realism jean francois millet previously, artists that portrayed subjects realistically, modified...
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RealismJean Francois Millet
Previously, artists that portrayed subjects realistically, modified them by idealizing them
New Realism insisted on precise imitation of visual world without alteration
Subject matter was different too. It portrayed only what artists could see or touch
Gods, goddesses, and heroes of antiquity were OUT
Peasants and the urban working class were IN
CourbetFather of Realist movement
He said that “everything that does not appear on the retina is outside the domain of painting”
He loudly defended the working class and was jailed for 6 months for tearing down a Napoleonic monument
Courbet defied the conventional taste for history painting and poetic subjects
“Painting is a concrete art and must be applied to real and existing things”
John Baptiste Camille Corot
He captured a particular place at a particular moment
Limited palette of pearly silvery tones with olive green
Soft wispy brush strokes
Winslow Homer1836- 1910
Self taught artist he steered clear of outside influence and theory
He based his work on observation of nature
He became a major American marine artist
Homers paintings had a recurrent theme…man-against-the-elements
Homer was the first artist to display watercolors as finished work and not just a practice painting for an oil painting
EakinsThe Anatomist 1844-1916
He dissected cadavers and became so knowledgeable about the subject that he lectured to medical students
He plotted out perspective with mathematical precision
James A M Whistler1834-1903
One of most controversial artists of 19th century
Whistler felt that paintings should be “design in and of itself” and not describe a subject or tell a story
This radical thinking was a precursor of modern abstraction
This painting is called, Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1 (otherwise known as Whistler’s mother)
He insisted it was a design of shapes and color not about his mother
Whistler’s life was unconventional
He flunked out of West Point for a deficiency in chemistry.” He bounced around without a profession. Later he sailed to Europe never to return to America
John Singer Sargent1856-1925
The last great literal portrait painter (before the camera made such art less in demand) was John singer Sargent.
He painted with Monet at Giverny, Sargent modeled himself after the Spanish painter Velazquez
Sargent could pick his subjects and name his price
He was witty and perfectly at ease among the well to do and influential people