1. The “Manet Revolution”
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was a cultured well-bred man of French high society, not the least bit revolutionary in his personal life. Yet, at the same time, his paintings generated huge controversy and redefined French painting. Manet believed that painters had the right to interpret what they saw around them, but it was their duty to document it. The artist first moved to Paris under the reconstruction of Baron Haussmann and witnessed first hand the transfiguration of the city. Manet decided that he would paint the “modernity” of the new beautiful city. Manet paintings, Dejeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) and Olympia, were met with intense criticism; they did not follow a historical, mythical or biblical theme. The women that Manet depicted (along with all his other subjects) were real. The prestigious Le Salon rejected Manet’s paintings but could not stop other smaller galleries from showing the works. Paris was shocked and horrified with Manet’s work; he had truly started a new era for art.
During the Franco-Prussian war, Manet witnessed the atrocities of war and documented his horror and disillusionment with works like The Execution of Maximilian (1868). By 1874, Manet’s reputation as an “experimental artist” and the leader of the Impressionists was
firmly set. Although he did not exhibit with the other Impressionists, he did give them
financial backing when they were in need. Manet’s work is full of contradictions (much like the Paris that bustled around him), but he always sought to record the events around him through his own unique vision.
As you explore his art, jot down brief answers to the questions by each painting.
Dejeuner sur l’herbe
(Luncheon on the Grass) 1863
1. Consider the female in the background. What purpose does she serve in the painting? What is she communicating to the audience?
2. Explain the contrast of light and dark in the painting. How does it relate to gender roles?
Olympia (1863)
1. Knowing that this image was a tribute to Titian’s Venus of Urbino, why do you think Manet chose to paint it? 2. Explain the attitude of the lady.
3. Why would the public (especially men) have been outraged by this painting? 4. Draw a cultural conclusion about the race of the maid.
The Execution of Maximilian (1868)
1. Compare this painting to Goya’s Third of May (1808).
2. What cause are these victims martyrs for? What ideology is dying along with them?
The Battle of the USS “Kearsarge” and the CSS “Alabama” (1864) 1. Categorize the picture: Romantic? Impressionist? Defend your thoughts.
2. Contrast the tone/mood of this painting with Manet’s other works that you have seen.
2. Claude Monet (1840-1926) and the Outdoors
Monet has come to be regarded as the quintessential impressionist. He was one of the first pioneers of the movement (along with Manet) and helped define the new style. By applying and expanding Manet’s style of visible brush stokes and nuances of light to the outdoors, Monet shaped fellow and future impressionists.
His paintings should be looked at and not through.
What does this mean?
Although this may sound obvious, it would have been a huge deviation from the typical mode of appreciating art earlier in the 19th century. During the Franco- Prussian War, he fled to England where he painted London and studied English artists. After he returned
home, he settled in Giverny in 1883, some 40 miles from Paris. Monet went through immense financial difficulty and lived in an impoverished state. But things began to improve and, by 1890, he had amassed enough wealth to buy Giverny.
Women in the Garden (1866-67)
Painted relatively early in his career, this exhibits comparatively more characteristics of realism, and fewer of impressionism than some of the later works. You should be able to easily tell this by scrolling down to the later pages in the document.
First, list some adjectives that describe the style of painting you see here. This should help you later when you need to explain how other paintings look different.
The White Water Lilies. (1899)
Haystack, Snow Effects, Morning. 1890.
Haystack, End of the Summer. Morning. 1891.
Another famous set of paintings is of Haystacks. Showing them at different times of day and in different seasons was his approach. Why do you think this approach fits well with the characteristics of impressionist works? Use the Water Lilies and the Haystacks as examples to support your generalization.
Houses of Parliament, London, 1905.
How does this painting capture some of the “feel” of London? (consider stereotypes if you haven’t been there}
Some other works by Monet to find and examine:
Argenteuil, 1926
Femmes au Jardin, (Women in a Garden) 1867
Le Bassin aux nympheas, harmonie verte, (Japanese Bridge) 1899 La Pie (The Magpie), 1868-69
Le Jardin de l’artiste a Giverny, vers 1900 (Monet’s Garden at Giverny, c. 1900) Bouquet de soliels (Bouquet of Sunflowers), 1880
Cathedrale de Rouen, le Portail et la tour Saint-Romain effet du matin, harmonie blanche (Rouen Cathedral, Main Door and S. Romain Tower, morning effect, harmony in white) 1892-93
Femme a l’ombrelle tournee vers la gauche (Woman with a Parasol, Turned towards the Left), 1886
3. Paul Cézanne (1839-1906):
Post-Impressionism and the Foundations of Cubism
In the late 1880’s, many artists began to get dissatisfied and disillusioned with the limitations of Impressionism. They separated, and became known as Post-Impressionists. Cézanne was one of the leaders of this young new movement, by far bolder than either Manet or Monet. He decidedly went against the logic of appearance and instead searched for more solidity and the “inner logic of design.” (This idea influenced early 20th Century styles like Cubism, where art has no purpose other than to be an artistic depiction of the objects it portrays.) Cézanne’s goal was to make impressionism durable, in order that it would stand alongside other great movements. His paintings are stationary yet “alive with movement.” Note the Mont Sainte-Victoire images, the desire to capture the movement of bathers, and the way he can make a quiet Provençal town come alive. Examine how the colors almost
generate the feeling that the whole painting is moving. The color in his works has purpose. Cézanne kept painting although his eyesight began to fail near the end of his life; thus his later works are more “sensations of color” than accurate portrayals of the world around him.
1. Use your knowledge of the political system in France at the time to explain why the post-impressionists felt the need for more stability in art.
2. From looking at Cézanne’s paintings, what effect did nature have on him? 3. Explain a few similarities and differences between the works of Cézanne and of
Some works by Cezanne to find and examine:
The Aqueduct, 1885-1890 Seated Man, 1905-1906
House with the Red Roof (Jas de Bouffan), 1885-1886 Gardanne, 1886
View of L’Estaque and the Chateau d’If (1883-1885) Five Bathers, 1900-1904
Louis-Auguste Cezanne, the artist’s father, Reading L’Evenement, 1866 Rocks at L’Estaque, 1882
The Large Bathers, 1894-1905 The Large Pine Tree, 1887-1889 The Cardplayers, 1890-1899
The Basin of the Jas de Bouffan in Winter, 1878 Bather with Outstretched Arms, 1883-1885
4. Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890): Impressionism to Early Expressionism
From the beginning of his life, Van Gogh was dissatisfied with the values of industrial society. He had worked as a lay preacher in the coal mines around England, Holland, and Belgium. He started painting in 1880, and at first only used sober colors. However, in 1886 at an exposition for the Artistes Indépendants, he met Neo-Impressionists like Edgar Degas, George Seurat, and other leading French artists who inspired him to use color in his works. With no conventional training, Van Gogh felt that impression did not let him express his
emotions, so he was inspired to develop his own style full of feeling and movement, continuing the changes started by the post-impressionist movement. His art was never appreciated in his day, which in turn did not help his mental stability. Van Gogh committed suicide in 1890, the year that most historians agree showed the greatest breakthrough in his art. Since his death Van Gogh has been recognized as the pioneer of Expressionism and heavily influenced the Fauvist movement of the early 20th C.
1. Explain how both Cézanne and Van Gogh both show departure from Monet’s quintessential Impressionist style.
Some works by Van Gogh to find and examine:
La Nuit Etiolee (Starry Night), 1888
La Chambre de Van Gogh a Arles (Van Gogh’s Bedroom at Arles), 1899
Chaumes de Cordeville a Auvers-Sur-Oise (Cottages at Cordeville, Auvers-Sur-Oise), 1890 La Meridienne ou La Sieste (The Midday Siesta), 1889-1890
L’Eglise d’Auvers-Sur-Oise (The Church at Auvers-Sur-Oise), 1890 Iris (Irises), 1889
Branche Fleurie d’Amandier (Branch of an Almond-Tree in Flowers), 1890 Terasse du Café le Soir, Place du Forum, Arles (Café at Night, Arles), 1888
5. Choose your own adventure!
Examine a few (3-5) paintings by another impressionist or post-impressionist painter.
Consider the following questions as you gain understanding of the work.
1. Do the works seem to show a unique style? If so, how?
2. What characteristics do they share with the impressionist artists we’ve considered?
3. How does the artist’s work attempt to influence his/her world or society or culture?
4. How is the artist’s work a reaction to the environment in which she/he lived?
5. Include some aspect of this new information into your thesis about impressionist art.
