Neoclassicism was an art movement that developed in the beginning of the 17th century through the 18th century. The neoclassicism replaced the rococo style and it was a combination of the last half of the Baroque art to the growing attention in traditional Greek and Roman relic. For this reason, neoclassicism art was interested in the collection of antiques.
In addition, neoclassic artists came across and unexpected problem because they were not sure whether a portrait of a hero or a famous person, should be represented like the traditional costume.
Moreover, neoclassical artists did not incorporate emotions and gestures in their artwork. For example, the lack of facial expressions in The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries is clearly seen in this paint; this neoclassical artwork was painted by artist Jacques Louis David in 1812. According to the National Gallery of Art (n.d 2011), “the painting is an artful contrivance to convey three aspects of his public image: soldier, emperor, and administrator.” ( n.d, 2011).
In The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, virtue has been emphasized with perfect proportions and colors that make Napoleon look like a high moral person; his posture also reinforces Napoleon’s perfection.
Impressionism developed in the late 19th century to early 20th century and it was influenced by the neoclassicists’ artists. In the late 1860s, Claude Monet began to employ a new technique invented by Edouard Manet. When other artists followed Monet’s lead, they opened their first exhibition, on April 1874. The name of this group was the impressionists because of Monet’s painting Impression-Sunrise.
Impressionists were much less interested in public criticism and it is characterized by the brief effects of light; these are created by applying quick and small hits of color. The images of the impressionist art are typically leisure images.
An example of impressionist artwork is Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s The Luncheon of the Boating Party. In this painting Renoir’s friends are the characters of the artwork, as he shows them eating, drinking and enjoying each other’s company. According to The Phillips Collection, “The painting also reflects the changing character of French society in the mid- to late 19th century. The restaurant welcomed customers of many classes, including businessmen, society women, artists, actresses, writers, critics, seamstresses, and shop girls. This diverse group embodied a new, modern Parisian society.” (The Phillips Collection, 2011).
Abstract Expressionism developed in the beginning of the 20th century, around the 1940s. The Abstract Expressionist artists found their mentors from other artists who came to America during the World War II. These paintings are characterized by shapes, lines, colors, and forms that are not meant to represent reality but the immediate emotions the artist is experiencing. The Abstract Expressionists in America came together in New York’s Greenwich Village. Among the most famous ones, Jackson Pollock represented in his artwork the mood of the times.
According to The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2011), “The artist also used sticks, trowels, knives—in short, anything but the traditional painter's implements—to build up dense, lyrical compositions comprised of intricate skeins of line. There's no central point of focus, hierarchy of elements in this allover composition in which every bit of the surface is equally significant.
The Neoclassicism represented a very much “unemotional” society were conventional was the only way to express themselves. Impressionism represents a freer society; impressionist artists felt the need to paint “normal scenes”. Moreover, Abstract expressionism represents a suffering society that goes through the crisis of war.
References
· Jackson Pollock: Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) (57.92) | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Artfrom http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/57.92
· Jacques-Louis David (French, 1748 – 1825). (1812). The Emperor Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries[18th- and 19th-Century France — Neoclassicism]. Retrieved May 5, 2011 from http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg56/gg56-45831.0.html
· Pierre Auguste Renoir (Impressionist). (1880-81). Luncheon of the Boating Party. Retrieved May 5, 2011, from http://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/boating/index.aspx
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