Exam 1 Study Guide (3)

Key Topics in Modern Art

1. James McNeill Whistler

• Artwork: Nocturne in Black and Gold - The Falling Rocket, c. 1875

• Notably associated with the phrase "Art for Art's Sake". “Art for Society’s Sake”

• Whistler Ruslin trial, “art for art sake” Back Square, composition 7,

2. Art for Society’s Sake (John Ruskin)

• Contrasts with Whistler’s philosophy by emphasizing social responsibility in art.

• “art for society sakes” art that applies to each side

3. The Art of Modern Life

• Focus on the role of photography and Impressionism.

4. Impressionism

• Movement Characteristics:

  • Emerged in the late 19th century.

  • Challenged traditional academic painting.

  • Painted en plein air (outdoors).

  • Utilized visible brushstrokes and focused on natural light.

  • Depicted everyday life and scenes of leisure.

• Literary Influence:

  • Charles Baudelaire described modern life as the "gait, glance, gesture of modern life".

5. Key Impressionist Artists

• Édouard Manet: Music in the Tuileries, 1862- How is it modern? leisure time, trees, unblended brushstrokes, flaneur

• Louis Daguerre: Early photography; Boulevard du Temple, 1838

• Pierre-Auguste Renoir: Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876- Natural lighting

• Mary Cassatt: At the Opera, 1879- women gazing at the stage, man looking at her, symbolizes what it means to be a women

• Claude Monet: Boulevard des Capucines 1873

6. Cultural Influences and Movements

• Orientalism:

  • A perspective depicting the East through a Western lens, contributing to colonial stereotypes.

  • Commented on by Edward Said in "Orientalism" (1978).

  • Eugene Delacroix: Women

• Primitivism:

  • Western fascination with indigenous cultures; exemplified by artists like Paul Gauguin.

  • Gauguin's: When Will You Marry?, 1892.

7. Modern Art in Japan & India

• Japan's modernization began post-Tokugawa Shogunate collapse.

  • Artists blended Eastern and Western styles, highlighted by works like Hiroshige's Locomotive Along the Yokohama Waterfront, 1871.

  • Utagawa Hiroshige, locomotive Along the Yokohama Waterfront, woodblock print, 1871-arditional and western clothing, trade through ship and transportation train

  • Japonisme: Western fascination with the art and culture of japan following the Meiji restoration; shown in Jame McNeill Whistler Caprice in Purple and Gold: The golden Screen 1864

  • Yoga- (western style painting) shown in Seiki Kuroda Lake Shore 1897- The pose, perspective, and brushstrokes are very Western-like.

• India's Modern Art:

  • Rise during British Raj; artists like Raja Ravi Varma and Amrita Sher-Gil emerged.

  • Art movement: Indian Realism

    • Varma's Indian realism combined Western techniques with Indian subjects.

    • Amrita: Self portrait- she is speaking back japonisma, she is indian and hungarian

    • Sher-Gil's Self-Portrait as a Tahitian, 1937, reflects this cross-cultural engagement.

    • also as shown in Raja Ravi Varma Nair Lady Adorning Her hair 1873 and Gauguin Two Tahitian Women 1899

8. Turn of the Century Movements

• Art Nouveau:

  • Originated as a reaction to industrialization; emphasizes organic forms and intricate designs. Shown in Alphone Mucha Emerald poset 1900

• Vienna Secession:

  • A group of artists including Klimt that broke away from established norms, promoting experimentation. Shown in Klimt Judith (Always used gold, pale women, stylized figuration, same models, erotic) and the Head of Holofernes 1901

• Ashcan School:

  • Depicts the lives of working-class individuals in American cities.

  • George Luks Hester Street 1905- Dark griddy color

  • Bengal School of art

  • Promoted “indian style modern art pritized ingeneouse aesthetics shown in Abanindranath tagore The Passing of Shah Jahan 1902- recalss indian art by similar to mughal miniate painting , fine detail, purely indian

  • Nihonga “pictures of japan” emerged 19 and late 20th century as reaction against Western-influenced Yoga style shown in Utagawa kokunimasa Hell Courtesan c.1900- small, folded, purely japonese

9. Abstract Movements

klint painting for the temple- geometric sun and moon, spiratulity

• Cubism:

  • Developed by Braque and Picasso, breaking traditional forms and perspectives.

  • Pable Picasso Les Demoiselles d Avignon 1907- sex workers, cubist because distortion fo bodies and fractures different perspectives, primitivsm

• Fauvism:

  • Focuses on vibrant colors and emotional expression, led by Matisse. Shown in Henri Matisse Woman with a hat 1905- abstraction of color

    Suprematism:

    • Geometric abstraction emphasized “the supremacy pf pure artistic feeling” rather than the visual representation of reality. Shown in Malevichs first Suprematist works at the Last Futursitc Exhibition and Black Square- meaning abstraction of , he was attempting to break away from representational art

  • Expressionism:

  • Art movement that responded to modern
    life by exploring the emotional and
    psychological dimensions of abstraction. Like Wassily Kandinky, Composition V11 1913- Influence- music and sound, senestisea (when senses crossfite eg, feel colors

• Futurism:

  • Celebrated speed, technology, and modernity in Italy. Shown in Umberto Boccioni, The City Rises, 1910- futurist by depicting movement, construction of new power place

• Dada:

  • Movement rejecting logic and promoting irrationality as a reaction to WWI's impact.

10. Major Art Events

Avant Garde

• Armory Show (1913):

  • The first major exhibition of European modern art in the USA, showcasing artworks by influential modern artists.

  • Artworks: Marcel Duchamp Nude Descending a Staricase- (controversies absurnit of abstarction), no.2 ; Georgia O Keeffe Music Pink and Blue, Red and orange Streak- became abstarction after the show

• Key Figures:

  • Alfred Stieglitz with the 291 Gallery; key in exhibiting modern abstract art.

11. Art and WWI

• Explored the psychological impacts of war through various art movements, ranging from pacifism to patriotic expression.

• Notable artists include Kirchner and Dix.

• Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Self-Portrait as a Soldier 1915- expressionism, emotions of modern life a after the war, disturbing colors add to the scene, missing hand he uses to paint to show the deeper impact

• Childe Hassam The Avenye in the rain 1917 and Aliies Day, May 1917- CAptures parades celebrated

• Otto Dix War Cripples 1920- neglected soldiers, anit-war, approach:

12. Surrealism and Dada

Zuric neutral Switzerland

• HUgo Ball reciting- gibberish

• Dada evolved into Surrealism, emphasizing dream-like scenes and bizarre imagery stemming from the absurdities of wartime realities.

• Paris dada-

• Francis Pibabia The Cacodylic eye (L-Oeil Cacodylate)- collab, s

• Berlin Dada- politcial

• Hannah Hoch Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the
  Last Weimar Beer-Belly Cultural Epoch
  in Germany 1919-1920 - features celebs technology from that time

• New york dada

• Marcel Duchamp Fountain 1917 - readymade- declaration of ar,t changes role of art don’t have to be skilled

Critical Themes for Exam Preparation

• Understand key artists, their works, and philosophical underpinnings.

• Be familiar with movements and their socio-political contexts.

• Engage with both European and global perspectives on modernism.

Tip: Develop concise explanations for each artist/movement; practice writing essays and short answers!