Culture of Modernism Popular Culture in Europe Race and Nation

Modernism and Progress As an intellectual movement, modernism was based on the belief that the problems of modern society could be solved by scientific knowledge and technology Modernism accepted that accelerated change was permanent and encouraged its followers to seek out the new What was holding back the progress to a better world was adherence to tradition and fear of moving forward

The advent of “mass culture” The public sphere that had been developing since the Renaissance exploded with mass production of daily newspapers Along with the advent of mass political participation there developed the idea of a mass public – who were interested in science, culture, and art – which before tended to be the purview of society’s elites

Popular Science In the 1820s Auguste Comte, the father of sociology, claimed that science was a religion and that modern society was heading into a scientific phase Compte helped to promote the idea that science could solve any problems that human beings would face Also important for promoting the idea that there was a science to society

Urban Spaces One of the major challenges to modernist optimism was the state of cities that had grown quickly during the industrial revolution Overcrowding, slums, lack of infrastructure characterized the problems of the overgrowth of essentially medieval cities – and lack of planning was causing tensions in new cities

Case Study: Paris Between 1850 and 1870 George-Eugene Haussmann was commissioned by Napoleon III to drastically modernize the city of Paris In order to do so, Haussmann had to first demolish much of the medieval city in order to make way for things like running water and gas lamps Another major concern was to build a city that would give easy access to troops in case of a revolutionary uprising

Cartoon showing demolition teams taking over Paris A cross, section of a new boulevard, showing allowances for water and gas

Haussmann Style His style was characterized by wide boulevards built around a grid pattern to make it easier for growing traffic and shopping Paris had become a centre of the bourgeois life – and Haussmann responded to that by making it easier to shop, to get from one end of the city to the other Railway stations around the city brought in passengers from outside the city Green areas and parks set up

Façade of a new apartment block The bottom level would house shops – and would get more prestigious as it went up

Sidewalk cafés (left) offered a new space for public interaction; New department stores (right) offered new forms of public consumption

Shift in the Arts Artists also embraced modernism – believing that they had to challenge traditionalism As the face of Paris was changing under Haussmann, there was also a growing change in the taste for art The reigning taste in art, judged by the Académie de Beaux Arts, promoted a rigid style – based on classical and religious themes

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Phryne before the Areopagus (1861)

Alexandre Cabanel – Harmonie (1877)

Impressionism The style known as impressionism brought together a number of artists who rejected the rigid style of the Académie Setting up exhibitions of their own, artists like Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Paul Cezane and others shocked the public – but also developed a strong following

Edouard Manet, The Luncheon on the Grass, 1863

It was from Claude Monet’s painting (Impression, Sunrise) the impressionism got its name – though it was meant as an insult by a reviewer who panned the show

Paul Cézane, The Card Players, (1890s)

Camille Pissaro, Boulevard Montmarte, Winter Morning (1897)

Appeal of impressionism Impressionism appealed to the new urban middle class who saw in these works a reflection of their own lives and experiences These works tend to emphasize every- day, ordinary subject matter – a snapshot of reality (at a time when photography was developing as a new art form)

Mass Society The society that developed out of the Industrial Revolution was largely urban Some saw a great future ahead for humanity as a result (the optimists) while others saw it as a society in decay and decline (pessimists) Many wondered on what principles such a society should be run – what was the place of the individual?

Friedrich Nietzsche ( ) A vocal critic of modern society, which he believed turned people into drones, or robots Believed that the general tenor of modern society was to turn people into slaves – taking away their self-realization and humanity

Futurism Futurism was an aggressive and political movement in Italy that glorified the age of machines Through art, literature, poetry, and theatre aimed to reach the potential of modern life Tomasso Marinetti,

Conclusion The twentieth century began with a strong wave of optimism about the possibilities of mass society and modern life That optimism, however, would be challenged by the outbreak if World War I in 1914 Though modernism would survive the war – its foundations were much less optimistic