1. The Age of MODERN ART Welcome to the next 100 years of art history c. 1870-1970

2. Don’t confuse the word “modern” in Modern Art with the definition of modern, meaning up-to-date or Contemporary Art….that comes in the 100 years after Modern Art.

3. The Impressionists sought to paint everyday life (like the Realists), but they also tried to show its elusive impermanence. Later 1800s in France saw continued increases in urbanization, industrialization, secularism (from Darwin), Marxism. Modernism : The combination of rapid technological changes and exposure to a variety of cultures led to an acute sense in Western cultures of the world’s impermanence. Modernist artists seek to capture the images and sensibilities of their age, but modernism is more than just an attempt to capture the real world (like with the Realists) – Modernists also critically examine the principles of the art itself. Modernist artists (of which Impressionists are a subgroup) called attention to the surface of the painting, and to the painting as an object itself.

4. Tubed Paints! The availability of new pigments and tubed paints made it easier for artists to paint outdoors.

5. In paintings made en plein air (outdoors), shadows are boldly painted with the blue of the sky as it is reflected onto surfaces, giving a sense of freshness and openness that was not captured in painting previously. (Blue shadows on snow inspired the technique.)

6. In 1853, Commodore Matthew Perry of the U.S. Navy lead a fleet of frigates to Edo, Japan, where he threatened to open fire upon the town if Japan did not agree to a trade agreement with the U.S. (it was a “closed country” that did not trade with Europe/U.S.) Once trade begun, woodblock prints made by Japanese artist’s such as Hokusai, made their way into the United States and Europe, where they were eagerly collected by artists.

7. Ways in which European art was influenced by the newly available Japanese woodblock prints: Asymmetry of compositions Dramatic cropping of image/picture plane Use of flat areas of color/pattern. Less traditional modeling Leaving large areas “empty” in a composition. Hiroshige, ‘Gin Shrine in the Snow’ Claude Monet ‘Watrliles and Japanese Bridge', 1899 Edgar Degas ‘Seated Woman Combing Her Hair’

8. What is Modern Art? There is no precise definition of the term "Modern Art", although it usually refers to works produced during the approximate period 1870- 1970. Typically, modern artists rejected previous Renaissance-based traditions, in favor of new forms of artistic experimentation. They used new materials, new techniques of painting, and developed new theories about how art should reflect the perceived world, and what their functions as artists should be. In addition, entirely new types of art were developed during the period. When did the Modern Art Movement begin? According to most art critics, Modernism in painting first started with the Frenchman, Jean Claude Monet, and the French Impressionists, for its rejection of traditional academic art forms of the 18th and early 19th century. ARTISTS WERE READY FOR A CHANGE! A BIG CHANGE….

9. Modern Art - the rejection of traditional academic art forms Modern Art saw a shift from the traditional art forms to : - different use of media, like photography, collage, assemblage -Different use of space in architecture – the high rise building (sky scrapers) -Significant rise in Abstract and Non-Representational Art -Social and political transformation/ non-conformity -Artists were eager for change

10. We will start with the Impressionism Art Movement followed by Expressionism Abstract Expressionism Cubism Surrealism Pop Art Minimalism Color Field

11. Impressionism (aka. Impressionist ArtMovement) The beginnings…In the middle of the 19th century—a time of change… Historical subjects, religious themes, and portraits were valued (landscape and still life were not), and the Académie (art jury) preferred carefully finished images that looked realistic when examined closely. Color continued to be somber and conservative, and traces of brush strokes were suppressed, concealing the artist's personality, emotions, and working techniques. Then….a group of young rebellious painters interested in painting landscapes and still life. Experimented with a lighter and brighter manner – both in color and technique. These ‘kids’ are known as the….

12.  Impressionism is a light, spontaneous manner of painting which began in France as a reaction against the restrictions and conventions of the dominant Academic art.  Concerned with capturing light and a fleeting moment in time.  Artists used small strokes to simulate actual reflected light.  First group of artists to paint outside.

13. The Impressionists Manet Monet Renoir Degas Cassat

14. Impressionism Everyday - subjects and events Lighting - Captures effects of natural light. Color in artwork is illuminated…or seems to glow Brushstrokes - Artists have broken the solid shape into smaller pieces and blurred the edges, creating dabs of color that blend together. Outdoor – en plein air was a common setting Weather – weather and atmosphere were ‘ captured ’ ( remember ELBOW ) Check out this video

15. Claude Monet b. 1840 – d. 1926 -He wasn’t the first to paint this way, but the first to be “accepted” and called an Impressionist -Main subjects were nature and landscapes- en plein air -Painted same scenes day after day to capture changing of light weather, atmosphere and the changing of seasons

16. Check out this videoWoman in a Garden, 1867, Hermitage, St. Petersburg; This was a study by Monet to show the effect of sunlight and shadow on color

17. The term Impressionist was first used by the art critic Louis Leroy in his review of the 1874 group. When Leroy saw Claude Monet’s painting, “Impression, Sunrise” (below), he remarked: “What is this canvas trying to say? Impression, Sunrise. Impression- I was certain of it. I kept telling myself that since I was impressed there had to be some impression in it. What freedom, what ease of workmanship. Wallpaper in its embryonic stage is more finished that that painting.” The term impressionists quickly gained favor with the public. It was also accepted by the artists themselves. Although the artists did not adhere to one set of practices and were a diverse group in style and temperament. They were unified primarily by their spirit of independence and rebellion.

18. The Impressionists were branded socialists, anarchists and dangerous revolutionaries. They were deeply misunderstood. With difficulty Richard Marx managed to include them in the Universal Exposition (World’s Fair) of 1900. When President Loubet arrived at the hall he was greeted by Gerome, who barred his entrance, exclaiming, “Don’t go in, Mr. President, for there stands the dishonor of France.” To this mediocre painter,” Manet was a scribbler, Monet a fraud and Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley…were actual criminals who were corrupting influences on a generation of young artists. Interesting facts:

19. Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant), 1872; the painting that gave its name to the style, IMPRESSIONISM

20. Studies - Rouen Cathedrals, 1890’s

22. 1919, Le Bassin aux Nymphéas Worth $82.2 Million

23. Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini (1908) $165-Million in 2013

24. Pierre-Auguste Renoir b. 1841– d. 1919 vibrant light saturated color most often focused on people in intimate and candid compositions. Females were his primary subjects. Later in life he went back to more traditional style of painting *Suffered from arthritis badly - he continued to paint with brushes tied to his wrists. In characteristic Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a scene through freely brushed touches of color, so that his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings.

25. 1876, Le Moulin de la Galette, oil on canvas Sold $71.1 MILLION in 1990

27. Edouard Manet b. 1832 - d. 1883 He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, and a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism …he was a classical artist, but then ‘adopted’ the notions of impressionism...he became friends with other Impressionist artists and they influenced each other. Most well known for his social scenes. The Cafe Concert, 1878 His self-portrait sold for over $22 million dollars in 2010

28. (early) Manet, Le Chemin de Fer (The Railroad) 1872-73

29. Manet, Le Bar aux Folies-Bergère 1881-82

30. Edgar Degas Edgar Degas - Self-Portrait in a Green Jacket, 1856. Oil on canvas b. 1834 – d. 1917 cropped subjects awkwardly Showed emotional tension chose unusual viewpoints. Linked to his fascination with photography. He captured ‘snapshots’ Painted ballerinas because they sold well! Early work

31. Sold for $27.9 million in 1999

32. Edgar Degas, Dance Class at the Opéra 1872

33. Dance Class at the Opéra

34. Singer with a Glove, 1878 Degas Ballerinas to Music

35. Mary Cassatt b.1844 – d.1926 American Painter, born in Allegheny City, PA Went to Art School in Philadelphia where only 20% of the students were female, none of which were as determined as Mary Cassat, to make painting a career. Moved to Paris and met Degas…who influenced her painting. 1880-1881, The Cup of Tea 1894, Summertime

37. Claude Monet painted more than thirty views of Rouen Cathedral! Moving from one canvas to another as the day progressed, Monet painted the facade with highly textured brushstrokes that both convey the aspect of sculpted stone and make the atmosphere and light palpable.

38. Light is the source of our experience of color – white light is made up of colored light. Local color (the actual color of an object) is modified by the quality of the light & reflections from other objects. Shadows are not black/grey but composed of colors modified by reflections & other conditions. Two complementary colors in small amounts placed next to each other blend in the eye to look like neutral tones. Juxtaposition of colors on canvas for the eye to fuse at a distance produces a more intense hue then mixing them (based on scientific and medical discoveries)

39. Rendering the visual world as it appears to the eye, not as it actually exists. Capturing a quick, spontaneous “impression” of an image: Optical sensations. Visible brushstrokes Light Colors Emphasis on Light and the changing qualities of it Ordinary Subject Matter Unusual Visual Angles Open Compositions

40. Impressionism - the Big Break in the History of Art Discussion Question: Did you notice I included an ‘adjusted’ price of some paintings in the presentation? The approx net worth means if they were up at auction in the near future, that approximately what they would sell for. How does one put WORTH on a work of art?

41. Impressionism became the birth of Modern Art. All of the major art movements which would follow, including Post Impressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art owe their beginnings to Impressionism