Quarter I: MODERN ART

INTRODUCTION
In all of human history, art has mirrored life in the community, society,
and the world in all its colors, lines, shapes, and forms. The same has
been true in the last two centuries, with world events and global trends
being reflected in the art movements.
The decades from 1900 to the present have seen the human race living
in an ever shrinking planet. The 20th century saw a boom in the
interchange of ideas, beliefs, values, and lifestyles that continues to
bring the citizens of the world closer together.
Technological breakthroughs
• From the Industrial Revolution of the late 1800s, the world zoomed
into the Electronic Age in the mid-1900s, then into the present
Cyberspace Age. In just over 100 years, humans went from hand-
cranked telephones to hands-free mobile phones, from the first
automobiles to inter-planetary space vehicles, from local radio
broadcasting to international news coverage via satellite, from
vaccinations against polio and smallpox to laser surgery.
Effects on the world of art
• The art movements of the late 19th century to the 20th century
captured and expressed all these and more. Specifically, these were
the movements known as impressionism and expressionism. While
earlier periods of art had a quite set conventions as to the style,
technique, and treatment of their subjects, impressionists and
expressionists conveyed their ideas and feelings in bold, innovative
ways. These were the exciting precursors of the modern art of the
21st century.
Impressionism: Origins of the Movement
• Impressionism was an art movement that emerged in the second half
of the 19th century among a group of Paris-based artists. The duration
of the impressionist movement itself was quite short, less than 20
years from 1872 to the mid-1880s. But it had a tremendous impact
and influence on the painting styles that followed, such as neo-
impressionism, post-impressionism, fauvism, and cubism—and even
the artistic styles and movements of today.
• The name impressionism was coined from the title of a work by
French painter Claude Monet, Impression, soleil levant (in English,
Impression, Sunrise).
Impression, Sunrise
Claude Monet, 1872
Oil on canvas
• The term precisely captured what this group of artists sought to
represent in their works: the viewer’s momentary “impression” of an
image. It was not intended to be clear or precise, but more like a
fleeting fragment of reality caught on canvas, sometimes in mid-
motion, at other times awkwardly positioned—just as it would be in
real life.
The Influence of Delacroix
• One major influence was the work of French painter Eugène
Delacroix. Delacroix was greatly admired and emulated by the early
impressionists—specifically for his use of expressive brushstrokes, his
emphasis on movement rather than on clarity of form, and most of all
his study of the optical effects of color.
• The painting is loosely based on a fictional scene from Dante’s
Inferno, showing Dante and the poet Virgil crossing hell’s River Styx,
while tormented souls struggle to climb aboard their boat. It is the
drops of water running down the bodies of these doomed souls (see
enlarged detail below) that are painted in a manner almost never
used in Delacroix’s time.
s
When studied closely, it is seen
that four different, unmixed
pigments—yellow, green, red,
and white—create the image of
each drop and its shadow.
Viewed from a little distance,
these colors blend to represent
individual drops glistening with
light. The distinct colors merge
in the eye of the viewer to appear monochromatic (single-colored) or, in this case of
water droplets, colorless. In short, an impression is formed.
Impressionism:
A Break from Past Painting Traditions
• There were several areas in which impressionist artists moved away
from the established practices of art at that time. These involved their
use of color, choice of subject matter and setting, and technique for
capturing light and conveying movement.
Color and Light
The impressionists painted with freely brushed colors that conveyed
more of a visual effect than a detailed rendering of the subject. They
used short “broken” strokes that were intentionally made visible to the
viewer. They also often placed pure unmixed colors side by side, rather
than blended smoothly or shaded. The result was a feeling of energy
and intensity, as the colors appeared to shift and move—again, just as
they do in reality.
“Everyday” Subjects
• Impressionists also began to break away from the creation of formally
posed portraits and grandiose depictions of mythical, literary,
historical, or religious subjects. They ventured into capturing scenes
of life around them, household objects, landscapes and seascapes,
houses, cafes, and buildings. They presented ordinary people
seemingly caught off-guard doing everyday tasks, at work or at
leisure, or doing nothing at all. And they were not made to look
beautiful or lifelike, as body parts could be distorted and facial
features merely suggested by a few strokes of the brush.
Painting Outdoors
• The location in which the impressionists painted was also different.
Previously, still lifes, portraits, and landscapes were usually painted
inside a studio. However, the impressionists found that they could
best capture the ever-changing effects of light on color by painting
outdoors in natural light. This gave their works a freshness and
immediacy that was quite a change from the stiffer, heavier, more
planned paintings of earlier masters.
• The Influence of Photography
• Photography was in its early stages at this time as well. As it gained
popularity, photography inspired impressionists to capture fleeting
moments of action, whether in landscapes or in the day-to-day lives
of people.
Impressionism:
Works of Manet, Monet, and Renoir
y the 1870s, the stage was set for the emergence of the next major art
movement in Europe, impressionism. It started with a group of French
painters—that included Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Auguste
Renoir—and eventually spread to other countries, such as Italy,
Germany, and The Netherlands.
Edouard Manet (1832-1883) was one of the first 19th century artists to
depict modern-life subjects. He was a key figure in the transition from
realism to impressionism, with a number of his works considered as
marking the birth of modern art.
• Claude Monet (1840-1926) was one of the founders of the
impressionist movement along with his friends Auguste Renoir, Alfred
Sisley, and Frédéric Bazille. He was the most prominent of the group;
and is considered the most influential figure in the movement. Monet
is best known for his landscape paintings, particularly those depicting
his beloved flower gardens and water lily ponds at his home in
Giverny.
Argenteuil
Edouard Manet, 1874
Café Concert
Edouard Manet, 1878
Bridge Over a Pond of Water Lilies
Claude Monet, 1899
Irises in Monet’s Garden
Claude Monet, 1900
• Auguste Renoir (1841-1919), along with Claude Monet, was one of
the central figures of the impressionist movement. His early works
were snapshots of real life, full of sparkling color and light. By the
mid-1880s, however, Renoir broke away from the impressionist
movement to apply a more disciplined, formal technique to portraits
of actual people and figure paintings.
Dancer A Girl with a Watering Can
Auguste Renoir, 1874 Auguste Renoir, 1876
Post-Impressionism:
Works of Cezanne and Van Gogh
After the brief yet highly influential period of impressionism, an outgrowth
movement known as post-impressionism emerged. The European artists who
were at the forefront of this movement continued using the basic qualities of the
impressionists before them—the vivid colors, heavy brush strokes, and true-to-life
subjects. However, they expanded and experimented with these in bold new ways,
like using a geometric approach, fragmenting objects and distorting people’s faces
and body parts, and applying colors that were not necessarily realistic or natural.
Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) was a French artist and post-impressionist
painter. His work exemplified the transition from late 19th-century
impressionism to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th
century—paving the way for the next revolutionary art movement
known as expressionism.
Harlequin
Paul Cezanne, 1888-1890
Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) was a post-impressionist painter from
The
Netherlands. His works were remarkable for their strong, heavy brush
strokes, intense emotions, and colors that appeared to almost pulsate
with energy. Van Gogh’s striking style was to have a far-reaching
influence on 20th century art, with his works becoming among the
most recognized in the world.
Sheaves of Wheat in a Field Starry Night
Vincent van Gogh, 1885 Vincent van Gogh, 1889
Creating Your Own Impressionist Artwork:
Coffee Painting
• Materials:
- Oslo paper
- Bbq stick / paint brush (optional)
- Coffee powder
- Mixing cups
- Rags/newspaper for cleaning
- Ruler and pencil
• Procedure:
• 1. Decide on a simple design for your artwork.
Ex: real life scenarios like boy in a bike
• 2. Using a pencil, sketch in the general design on the oslo paper.
• 3. Apply the coffee mixture to your design with the bbq stick/brush
• 4. Allow the paint to dry thoroughly before handling or displaying the
finished artwork.