Developments in late 19th & early 20th Century Architecture, Modernism, Photography, Realism Visual and Contextual

Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) Visual

pointed arches and tracery of Gothic style in the windows
balance and symmetry is related to Neoclassical style
concrete bed as a ground floor, ventilation, maximized window space
modern office with medieval architecture (Neo Gothic)
Big Ben built into the Elizabeth tower

Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament) Contextual

fire destroys Palace of Westminster, so there was a competition to rebuild the best building
design is either English Gothic (Perpendicular Gothic) or Elizabethan
English Gothic is more horizontal, not vertical
reaction to ugly factories dotting the landscape of England after the Industrial Revolution
looking for English architecture
rejected US’s interest in Neoclassical architecture
Sir Charles Barry preferred Neoclassical style, Augustus Pugin preferred Neo Gothic style
function of building is the seat of government
constituents would meet in the lobby to try to talk to their members of Parliament
chose style of Neoclassical and Neo Gothic to evoke nationalism and Christian values
Neo Gothic promotes Christianity

Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building Visual

bronze ground floor on bottom
rest of building is white terracotta
ground floor uses new steel frame invention
allows for an open floor plan
no need for supports in middle of building
display windows on outside to allow people to see the inside
used cast iron ornaments of Art Nouveau style for the door
floral designs
decorated entrance attracts people
horizontal and vertical elements

Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building Contextual

building that coined the term “skyscraper”
tripartite building
3 part building
bottom floor was to be a department store
base floor was for businesses for easy access
commerce and architecture
Sullivan said “form must follow function”
2nd section includes uniform office buildings
white terracotta and identical windows
top of building is the attic and cornice to mark the end of the building
used new methods of steel frames

Still Life in Studio Contextual

daguerreotype invented in 1839
reduced exposure time but could only produce a single image
no copies/no negative
calotype can make copies
has a paper negative
Daguerre captured the details, texture, and tone
tried to focus on still life to elevate the status of this new medium

The Horse in Motion Visual

12 images of horse in motion

The Horse in Motion Contextual

reduced exposure time of photography to 1/25th of a second
improved technology
Muybridge was hired by Leland Stanford (from Stanford University) to settle the question whether or not a horse has all four legs off the ground during a gallop
answer is yes
set up 12 cameras to photograph running horse

The Steerage Visual

image focuses on shapes, forms, and textures

The Steerage Contextual

Stieglitz is famous for Gallery 291 in NY
progressive gallery with avant garde art from US and EU
aka new
Stieglitz was on a 1st class ship sailing towards EU
with wife and daughter
they are rich since his father was a German immigrant who made it rich in US
Stieglitz opposes allowing uneducated poor people to the US
avoided addressing the subject of poor immigrants
not a political statement
statement of values of photography
steerage holds poor immigrants returning to EU
Stieglitz took interest in shapes of the scene
diagonal lines, curves, ovals, X shape, textures, forms, etc
Stieglitz is trying to make photography a fine art

The Stone Breakers Visual

lower class men, aka stonebreakers
breaking and removing stone for a road being built
clothing is ripped and tattered
not a beautiful landscape
not a lot of sky \= not much hope
suggests that workers are physically and economically trapped
shown on low hill which reaches top of canvas
colors are dark and dull
contribute to the dismal nature of the laborers
man is too old and boy is too young for this backbreaking work

The Stone Breakers Contextual

artist is concerned with plight of the poor
not idealized
realism, focuses on real life
depicts poor
not meant to be heroic, just an accurate depiction of struggles in rural French life
realism begins in France with Courbet
brushwork is rough, purposely rejecting the highly polished Neoclassical style
treats hands, faces, and foreground with same attention he gives to rocks
social realism example
Courbet was influenced by Karl Marx and Fredrich Engles
they wrote the Communist Manifesto
outlines goals of communism and theorizes that exploitation of one class by another class is a motivating factor by our history
focuses on real events, painting for art sake and not for a patron
movement away from patron

Nadar Raising Photography to the Height of Art Contextual

collodion process
disadvantage is that it needs to be exposed and developed while the chemical is still wet
needs a portable dark room
Nadar was a famous portrait photographer and the one to take the first aerial photograph
political cartoon using a lithograph
litho means stone
using a lithograph allowed him to mass produce
Daumier’s work is intended for the popular press
he mocked Nadar’s excitement to take aerial photos

Olympia Visual

cat instead of dog in this nude
cat is black on her bed
black female servant is from a satisfied customer
the woman is a prostitute
Olympia is a common prostitute name
woman shamelessly looks directly at viewer
defiant
no atmospheric perspective
poorly contoured, no chiaroscuro, no shading
unidealized features
looks like a real woman
loose fluid brushwork that is unblended and painted quickly

Olympia Contextual

controversial painting at time it was shown
reviews said that Olympia looked dead
appeared flat and cold
flatness is created by contrast between black and white
avant garde art, Manet is pushing the boundaries of what is normally accepted
challenging French Salon
forcing viewers to question “What is great art?”
Manet is influenced by Titian
Renaissance nudes influenced him
shocking modern painting of a prostitute
that is why it is so shocking
she is not a goddess, she is merely a modern prostitute
not a return to classical past
father of impressionism because of his quick loose painting
rejected by salon because of
harsh outlines
arrogance prostitute displays
tonal changes between light and dark