Art History Notes: Bertha Morris, Impressionism, Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Sculpture

Bertha Morris and the speaker’s personal context

• The speaker contrasts Bertha Morris with Mary Cassatt: Bertha married and fulfilled expected domestic roles (mother, wife, managing a household with servants) before painting, while Cassatt followed a different life path.
• The speaker is fond of Bertha Morris, describing her as the favorite, and notes that Bertha came to painting late.
• The speaker mentions his granddaughter: previously the oldest granddaughter reminds him of Bertha; now she is a sorority officer in college and on her way to becoming a mechanical engineer.
• Bertha Morris’s gender role in society: domestically oriented life, upper middle class household management, and then painting.
• The speaker’s assessment of Bertha Morris’s painting: some would call her style amateurish, but the speaker disagrees and loves her style.
• Observations on Bertha Morris’s paintings include references to the depiction of motherhood and domestic life.
• The speaker comments that one of her paintings appears endearing and that another demonstrates her “slashing” style, described as vicious in its brushwork. A specific painting mentioned is titled the ball gown.

The ball gown and Bertha Morris’s “slashing” style

• The ball gown painting is introduced as showing Bertha Morris’s style, described as aggressive or “slashing.”
• The background and gesture areas display this vigorous brushwork.

Hydrangeas and a glimpse into the painter’s mood

• The painterling practice is described via the work titled Hydrangeas.
• The speaker notes that females often receive attention for hair-stroking and being comforted, and that the subject in hydrangeas appears to be in a private, internal zone—“in the zone.”
• The speaker suggests that many can identify the feeling of being cared for while appearing calm on the outside, which hydrangeas seem to convey.

Impressionism and Post-Impressionism: timeline and focus

• Impressionism lasted only about $ext{approximately} top 10 ext{ years}$; the movement emphasized light and momentary impressions.
• Post-Impressionism followed, extending the exploration beyond light to color and shape.
• The speaker notes the transition from Impressionism to Post-Impressionism as a shift in artistic focus and method.

Vincent van Gogh: Starry Night and the genius-or-madness debate

• The post-impressionist most chosen by students is Vincent van Gogh.
• Central question: Is van Gogh a genius or a madman? The debate persists.
• Starry Night is highlighted as the most attention-getting work associated with van Gogh.
• The painting is discussed in terms of possible mental state versus cosmological or theological interpretation:
  • Is Starry Night a reflection of van Gogh’s inner mental state, or a spiritual or cosmological rendering of the heavens?
• Visual elements cited:
  • A steeple at the center pointing upward, suggesting spiritual or cosmic significance.
  • A cypress tree visible in the scene, which the speaker notes as a familiar feature in van Gogh’s work.
• Location: Starry Night is housed at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City; the speaker mentions turning a corner and encountering it there.
• Overall question about the painting’s meaning: is it about mental state, theology, or cosmology?

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: life, Bohemian Paris, and the Belle Époque

• Toulouse-Lautrec suffered a growth-plate injury in his femur from a fall at age $8$, which prevented him from growing tall and resulted in a height of $4 ext{ ft } 2 ext{ in}$.
• His early physical difference contributed to a social dynamic in which his father was ashamed, fueling his resolve to pursue art in Paris.
• Lautrec became the epitome of the Bohemian artist in Paris and is associated with the Belle Époque period in France.
• The cultural milieu included a new dance—the can-can—and a vibrant nightlife at venues like the Moulin Rouge.
• The can-can is described as uninhibited, wild, and almost vulgar in its energy and movement; it illustrates a cultural shift toward modern entertainment.
• The star dancer associated with La Moulin Rouge, nicknamed Langelou the glutton for devouring men with her dancing (and possibly women as well), is described with reference to Lucille Trek as having popularized this image.
• A reference is made to the Nicole Kidman film about Moulin Rouge, highlighting the public’s fascination with this period and its figures.
• The painting by Lautrec invites viewers to question what the dancer inside the Victorian-era costume might be thinking: disgust with propriety, or curiosity about the new, liberated forms of expression?
• The recurrent theme in Lautrec’s context is the tension between the future and the past, especially as new art forms and social norms emerge.
• The speaker notes that many students over the years focus on Lautrec and related themes, and anticipates future lectures on twentieth-century male artists.

The broader arc: future vs. past, and the ongoing evolution of art

• A constant tension is described between the future and the past present in art, observable across different movements.
• The speaker hints at ongoing study of twentieth-century art, beginning with male artists, in upcoming lectures.

Sculpture: a bridge to spatial understanding

• Sculpture is presented as easier to comprehend than painting because it exists in our physical space and is more immediately tangible.
• The discussion signals a shift in the curriculum toward sculpture as a distinct medium of study, alongside painting.

Summary of key themes and connections

• The lecture ties individual artists’ lives and social contexts to their artistic styles and works, illustrating how domestic roles, Bohemian culture, and social norms influence artistic output.
• It contrasts two female artists (Bertha Morris and Mary Cassatt) to discuss different life trajectories and perceptions of woman artists in history.
• It situates Impressionism and Post-Impressionism within a broader narrative of how light, color, and form evolved in early modern art.
• It uses van Gogh’s Starry Night to explore debates about mental health, spirituality, and cosmology in art.
• It connects Toulouse-Lautrec and the Moulin Rouge to the Belle Époque and can-can culture, emphasizing the clash between traditional proprieties and emerging modern sensibilities.
• The discussion anticipates a continued exploration of twentieth-century artists and the transition to sculpture as a spatial art form.