Module 9 Discussion
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MODERNISM, MODERN LIFE, and the ARTIFICE of ART
IMAGE: Edoouard Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère, 1882 IMAGE: Gustav Klimt’s The Kiss_1907-1908
LEFT: Edouard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, 1882 (Image: https://courtauld.ac.uk/highlights/a-bar-at-the-folies-bergere/ (Links to an external site.))
RIGHT: Gustav Klimt, The Kiss, 1907-1908 (Image: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kiss_(Klimt)) (Links to an external site.)
INTRODUCTION
Modernism in art transcends the simple depiction of the contemporary world — which had been the goal of Realism (covered in last week’s module). Modernist artists also critically examine the premises are art itself, as Manet did in his groundbreaking (and highly criticized) 1863 painting, Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass) (textbook Fig 12-17) and carried further in his 1882 painting A Bar at the Folies-Bergere (above). Modernism thus implies certain concerns about art and aesthetics internal to art production, regardless of whether the artist is portraying modern life. Modernism emerged in an especially forceful manner in late 19th century movements that art historians call Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism. (Source: F. S. Kleiner, “Chapter 13: Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and Symbolism, 1870-1900,” in Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, A Concise Global History, 4th edition, Cengage, 2017, pp. 359-360.)
For this week’s discussion forum, I want you to visit several works of art on the Google Arts & Culture site and one on the Art Institute of Chicago site (links below) to experience the brushwork, texture, and color that characterizes modern art near the turn of century. These sites provide viewer and zoom tools that enable you ZOOM WAY IN to see the painntingns up close, closer than if you were standing before the painting! In some cases, you might even notice the weave of the canvas support.
Claude Monet, Boulevard des Capucines (Links to an external site.), 1873
Georges Seurat, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, (Links to an external site.) 1884-1886
Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night (Links to an external site.), 1889
Edvard Munch, The Scream (Links to an external site.), 1893
After you’ve explored the above paintings, consider some of the following in your discussion post (you may need to further support your responses with some brief research):
Describe your reaction to what you saw. What did you notice about the brush strokes, the color, the approach to form and space? How does the artist call attention to the painted surface of the canvas (the artifice of the act of painting)? How is this different from art that we have studied in past modules — provide a comparison work to illustrate your assessment.
Which of these paintings would you describe as “descriptive” — which ones would you describe as “expressive”? Explain your choices.
According to what you read in Chapter 13 (and in any other resources you may have consulted), what makes these “Modern” paintings? What motivated artists to be “modern” — describe some of the context for changing practices and attitudes?
Which painting do you most prefer and why?
Before you continue, consider the criteria for writing a good discussion forum response found in Start Here – Instructions for all Discussion Forums.
