Postmodernism Midterm

Academies of Art

Institutions founded (especially in Europe) to teach, promote, and regulate the visual arts; emphasized tradition, hierarchy, and mastery of classical ideals.

Academic Training

Formal art education emphasizing drawing, anatomy, perspective, copying classical works, and following the hierarchy of genres.

Atelier

An artist's workshop or studio, often where apprentices trained under a master.

The Classical Tradition

The influence of Greco-Roman art and culture on Western art, emphasizing harmony, proportion, and idealized beauty.

Antiquity

Refers to the art, culture, and history of ancient Greece and Rome.

Drawing from Life

The practice of sketching directly from a live model, considered essential in academic training.

Copying the Masters

An academic practice where students copied works of great artists to learn technique and style.

Hierarchy of Genres

The academic ranking of subject matter in painting, with history painting at the top, followed by portraiture, genre scenes, landscapes, and still life.

Salons / Salon de Paris

The official art exhibitions of the French Academy, central to an artist's career and public reception.

École des Beaux-Arts

Prestigious French art school in Paris that trained many influential artists within the academic tradition.

Sketch

A preliminary, often quick drawing used for planning compositions.

Finish

The polished, completed surface of a painting, as opposed to a sketch or study.

Modernism vs. Modern Art

Modernism is the broader cultural movement of challenging tradition; Modern Art refers specifically to innovative artistic practices emerging in the 19th-20th centuries.

"Make it New"

Ezra Pound's modernist slogan advocating innovation and breaking from tradition.

The Avant-Garde

Artists or movements ahead of their time, challenging conventions and pushing boundaries.

Formal Experimentation

The deliberate testing of new artistic forms, techniques, or styles.

Innovation

Introducing new methods, ideas, or styles in art.

Abstraction

Art that reduces or distorts forms to focus on shapes, colors, or concepts rather than direct representation.

The Art of Everyday Life / The Art of Modern Life

Art that depicts contemporary urban life, leisure, and ordinary experiences; linked to modernity.

Modernity

The cultural condition of rapid change, industrialization, and urbanization in the 19th-20th centuries.

Formalism

An approach emphasizing visual form (line, color, composition) over subject matter or content.

Creativity

The ability to produce original and imaginative ideas in art.

Individuality / Originality

The uniqueness of an artist's personal vision, highly valued in modern art.

Genius

The Romantic/modern concept of the exceptional, inspired artist whose creativity transcends norms.

Positivism

19th-century philosophy (Auguste Comte) emphasizing science, observation, and facts as the basis of knowledge.

Photography

The technology of creating images through light-sensitive processes, invented in the 19th century.

Daguerreotype

Early photographic process (1839) by Louis Daguerre; produced unique, detailed images on metal plates.

Calotype

Photographic process (1841) by William Henry Fox Talbot, producing negatives on paper, allowing multiple prints.

Portraiture in Photography

Early photography's most popular genre, offering affordable likenesses compared to painted portraits.

Combination Printing

Photographic technique combining multiple negatives into one image.

The Victorian Era

The period of Queen Victoria's reign (1837-1901), marked by industrial progress, moral codes, and artistic changes.

The Revolutions of 1848

Widespread European uprisings demanding political and social reform, influencing Realist art.

The Second Republic

French government (1848-1852) established after the 1848 Revolution and before Napoleon III's empire.

Realism

Artistic movement rejecting idealization, focusing on depicting contemporary life and ordinary people truthfully.

The Realist Salon of 1851

Exhibition showcasing Realist works that challenged academic norms.

The Industrial Revolution

Period of technological and economic change (18th-19th c.), dramatically altering society and artistic themes.

The Universal Expositions

International exhibitions showcasing industrial, cultural, and artistic achievements (e.g., Paris 1855, 1889, 1900).

Pavilion of Realism

Courbet's independent 1855 exhibition outside the official Salon, showcasing his Realist works.

Late Realism

The continuation of Realist principles into the later 19th century, sometimes overlapping with emerging modernism.

Salon des Refusés

Exhibition of works rejected by the official Salon (first in 1863), pivotal for modern art movements.

Japanese Woodblock Prints

Ukiyo-e prints from Japan, influential on Western artists in the 19th century.

Japonisme

European fascination with and influence from Japanese art and design.

The Aesthetic Movement

19th-century movement promoting 'art for art's sake,' prioritizing beauty over moral or political messages.

Musical Terminology and Modern Art

The use of musical concepts (rhythm, harmony, composition) to describe or structure modern visual art.

Whistler-Ruskin Trial

1878 libel trial where critic John Ruskin accused Whistler of 'flinging paint'; debated the value of modern art.

Art for Art's Sake

The belief that art's value lies in beauty and form alone, not moral or political function.

The Second Empire

The rule of Napoleon III in France (1852-1870), marked by modernization, Haussmannization, and expansion of Paris.

Louis-Napoleon (Napoleon III)

Nephew of Napoleon I; declared himself Emperor of the French in 1852, patron of modernization and the arts.

Impressionism

19th-century movement emphasizing fleeting light, color, and modern life, often painted en plein air.

The Impressionist Exhibitions

Independent group exhibitions held between 1874-1886 by artists like Monet, Renoir, Degas, rejecting the Salon.

Société Anonyme des Artistes, Peintres, Sculpteurs, Graveurs, etc.

The cooperative formed by Impressionists in 1873 to organize their own exhibitions.

Painting en Plein Air

Painting outdoors directly from nature, central to Impressionist practice.

Montmartre

Bohemian district in Paris where many Impressionist and Post-Impressionist artists lived and worked.

Baron Haussmann

French city planner under Napoleon III who modernized Paris with wide boulevards and new infrastructure.

Haussmannization

The redesign and modernization of Paris (1850s-70s), which displaced working-class areas but created the modern cityscape.

The Grands Boulevards

The wide Parisian avenues created during Haussmann's redesign, later central to modern urban life and Impressionist painting.

American Impressionism

Adaptation of Impressionist style by American artists, often emphasizing landscapes and light.

Charles Baudelaire

French poet and critic (1821-1867) who championed 'the painter of modern life' and articulated theories of modern beauty.

The Painting of Modern Life

Baudelaire's essay (1863) encouraging artists to depict contemporary, fleeting life in urban settings.

Baudelaire on Beauty

Argued beauty consists of two parts: the eternal and the ephemeral (linked to time and place).

Flâneur

The urban stroller/observer of modern city life, both participant and detached critic.

Post-Impressionism

Term for artists after Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat) who sought more structure, symbolism, or expressive intensity.

Roger Fry

British critic who coined "Post-Impressionism" in 1910 to describe the new generation of modern painters.

Paul Cézanne's Advice to Émile Bernard

"Treat nature by the cylinder, the sphere, the cone" — emphasizing structure over fleeting impression.

Neo-Impressionism

Movement led by Seurat, characterized by scientific use of color and systematic brushstrokes.

Pointillism

Technique using small dots of pure color, which blend optically when viewed at a distance.

Michel-Eugène Chevreul

Chemist who developed color theory of simultaneous contrast, influential on Impressionists and Neo-Impressionists.

Color Theory

Study of how colors interact, including harmony, contrast, and optical mixing.

Optical Color

The perception of mixed color effects when small units of different hues are placed side by side.

Félix Fénéon

Critic who coined the term "Neo-Impressionism" and championed Seurat's work.

Salon des Indépendants

Alternative exhibition founded in 1884 with no jury or awards, promoting artistic freedom.

Symbolism

Late 19th-century movement emphasizing dreamlike, mystical, and symbolic imagery over realism.

Fin-de-Siècle

"End of the century" (1890s); cultural mood of decadence, anxiety, and artistic innovation.

Decadence

Aesthetic movement emphasizing excess, artificiality, and decline at the fin-de-siècle.

Femme Fatale

Archetypal dangerous woman in fin-de-siècle art and literature, embodying sexuality and power.

The New Woman

Modern feminist ideal of the late 19th century — independent, educated, socially active.

Women's Suffrage

Movement for women's right to vote; linked to shifting gender roles in art and society.

G.-Albert Aurier on Paul Gauguin

Critic who praised Gauguin's "Symbolist" style for its decorative, suggestive qualities.

Primitivism

Western artistic interest in non-Western or "primitive" cultures, often idealized or appropriated.

Imperialism

European expansion and colonialism in the 19th century; deeply connected to Primitivism in art.

Theo van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh's brother and art dealer, who supported and promoted his work.

The Studio of the South

Van Gogh's studio in Arles, where he envisioned an artists' community (including Gauguin).

The Nabis

A group of Post-Impressionist artists in France (including Bonnard and Vuillard) who emphasized symbolism, flat color, and decorative qualities.

Color Lithographic Posters

Popular late 19th-century prints using bright colors and bold designs (e.g., Toulouse-Lautrec), merging fine art with mass culture.

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Design movement (led by William Morris) advocating handcrafted objects, honesty of materials, and a return to medieval craftsmanship.

The Crystal Palace Exhibition (1851)

The first world's fair in London, showcasing industrial achievements inside a vast glass-and-iron structure.

The Firm

William Morris's design company producing decorative arts, furniture, and textiles in the Arts and Crafts spirit.

Art Nouveau

Decorative art style c. 1890-1910 characterized by flowing organic lines, floral motifs, and integration of art into everyday objects.

The Secession Movements

Groups of artists who broke away from academic institutions (e.g., Vienna Secession, 1897) to pursue modern styles.

Decorative Style

An emphasis on pattern, ornament, and design as central to modern art movements (esp. Art Nouveau).

Mosaics / Tesserae

Decorative technique using small pieces of stone, glass, or ceramic to create images or patterns.

The Universal Exposition of 1900

World's fair in Paris, showcasing modern technology and art at the turn of the century.

Expressionism

Early 20th-century movement emphasizing emotional intensity, bold colors, and distorted forms.

Fauvism

Short-lived French movement (1905-1908) led by Matisse; used wild, non-naturalistic color for expressive impact.

The Autumn Salon of 1905

Exhibition where Fauvist works shocked critics, earning them the label "les fauves" (the wild beasts).

Autochrome

Early color photography process (1907) using dyed starch grains to create color transparencies.

Belle Époque

"Beautiful era" in France (1870s-1914), marked by prosperity, leisure, and flourishing arts.

Expressionist Sculpture

Sculptural works emphasizing distortion and emotional power (e.g., Ernst Barlach, Käthe Kollwitz).

Die Brücke

German Expressionist group founded in Dresden (1905), known for raw color and direct emotion.

The Gothic Tradition

Medieval artistic legacy of verticality, spirituality, and emotional intensity; often invoked by Expressionists.