 592

Development of Graphic Processes - Etching and drypoint processes were developed by Rubens and others to point where artists could check and change their work as they went along.  Once a plate had had the quantity of prints from it that it could cope with (differed according to technique e.g dry point only 10 excellent prints, etching maybe 50 excellent and 200 good) The artist could then take the plate and rework, touching up areas and even making changes to the composition.  Other artists may even work on the plates too.  These prints were much collected but prob as portfolio pieces rather than to go on the wall.


Landscapes - Just as landscapes to look at NOT background for mythological/religious scene, NOT scenes for stories to show rural life, NOT classical, NO narrative meaning or content at all.  Regarded mainly as decorations for the home but some religious meaning as nature linked to godliness and the bible.  Although based on real places often used artistic license to create the scenes.  e.g enlarging things, blending places together, leaving things out. 

Still Life - paintings of objects for the sake of it without necessarily too much symbolic meaning behind choices of subject matter.  Examples include fruit and flowers, fish, vases, porcelain bowls etc etc

Genre - scenes of everyday indoor life referred to as genre paintings.  Just of stuff going on.  But sometimes moral - often to do with sexual transgression, seduction. 

England - Mostly bought Dutch art, some Dutch artists settled in England to work.  Architecturally St Paul's and the 51 parish churches rebuilt after great fire of London were designed by Christopher Wren in a classical style.  Book says that St Paul's "Is imposing but not overpowering, it strikes a middle path between Classical Puritanism and Baroque exuberance."

Artists of the time (more detail given on artists post)

•  Reubens
• Rembrandt
• Van Dyck
• Vermeer
• Velazquez
• Hals
• Jan Van Goyen
• Rachel Ruysch
• Judith Leyster

Unit 7 - 16C High Renaissance

Before reading the set book this time I read through the relevant chapters in Gombrich's Story of Art.  I found this really helpful, perhaps because I find the way he writes really easy to read and understand or maybe because when reading this I didn't feel the need to take notes as it was 'for fun' rather than for the course.  Whatever the reason it certainly made the reading and viewing for this chapter easier than I've found previously as I didn't feel so inundated by new knowledge.

The high renaissance was the time when artists really started to become known and famous in their own lifetimes.  The big names broke away from being skilled craftsmen and began to be courted by the rich and famous (popes, emperors, royalty) to produce works for them.  Although still lots of religious art, more and more non religious subjects and paintings were produced as well.  Classical ideas were still popular with mythological themes.

Changes were happening in religion with protestant reformation.

Importance of Venice - rich state, lots of commerce.  Saw itself as ideal

Talking about Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael (AWHOA - page 466)
"supreme technical accomplishment,  perfect co-ordination of mind, eye and hand, was attained by all three.  Problems which had vexed earlier artists they effortlessly resolved.  In their work artistic form is always beautifully adjusted to intellectual content."

Will add notes about the artists on artists post!
Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Leonardo, Correggio, Giorgione, Tinteretti - All Italian
El Greco - born in Crete but Venitian
Flemish - Heironimous Bosch, Durer, Pieter Brugel the Elder

Unit 5 - Chapter 10 - The 15th century in Europe. DVD 5 - The Early Renaissance in Italy

I went back to reading then watching this time - mainly because I need more time when reading and I had a time slot I could do it in.  I am also reading Michael Baxandall's Painting and Experience in 15th century Italy.  I will add some of my notes from this but haven't finished it yet.

Historical Background
Renaissance - literally the 'rebirth' of learning and culture. 
Renaissance mainly took off in Florence.  Florence recovered well economically from the black death and became a major city state.  The money lenders lent all over Europe and the merchants were trading all over too.  Things were changing - previously there was the aristocracy the church and everyone else (the workers)
but now merchants were starting to make a lot of money and become more influential - able to vote etc.  These wealthy were able to pay for art - changed things. 

Humanists (still religious at this time not agnostic/atheist) had new values and ideas interest in classical Greek and Roman philosophy, arts, culture and ideas. They felt that 'individual prowess and intellectual ability' was more important than birthright.

Renaissance man - "The mortal who achieves immortality through his own efforts." (World History of Art page 435)

Visual Arts
to start - still mostly public religious works.  Materials important - had contracts stating which materials to be used and quality of them.  Artists told strictly what to paint and how. 
moved on - more private works being commissioned.  Mostly religious but some portraits, landscapes, mythological.  Contracts now show that artists more important - specifies that the named artist must paint certain bits, must be present etc.

Shift in patronage from public to private - portrayal of real people (the patrons and friends, family etc)

Becoming a lot more naturalistic and lifelike - e.g the saints now look like people and part of the scene rather than so saintly and on the edge - also all shown to same scale rather than previously when diff scales to show importance.  Linear perspective used.  Landscapes used for backgrounds rather than gold - makes whole thing seem more real. 

Oil painting was developed in this time too - more in Flemish art though rather than Floriscan

Medals - as art form not prize!  profile portrait on front and allegorical scene on back - private works of art only understood by educated elite.  " intended to stimulate philosophical thought, just as religious images inspired devotion" (world history of art page 435)

Mother and Child - so much call for artists to depict that madonnieri a specific style was developed.  (These were much more natural and realistic than Gothic works - no halos!)

Reasons for images in church - popular contemporary preacher said

1. For illiterate to learn the scriptures
2. might be bored by what they hear so more interested in seeing
3. DIFFERENT LEARNING STYLES!!! Some can't remember what they hear but can what they see. 

Tapestries - private art for houses - more expensive than paintings (not the case these days!)

Astrology - previously condemned by church but by 12C so influential it was tolerated.  Courts had own astrologers.  Signs of zodiac appear a lot.

Main characteristics of Renaissance Art

• Spatial clarity and perspective
• naturalistic landscape background
• Greek/Roman architectural decoration and motifs
• Idealised human - harmoniously proportioned

Architecture
Move towards more simply buildings and classical styling.  Away from fancy pants Gothic styles.  Partly through humanist ideals and also because of lack of money so can't afford all the ornate bits anymore.

Building of Florence cathedral - amazing to get dome up - had to get loads of people on board to try and work out how. 

Artists
Now becoming known, famous, respected - mostly in Italy before rest of Europe
Brunellechi - invented linear perspective - scientifically measurable - raised art of painting to a science.
Masaccio - used perspective, put light source into pics (sometimes as if from actual light source too I think) had shadows - more real and less staged
Alberti -  Renaissance man! - "moralist, lawyer, poet, playwright, musician, mathematician, scientist, painter, sculptor and  aesthetic theorist." WOW!!!!! (World history of art - page 431)  Came up with 'laws of nature' a rational theory of beauty
Donatello -  sculptor - 'revitalised every form of sculpture from free-standing monuments to low reliefs" (WHoA page 433)  Link to Michaelangelo - his pupil was di Givanni who was Michaelangelo's master.
Boticelli - started as goldsmith - lack of money for gold - moved to painting.  His Primavera (The Spring) one of earliest important non religious paintings.

Patrons/Commissions etc Baxandall's book talks about the relationship between patron and artist
Private patrons wanting good quality/beautiful works - reasons for commissioning art...

• an outlet for the pleasure of spending money
• virtue of donating to public places/churches
• enjoyment of looking at beautiful things

Some patrons paid by square foot and some paid for materials and time
All art (except some cheaper mother and child etc works) was commissioned and then produced with often v strict guidelines about what needed to be done.  Artists didn't decide what to do themselves - worked to instructions.
Materials decided in contract - e.g 4 florin an ounce ultramarine for virgin but only 2 florin an ounce for others.
from 1450ish became more interested in the artist

 

Unit 4 DVDs - 3 - A White Garment of Churches and 4 - The Age of Gothic plus chapter 9 - Medieval Christendom

I decided to try reading the book first and then watching the videos afterwards.  I think I got more out of the DVDs this way but found the chapter very confusing - it didn't seem to follow any kind of sensible pattern e.g. chronological or different types of art.  (I'm sure it did really but I do find these massive chapters quite daunting)  I think I need to read through without taking any notes and then take some on second reading but as it takes so long to read in the first place not sure I want to!

I've got loads of notes so just going to summarise here (without even looking back at them so I see what I remember)

Religion v v v v v important

2 main architectural styles - Romanesque and Gothic.  Used for building churches and cathedrals.  Religion v important - main stuff going on pilgrimage and monastries.

Monastries had empires - land and buildings paid for by rulers. 

Pilgrimages - huge money maker.  Massice churches built along the routes - churches much bigger than needs of locals.

Romanesque style - (originally meant in a derogatory way comparing to Roman style it is based on.) Used model of basilicas for church buildings but evolved.  Used the big columns, domes and vaults but moved on to stone roofs and changed shape to a cross wiht the transepts and had mini chapels coming out of the apse.  We call it Norman! 

Gothic style - from about 1200s in England.  Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, flying butresses, slender pillars, big windows, not big walls and pillars.

No architects - the master stone mason, hence all the carving maybe!

Visual arts - pretty much mostly religious.  Need to get message across to the illiterate poor so use easy to understand images to tell about past (stories and visions), present (virtues and vices) and future (punishment and reward) (Page 409)

Sculpture and carving - in churches.  Stained glass, illustrated manuscripts, wall and ceiling paintings - religion, religion, religion. 

Lorensetti (mid 1300s) one of first momentual (big and important!) secular paintings in Western Art (since antiquity) (page 409 too)

I need to add a plan of church so I can practice naming all the bits but will do this another day.  Will include - Nave, transepts, choir, apse, ambulatory, aisles and anything else that I'm missing!

Done it and here it is....

Unit 3 - DVD - Imperial Stone-The Art of Rome. Reading - Chapter 5 - Hellenistic and Roman Art

Summary of my notes on the DVD and reading...

Roman Empire was huge - encompasing lots of Europe, Aisia and North Africa.  Prior to all this conquering Romans 'condemed luxury and conspicous expense' (p179) - Soldiers brought back goodies leading to love of these elaborate items etc.  Pliny the Eldser says "more harm done to the Romans that the defeated Hellensitic kingdoms as they learned to love oppulance" (p179)

Romans passed on the visual arts of Greece to the Western world.  Rise of portraiture, painting styles, changes to architecture.  But copied loads in the visual arts so has been suggested didn't really have their own style

Architecture
Innovations of Roman architecture changed way buildings could be made.  Although both concrete and arch and vault sytem had been used before was extended and perfected.  New type of sand used in the concrete meant it dried more slowly and set more firmly - brill!

Went from post and lintel system which was limited to space of the weight that could be borne ON TO vast arches and domes with huge interior spaces never seen before.

The Colleseum - functional ampithetre.  'rhythmic horizontal and vertical repitition' (p191.  Columns follow ascending sequence doric-ionic-corinthiun for purely asthetic reasons. 

The Pantheon - temple and later Christian church.  Making amazing use of arch and vaults.  Biggest dome for 18 centuries! 

Classical temple porch leading to rotunda. 

Sculpture
Most Roman sculpture copies or adaptations of Greek sculptures.
Some copies pretty shoddy - wrong materials, scale etc
Portait heads rather than idealised - put portrait heads on stock bodies.  Had bodies modelled on Greek ideal in diff sizes and materials with slots for portrait heads to be added!
Statue of Augustus - used body of Doryphous (anonymous Greek athlete) stuck on Augustus head, changed position of arm and put on a Roman costume!
Commemorative columns - a Roman invention - column with statue at top e.g. Nelson's column

Painting
Mostly as decorations in homes.  Lots of Trompe l'oeil found in Pompeii. 
Earliest still lifes.  Move on to landscapes and learnt how to use perspective.
By 79AD all genres of paintings being done and brought

• history
• figure
• portraits
• landscape
• still life

Also different styles used from "hard lineraty with flat areas of colour" to "impressionistic rendering of form with rapid flicks of the brush" P184

Portraits
Prob biggest development from Greek - the use of realistic portraiture.  'warts and all' style. 
Portrait bust developed - prior to this either full length or just the head.  Busts of emperors used like religious icons - made and put in public places around empire, citizens had to burn insence and praise them or get perscuted!

Visual Propaganda
Busts/images of rulers using realistic heads but idealised bodies.  Used imagery and scale to show importance of the leaders.
Triumphial Arches - 1/2 sculpture 1/2 architecture.  Free standing and purley ornamental.  Carvings were to display visual propaganda about how great they were.

Lettering
Clear and simple lettering used (and the spaces) conforming to laws of architectural structure.  'most influential and lasting contribution to the arts' never been excelled and remains basis of our lettering today P205

Debates on Visual Arts
Plato - works of art should conform to a standard - no innovations (like Egyptian art).  "All imitations are false and morally harmfull" P171
Socrates - Artists should concentrate on the good and the beautiful
Aristotle - objects should be different dependant on what they are made of, who makes them and why they are made. "Imitation is in itself pleasurable to look at.  Things that repel may please when represented in art" P171

• Opens way for expressiveness and individuality
• leads to statues, paintings, temples being seen as 'works of art'
• leads to art-collecting, promotion of artists and first art histories

Status of Art/Artists
1st C BC private collectors start to pay a lot for Classical and Hellenistic originals.  Someone paid 36,000 Denarii for a piece (a slave cost 500 and average labourer salary of 250 a year!!!)
Demand for copies rose and distinction between original and copy made for first time.

BUT painters, sculpters etc regarded as lowly artisians.  BUT architects held in higher esteem

Unit 2 - DVD - The Classical Tradition. Chapter 4 - The Legacy of Greece

I watched my first DVD and read my first (massive) chapter of the text book this week. 

I have made quite extensive notes and don't intend to put them all on here as well.  So I'm not even going to go back through my text book but just pop down the some of the stuff I remember most....

• The ancient Greeks hugely influenced Western arts and culture. 
• Statues, sculptures etc would have been brightly coloured and ornate.  With silver, gold and jewels not the plain white that we tend to think of
• Lots of statues are Roman or later copies.  Most painting we only know about from descriptions.  Some vase painting remains.  Can see architectural remains e.g. The Parthenon. 
• The Elgin marbles are from the Parthenon and are NOT gigantic spherical 'marbles' as some people (!) may have previously thought!

Archaic - 7th to 5th century
Classical - 5th century onwards

Kouroi - idealised male youth.  Stiff and always same stance and emphais on muscular frame - always nude
Kouros - female idealised - always clothed

Idealisation to naturalisation and realism - basis of Western art

Foreshortening - realistic rather than stylised

See image for evolution of realism.

 Vase paintings - black figure or red figure 

Architectural styles

Doric - Simplest style - plain fatter columns, unadorned capital, no base, embelishments tend to be in addition to the structure.  Used as outer of building.  Placed according to rule of eye, illusion of symmetry rather than actual 

Ionic - thinner columns, base and carved capital.  Embelishments used within structure, carving and statures throughout.  Buildings designed to be viewed from front 

Corinthian - Much more adornment to capital, flat roofy bits.  Used inside buildings rather than as outer structure

Questions to ask

• What did they look like originally?
• What colours and adornments would have been used?
• Who made it?
• Why was it made?hat was the orignal setting?
• What was the orignial function?
• What was in the mind of the artist?
• What was the impact on society?