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Unit 4 (1st half): 1750 - 1980 CE
Later Europe and Americas
Images 98-125; 128
Main Ideas:
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As Europe and the Americas underwent rapid societal changes (such as urbanization, commercialization, imperialism, political revolutions, and world wars), works of art generally either sought to support or oppose those developments to advocate for greater harmony
Later European Art
lea
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Rococo: Uses elaborate and intricate imagery to depict the extravagant lifestyle of the monarchical classes
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Enlightenment: Most artworks serve the purpose of encouraging people to accept new developments in science and learning, such as allowing women to get an education
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Neoclassicism: Uses classical artistic and architectural (from Greek & Roman times) elements to showcase certain individuals as embodying the classical ideals of honor
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Romanticism: Exaggerates certain features of a landscape or object by increasing their texture, size, or spotlight to emphasize its importance in conveying a message
Image 98: The Tête à Tête, from Marriage à la Mode
Name
The Tête à Tête, from Marriage à la Mode
Artist
William Hogarth
Date
c. 1743 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Shows that aristocrats value inherited wealth more than their actual lifestyle → Criticizes the lifestyle of the aristocratic class
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Forced marriage between the Squanderfields → Both look disinterested
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The man (on right) is tired after a night of womanizing, looks drunk and stares into the carpet
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Dog sniffs a bonnet in his pocket → Indicates his intimacy with other women
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Dot on his neck → Syphilis
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The woman (center) looks flirtatious (top of her dress is undone, holds a mirror, etc.) → Might have been intimate with another man
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Accountant (left) looks fed up with the couple’s lack of care for their finances and holds a bunch of bills and puts his hand in the air as if he’s saying, “I’m done”
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Objects in the room symbolize this couple’s lack of care for their lifestyle
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Music symbolizes sensuality, and the violin on the floor that has fallen out of its case symbolizes the chaotic state of the couple’s sensuality/marriage
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The paintings in the room in the back left are Saints → Showcase the wealthy inherited power of the couple
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Contrast this with the cheap newly-purchased items on the mantelpiece → Show that the couple has no concern for their life and solely relies on inherited power
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The classical sculpture with a broken nose on the mantelpiece → Shows the couple’s lack of interest in classical ideals and their lack of concern for each other
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Painting of Cupid among the ruins → Since Cupid is the god of love, this symbolizes that their love is broken
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The 4th painting from the left in the back left room shows a nude leg → Symbolizes that the painting is lewd
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This is the 2nd painting in a series of 6 paintings to criticize the aristocracy
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Image 101: The Swing
Name
The Swing
Artist
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Date
1767 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Displays a lot of energy in an erotic sexual scene
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A man told Fragonard to depict his wife on a swing (center) behind pushed by a bishop (bottom right), while the man (bottom left) looks under his wife’s dress
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Various classical figures showcase the love
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On the left is a statue of Cupid (the god of love)
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Puts his finger on his lip to ask the couple to keep this secret
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Below Cupid (in the left center) is a relief sculpture with maenads (dancing figures from Greek mythology) → Signify energy, dance, sexuality, etc.
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Bottom right of swing are 2 playful cupid figures riding a dolphin → A reference to love
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The imagery showcases the energy and elaborate decorations of Rococo
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Decorative pink silk dress has quick brushwork along the edges → Showcases energy and movement
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Pink slipper is flipped up → Showcases movement
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Diagonal lines (from the rope of the swing to the husband’s arm position) signify energy
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The nature around them is very fertile and lush → Signify sensuality and energy
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Commissioned by French Royal Court for use in a private home → Has many features that represent the aristocracy
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Very opulent → Characteristic of aristocracy
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Woman sits on a red velvet colored swing → Red signifies aristocracy
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Image 105: Self-Portrait
Name
Self-Portrait
Artist
Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun
Date
1790 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Showcases the intelligence and freedom of female artists
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Vigée Le Brun was a female artist who was the court painter for Marie-Antoinette (King Louis XVI’s wife) → During French Revolution, she was exiled
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This image is a portrait of Vigée Le Brun herself painting Marie-Antoinette
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White turban, dark dress, soft white ruffed collar, soft red ribbon belt → Symbolize her free-flowing style and freedom of expression
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The softness of her collar is a metaphor for this free-flowing style
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This showcases Vigée Le Brun’s feeling of independence and freedom of expression when painting Marie-Antoinette, despite oppression toward female artists
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There weren’t many female artists at the time, and Vigée Le Brun has a feeling of optimism to keep painting Marie-Antoinette even after she was exiled → Shows the intelligence and greatness of Vigée Le Brun as an artist
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This also shows her freedom as she didn’t feel constrained to paint her subjects even though she was a woman
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Image 99: Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Name
Portrait of Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz
Artist
Miguel Cabrera
Date
c. 1750 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Represents Sor Juana as a nun and as an intellectual
- How she’s depicted as an intellectual
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Sitting at her study desk, has a book open, has quills in front of the book
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Many books are in the background → Signify the large library in her house
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How she’s depicted as a nun
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Wears a black veil on her head
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Has a nun’s badge (escudo de monja) on her chest
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Shows the annunciation (archangel Gabriel announces to Virgin Mary that she will bear Jesus)
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Holds a rosary (a religious symbol that’s a string of beads) in her left hand
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Her high social status is also depicted
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Red curtain symbolizes her high social status
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Her direct assertive gaze symbolizes her high status
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Context:
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Sor Juana was a nun (female monk), but she was removed from her religious order because she wanted to pursue her intellectual interests (which wasn't allowed in nunneries)
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- How she’s depicted as an intellectual
Image 100: A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery
Name
A Philosopher Giving a Lecture on the Orrery
Artist
Joseph Wright of Derby
Date
c. 1763 - 1765 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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The lighting symbolizes the observers' undergoing "conversion" from religious views to rational scientific views
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The Orrery (in the center): Diagram of our solar system
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The light illuminates the faces of the observers’ awed expressions when viewing the orrery
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The light in the center also symbolizes a dramatic heavenly “conversion” in the beliefs of the observers from religious views to scientific/rational views
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Most Christian paintings used light to symbolize religious salvation or spirituality, but here it symbolizes the "spirituality" (aka the benefits) of pursuing scientific knowledge
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The light in the center (in the orrery) also represents the sun (in the solar system)
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This use of light to create extreme contrasts is called tenebrism
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Image 102: Monticello
Building:
Layout:
Name
Monticello
Location
Virginia, USA
Artist
Thomas Jefferson (Architect)
Date
1768 - 1809 CE
Material
Brick, glass, stone, and wood
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Jefferson designed Monticello in a French classical style to tie stronger relationships with France (instead of Britain) & to promote the ideals of education, civic responsibility, rationality, and democracy of the classical past
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Background information:
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Hated the British-style architecture of William & Mary college → Looked to French architectural style
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Went to France on a diplomatic mission → Learned about French classical architecture → Rebuilt his home (Monticello) with French architectural ideals
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Wants to break friendly ties with Britain and forge ties with France → Chooses French classical architecture over British architecture
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With French neoclassical architecture, he wants to encourage Americans to follow the ideals of democracy, education, civic responsibility, and rationality of the classical past
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Classical architectural features:
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Extended portico with Doric columns, a triangular pediment with a semicircular window on top
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Short octagonal prism at top + shallow dome → Sense of verticality
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Large width of building and guardrails (balustrade) on the top of the house → Horizontality
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Parlor and library are large → Emphasis on education and collaboration
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Image 103: The Oath of the Horatii
Name
The Oath of the Horatii
Artist
Jacques-Louis David
Date
1784 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Revives the classical ideals of rationality and virtuosity → Used as a model for revolutionaries in the French Revolution
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This painting depicts the men as very virtuous
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Their body is made of straight lines, all 3 move in unison, and their bodies appear sharp and focused → Showcase strength & virtuosity
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The 3 boys’ arm movements and the lines in the pavement meet at the father’s hand which holds the sword (vanishing point) → Showcases the simplicity and strength of the men
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This painting depicts the women as emotional
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The women are very curvilinear and appear sad and emotional → Showcases the classical ideal that women are more domestic and personal than men
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The virtuosity of men and the domesticity of women are classical ideals
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The Roman arches and Tuscan columns in the back are also indications that this painting revives Classical elements
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Historical Context of scenery:
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War: Rome vs Alba
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Horatii brothers (Rome) vs Curiatii brothers (Alba)
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Due to intermarriage between Horatii and Curiatii families, everyone will lose, and families will be torn apart
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Women are mourning on right side as they are related to the brothers on both sides of the war
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One woman is a Curiatii but married to Horatii
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Other woman is Horatii but will marry a Curiatii
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Image 104: George Washington
Name
George Washington
Artist
Jean-Antoine Houdon
Date
1788 - 1792 CE
Material
Marble
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Uses Classical ideals to show George Washington as a public soldier (ruler) and as a private citizen
- Representation of George Washington as a public soldier and a ruler for the people:
- Depicted in contrapposto → Shows him as virtuous
- Facial expression looks fatherly
- Left hand atop a fasces (pillar of 13 columns) → Showcases unity among the states of the US (E pluribus unum)
- Surrendered his absolute power → He is a ruler for the people, not a tyrannical absolute ruler
- A sword behind his grasp (shows that he just removed it from his hand) and a plow → Show the story of Roman dictator Cincinnatus who surrendered his absolute power to return to his farm
- Representation of George Washington as a private citizen:
- He wears contemporary clothing (instead of classical clothing)
- Right hand atop a walking stick → Shows his old age → Shows that he’s not a supreme ruler and is a normal person like all Americans
- Representation of George Washington as a public soldier and a ruler for the people:
Image 106: Y no hai remedio (And There's Nothing to be Done)
Name
Y no hai remedio (And There's Nothing to be Done) from Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War), plate 15
Artist
Francisco de Goya
Date
1810 - 1823 CE (published in 1863 CE)
Material
Etching, drypoint, burin, and burnishing
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Shows the true horrors of war caused by French occupation of Spain (in Napoleonic Wars) → Critiques the French brutality of the Spanish people
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The process for making this artwork emphasizes its emotional intensity:
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Used the light-dark color gradient and the ability to see the individual lines to convey emotional intensity and rawness
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Etching on a copper plate, then drypoint to make more uneven/textured lines, then printed
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The soldiers and guns in the background portray a sense of sadness and useless → Represent the title "There's nothing to be done"
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There is a man (known as Alter Christus, or the "Other Christ") tied to a pole → Shows that the Spanish lost faith in religion as they are suffering so much
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There are many other Spanish people tied to poles behind him
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Rifles are coming from the right side (aimed at the central "Alter Christus" figure) → Represents Spanish defeat
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Image 107: La Grande Odalisque
Name
La Grande Odalisque
Artist
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres
Date
1814 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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An idealized yet unavailable presentation of the female body → Allows the viewer to gaze at it but represents it as exotic and unavailable to Europeans
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Just like Venus of Urbino (Image 80), this showcases a female nude with an elongated back to emphasize her beauty & sensuality
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However, this shows the female as unavailable to the Europeans because it is exotic
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Positioned a bit far away from the viewer with the body turned away from us
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She holds exotic feathers in her right hand
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The curtain (on the right side) has some exotic decorations
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Her headdress is also a bit exotic
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Image 108: Liberty Leading the People
Name
Liberty Leading the People
Artist
Eugène Delacroix
Date
1830 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Personification of the ideals of liberty during the French Revolution of 1830
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Revolution Context: Charles X was ousted for being monarchical → Replaced with Louis Philippe who reinstated Constitutional monarchy
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The Notre Dame in the back is burning → Represents the destruction of the monarchy
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The woman in the middle is holding a tri-color flag → She is a personification of liberty (like the Statue of Liberty)
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There are two men with pistols (to our left of her), one of lower class and one of the upper class → Represents that everyone of all classes is fighting for liberty
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She is even climbing on barricades → She wants other people to fight harder for liberty
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There is a somewhat pyramid from the base of the dead bodies to her flag → Unity in the fight for liberty
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She looks to the left in a classical expression and her breasts are exposed in a classical style → She is alluding to the classical ideals of liberty
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There are many dead bodies all over the place → The chaotic cost of the revolution
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The boy to our right of the woman has two pistols, and there are two dead bodies next to him → Cost of the war was high
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There is no sense of order in the dead bodies → Chaos
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Image 109: The Oxbow
Name
The Oxbow (View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm)
Artist
Thomas Cole
Date
1836 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Contrast between the thunderstorm on the left and the agriculture on the right → Shows that man-made taming of nature is better than letting it succumb to natural forces
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The left side is the wild and dangerous sublime; the right side is humans taming the landscape, making it orderly and peaceful
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The painter is on the left side (bottom center of the painting)
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Looks small in comparison to the nature, showing that nature is more powerful that humans
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Looking out at the man-made side, displaying how humans believe that destroying nature to "create civilization" is good
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Hebrew words carved on the back hill on the man-made side (center of painting) mean “The Almighty”
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Indicating human belief in the concept of manifest destiny
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Image 111: Slave Ship
Name
Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On)
Artist
Joseph Mallord William Turner
Date
1840 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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While nature can be seen as beautiful, it can also act against humanity → A political statement to showcase the horrors of slavery
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The warm colors in the center showcase the beauty of nature
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Warm sunset, quick brushstrokes to signify energy
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Yet the cool colors on the left side and all the darker colors at the bottom symbolize nature’s potential for destruction
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Shows a slave ship caught in a storm
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The waves at the bottom depict the dead and sick slaves thrown overboard
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There was a political controversy in Britain about the ethics of slavery → This painting emphasizes the bad nature of slavery → Slavery was banned in Britain in 1833
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Image 118: The Valley of Mexico
Name
The Valley of Mexico from the Hillside of Santa Isabel (El Valle de México desde el Cerro de Santa Isabel)
Artist
Jose María Velasco
Date
1882 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Symbolizes and romanticizes Mexican cultural identity by depicting many aspects of Mexican culture
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Uses Shadow and lighting to guide our eyes in a zig-zag from the foreground to the background:
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Our eyes start in the foreground with a mother and child who feel romanticized by the nature → Sets the stage for the romanticization of Mexico
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Then we see the Hill of Tepeyac and the Basilica of Guadalupe (right above the blue lake in the center)
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This alludes to the Virgin of Guadalupe, a famous symbol of Mexican Identity who miraculously appeared to a Mexican man on the Hill of Tepeyac
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Then some roads lead us to Mexico City
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On the way are some traces of water, alluding to Lake Texcoco, the receding lake upon which Mexico City is built
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We then see Mexico city, and we see a little bit of dust and other particles → Represents how Mexico is being overcome by industrialization
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The two spires in the center are the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
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Then we see 2 symbolic volcanic peaks (on the left side)
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Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, both are important to Mexican history and mythology
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Pre-Modernist Art
pma
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Realism, Photography, Revivalist Art: Uses realistic depictions to showcase problems in society or new social/technical advancements in society
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Impressionism: Uses light brushwork to allow light, color, and shadowing to influence the message and purpose of an artwork
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Post-Impressionism: A painting of a landscape that's not en plein air: The artist paints a landscape and slightly alters it with a common pattern based on the artist's own emotions toward the landscape
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Fin De Siecle, Sculpture, and Architecture: Depicts people or other objects in a realistic way but alters it to emphasize its function over form (so that it's easy for us to understand the object's purpose, composition, or emotion)
Image 110: Still Life in Studio
Name
Still Life in Studio
Artist
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre
Date
1837 CE
Material
Daguerreotype
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Showcases the expressive ability of photography and the potential of the daguerreotype to depict traditional still-life paintings
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The style is a daguerreotype (a type of early photograph)
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Accentuates the details, tone, texture, and shadows of the subject matter → Gives more realism to the work
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Used this specific photograph to display the potential of the daguerreotype as a new medium
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The subjects are symbolic as they represent the importance of the daguerreotype and its usage
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Apollo's head: Since Gods are depicted in a divine way (often with light), this photograph shows that the daguerreotype has the ability to showcase reflective surfaces in a clear way
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Ram’s head statue (right side) and its golden fleece also represent how sunlight and reflective surfaces are important for daguerrotypes
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Image 112: Palace of Westminster
Name
Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament)
Location
London, England
Artist
Charles Barry and Augustus W N Pugin (architects)
Date
1840 - 1870 CE
Material
Limestone masonry and glass
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1834 fire destroyed the old palace → New palace has a gothic facade to reference the prosperity of England during its medieval period
- Has some symmetry of geometric form → References the classical ideals of stability and balance in the English kingdom
- The interior and exterior have large gothic facades
- Wants to show that the English will look to their prosperous past (like Gothic style) for guidance rather than the destructive forces of modern industrialism
- This is because they believed industrialization caused the 1834 fire
- Built in Perpendicular Gothic Style (the last Gothic style)
- Emphasized large four-centered arches (large wide arches with a small point at the top)
- Its stained glass windows had many horizontal and vertical lines to divide the window into smaller bits
Image 113: The Stone Breakers
Name
The Stone Breakers
Artist
Gustave Courbet
Date
1849 CE (destroyed in 1945 CE)
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Depicts the harsh realities of the lower classes
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We don’t see their faces → Represents dehumanization as their individual identities are concealed
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Doesn’t falsely romanticize the lower classes but rather realistically shows their harsh lifestyle
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Their clothes appear tattered and dirty
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Uses shading and lines to showcase the strain on their bodies
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Image 114: Nadar Raising Photography to the Height of Art
Name
Nadar Raising Photography to the Height of Art
Artist
Honoré Daumier
Date
1862 CE
Material
Lithograph
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Mocks an 1862 court decision that says that works of photography can be considered works of “high art”
- At this time, photography was becoming super popular and was starting to be used for artistic purposes
- Just like Still Life in Studio (Image 110)
- This shows Nadar (someone famous for taking aerial photos of Paris) super excited (in a satirical way) that photographic art is triumphing over all the workshops of commercial photography below
- The Parisian commercial photography workshops below him say “Photographie” to represent the triumph of photography
- At this time, photography was becoming super popular and was starting to be used for artistic purposes
Image 115: Olympia
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Name
Olympia
Artist
Édouard Manet
Date
1863 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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The reclining nude woman looks more realistic than the Venus of Urbino (Image 80) and gazes directly at us → Questions if we view women for their ideal beauty or for their sexuality
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Not an idealized woman, looks more realistic → Represents how we truly view women (for sexuality) rather than how we ideally view them (for beauty)
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Looks directly at us → Makes us feel uncomfortable → Makes us realize that we are viewing the woman for sexuality, not for beauty
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Feels very flat → Seems like her beauty is an illusion
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Makes us question “is there visual reality?” → Makes us realize that we are interested not in beauty but in sexuality
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Her name is Olympia, which was a typical name for prostitutes
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There is a cat on the right side; There used to be a dog in the Venus of Urbino that symbolized fidelity, so this cat may symbolize infidelity and prostitution
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Servant is darker, so we can’t see her face → Show that the woman doesn’t care about her and only wants her service
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This is similar to how we only care about the woman's sexuality and not her beauty
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Image 117: The Horse in Motion
Name
The Horse in Motion
Artist
Eadweard Muybridge
Date
1878 CE
Material
Albumen print
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Represents the idea that photography can capture still moments in time that human vision cannot
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Someone wanted to prove “unsupported transit” theory, the idea that horses can gallop with all limbs off the ground
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Muybridge took all these photos and proved (in Image #3 in top row) that that is possible
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Represents triumph of “Photographic truth” over the Human eye
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Photography can capture still images of objects in motion that are too fast for the human eye to pinpoint
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Many people like this, but some oppose this because humans can in reality never see a still photographic image, so this doesn’t matter
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Shows that horses aren’t as graceful in still images as they are in art
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Image 116: The Saint-Lazare Station
Name
The Saint-Lazare Station
Artist
Claude Monet
Date
1877 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Uses impressionist characteristics (light and color) to showcase a transition into modernity (into Paris’s Industrial era)
- The steam from the train blurs everything else → Signifies the transition into Industrialism
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Produces smoke that conceals the buildings in the back
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Signifies that the industrial age is now the most important thing
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The trains, architecture, and people all blend together, since the true subject of the painting is on playing with the color and the light (using the train's steam)
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Deconstruction of the old world by depicting a train station (where people of different classes mingle) in a renovated modern city
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The people are reduced to just a few quick brushstrokes
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Shows deconstruction of the old world (before modernity) by depicting a train station in a renovated modern city
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Lacks atmospheric perspective, clearly on a flat canvas → Represents that the train's steam is the most important element
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Was sold to American robber barons (industrialists of the Gilded Age), not to the European aristocracy, because the American industrialists wanted to emphasize the power of industrialism
- The steam from the train blurs everything else → Signifies the transition into Industrialism
Image 120: The Starry Night
Name
The Starry Night
Artist
Vincent Van Gogh
Date
1889 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Shows how spirituality and light can protect and give energy to a tranquil village
- ¾ of the image is the sky, and ¼ is the village and mountains
- The sky has lots of swirls that integrate all the light and dark aspects of it → Symbolizes that the light and dark aspects of our spirituality (life and death) come together to bring peace and bring life to the tranquil village below
- The quick brushstroke creates lots of energy and dynamism → Contrasts with the tranquility of the village
- The cypress tree (left) generally symbolizes death, while the sky (especially the moon) symbolizes light → A contrast that gives energy and life to the tranquil village
- The village also has some light brushstrokes and color contrasts of its own (continues the motifs of the sky but to a smaller extent) → Represents that the sky’s energy and spirituality continues in to the tranquil village
- The church’s spire breaks the horizon line → Shows some sort of integration between the sky’s energy and the village
- Van Gogh painted this not en plein air (while in sight of the scene) but in a mental asylum → Shows his own emotions regarding the sky’s spiritual power
- ¾ of the image is the sky, and ¼ is the village and mountains
Image 121: The Coiffure
Name
The Coiffure
Artist
Mary Cassatt
Date
1890 - 1891 CE
Material
Drypoint and aquatint
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More abstraction and compressed sense of space → Creates a less sexualized and more intimate view of the woman
- Limited color palette → More concise in meaning
- Unlike the Saint-Lazare Station (Image 116), it's easier to see the true emotions of the woman due to the simplicity of the colors
- Very compressed sense of space → Gives a sense of intimacy toward the woman
- The mirror helps expand that space
- Uses Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints and adapts it to a new Parisian perspective → More abstract depiction of the woman
- Represents how a person may have internally thought about the woman (in an intimate way), not how a woman is really depicted
- This is why it's post-impressionism, not impressionism
- Limited color palette → More concise in meaning
Image 123: Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Name
Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?
Artist
Paul Gauguin
Date
1897 - 1898 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Questions the root of human existence by depicting the human life cycle
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Shows the human life cycle:
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The right is a baby (where we came from)
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The center is a middle-aged woman (what we are)
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The very left is an old dark-skinned crouching woman (where we are going)
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The woman in the middle appears to be picking fruit
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Could reference the Garden of Eden or the terrestrial paradise
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The figures appear to be floating in midair → Contributes to this work’s philosophical question about the meaning of human life
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This shows that the content of the work is not something en plein air but rather a question in Gauguin's own mind about the philosophy of the existence of humanity
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Image 125: Mont Sainte-Victoire
Name
Mont Sainte-Victoire
Artist
Paul Cezanne
Date
1902 - 1904 CE
Material
Oil on Canvas
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Represents an illusion regarding the composition and completeness of nature
- Moving closer and farther away creates a sense of optical movement and change
- From far away, it appears to be a proper painting of a mountain and a plain
- From close up, the nature breaks apart into these abstract geometric shapes and hash marks
- Attacks traditional landscape painting techniques since he is using flatness and abstraction and he is using colors (instead of linear perspective) to show depth
- Different colors show different depths:
- The blue (of the mountain) shows that the mountain is farther away
- The dark green (of the trees) show that the trees are closer to us
- Different colors show different depths:
- Moving closer and farther away creates a sense of optical movement and change
Image 122: The Scream
Name
The Scream
Artist
Edvard Munch
Date
1893 CE
Material
Tempera and pastels on cardboard
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Emphasizes Munch’s despair and loneliness and his disconnect from society
- The nature appears curvy and in bands → Shows how Munch feels disillusioned and disconnected with nature
- His body appears slightly curved as well (with the nature) → Shows how he’s not only disillusioned with nature but also with himself
- The bridge is man-made (artificial) and has straight lines → Emphasizes the idea that Munch feels lonely and disconnected from nature and mainstream society since his only source of contact is an artificial bridge
- In fact, the two men to the left are faceless → They also feel disillusioned and left out of mainstream society
Image 119: The Burghers of Calais
Name
The Burghers of Calais
Artist
Auguste Rodin
Date
1884 - 1895 CE
Material
Bronze
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Showcases the grief of the 6 sacrificial victims above (burghers = councilmen of Calais) and allows pedestrians to empathize with that grief
- Historical Context: Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
- English King Edward III conquered Calais (port in France) → Calais surrendered
- Edward III insisted on the sacrifice of Calais’s 6 councilmen to spare the lives of the civilians
- The sculptures appear separate and emaciated → Instead of being in a group, they are all in a circle and looking away → Emphasizes their grief
- Heavy clothing and drapery emphasizes their grief
- The robes appear to be anchored to the ground → While the men want to die to save their city, the fact that their robes are anchored upright to the ground is a metaphor for their desire to stay alive
- The dark color reflects some sunlight to emphasize their heaviness and grief
- Located at street level (instead of on a pedestal) so that pedestrians can empathize with the figures and share their grief
- Historical Context: Hundred Years’ War (1337-1453)
Image 124: Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building
Name
Carson, Pirie, Scott, and Company Building
Location
Chicago, Illinois, US
Artist
Louis Sullivan (Architect)
Date
1899 - 1903 CE
Material
Iron, steel, glass, and terra cotta
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Sullivan believed the form of a building should represent its function: He built the skyscraper to represent an office building with department stores on ground level
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The bottom floor is a department store: Has large windows to allow pedestrians to see the interior displays & to allow light to illuminate the store
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The upper floors are offices
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All look the same because they all serve the same purpose (as they are all offices)
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Have small 3-part “Chicago-style” windows
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The top floor is the attic
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Jets outward to mark the end of the building and set it apart from other buildings
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Has a vertical thrust (the height) and a horizontal thrust (the line connecting the windows) to the building so that it’s easy to understand the building’s architecture and purpose
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Department store entrance is elaborately decorated and on a street corner → Meant to grab attention from pedestrians on all 3 sides of the intersection
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Elaborate floral motif helps attract customers
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Image 128: The Kiss
Name
The Kiss
Artist
Gustav Klimt
Date
1907 - 1908 CE
Material
Oil and gold leaf on canvas
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Represents a feeling of sublimity and perfection when receiving a kiss; but also male dominance
- The man is rectilinear (emphasizes his dominance/power), while the woman is curvy (emphasizes emotion) → Shows the man’s dominance over the woman
- In fact, the man is kissing the woman, but the woman is not kissing the man → Male dominance
- Their clothes are golden, and it appears that there is a halo around them → They have a sensation of sublimity or transcendence when they kiss
- The man is rectilinear (emphasizes his dominance/power), while the woman is curvy (emphasizes emotion) → Shows the man’s dominance over the woman
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