The Isolation of Modern Society

After looking over Caillebotte's art, I personally believe that his art has made me evaluate what I see the most.  In many of his pictures (shown below) there is a clear point of isolation. Now Isolation can be a subject or a point within a picture that is singled out from the rest of the art, or it can mean just what many people feel in society, alone. In many of his paintings he displays both kinds of isolation. In the first two pictures one can see couples everywhere, but then there is one lonely single person in the picture (whether foreground or background). His paintings show a modern society, because he paints according to the times; modernity. However, his paintings also depict the nature of modern society; couples and singles. Caillebotte's paintings also seem more like a critique of how modern life was. These pictures all seem to have a great outlook on each picture because of the composition of it. However, in the same bright happy composition is shadows and isolation within which brings a gloomy feel to the painting.  Why is isolation seeming to be a key in Caillebotte's paintings? In all honesty I believe it is because that is how modern society became and that is what Caillebotte wanted to show. Society was no longer a close knit people but separate and some isolated by the rest of society. This shows almost a class division as well in the first picture. The couple to the left look like they are in nicer clothing then the isolated person in more warn clothing on the right side. This man is isolated in a few ways, 1. he looks like a lower class then the people to the left, 2. he is looking beyond the bridge,3. he stands alone over the railing of the bridge, and 4. he is standing in the shadows giving his a sadder feeling then everyone else.

In the last picture one sees how everyone is alone in the painting. Yet, one thing that is isolated almost on the top center of the painting is a couple walking together. This displays a hopeful cheery outlook when the mood seems to be gloomy because everyone is alone. Caillebotte's  painting can create a different mood that is opposite of the initial mood when looking at the full painting. What Caillebotte is doing is almost like isolating the emotions the viewer feels about the one difference in the picture compared to the picture as a whole. Caillebotte used isolation mixed with modern society to show a diffrernt outlook on how society has become and looks. By doing this his painting created emotions by looking at the full picture, but also by lookg at what was isolated within the picture. Now I might not be fully covering what we talked about in class, but this is my in depth look at how Caillebotte's art works is comprised of isolation and modernity. 

Forgetful or Not.. Impressions stay with you forever ..

In all honesty, Impressionism is far from forgetful.  Impressionism is the technique of showing the world or anything in a different way. Impressionists art was not clearly defined by lines, nor were the art pieces free of brush stroke lines. In fact Impressionists went against what the Academy taught and instead focused on shedding a different kind of light on what people saw. The art during the Impressionism era was created with a lack of clear definition of detail, as well as colors that blended with each other compatibly even if they were completely different colors. Doing this sometimes the artist would highlight the foreground by making whatever was in the foreground 3-D and the background flat looking.

By the Sea by Renoir

Monet and Renoir were two Impressionists during the time. they were "rejected for not painting bloodied corpses in ruined boulevards" (p 121). However, in today's time both Monet and Renoir are very famous for their works of art because there art was different and went against the norms of how art was in that day and age. Impressionism is far from "forgetful" in relation to artistic technique and tradition. I mean yes, Impressionism was not the typical way to create art. Yet, Impressionism created a new way to display are and create art and be able to get across a message. In a way though Impressionism was not clearly defined by detail or lines and definition, sometimes when looking deeper into a painting one will notice little clues to what a painting could be about, and that is a way Impressionism leaves an everlasting mark.

Renoir's painting (shown above) depicts a woman by the sea. However, like Impressionist paintings, the background is flattened behind the foreground. The colors as well in the background have been blended together and look almost like a backdrop behind the woman. As for the woman in the foreground, one can see that there are still no set lines within her figure or the chair leaving very little definition besides the colors that compose her. This was how Impressionist paintings were. And just like that, looking into her eyes and at how the woman and the almost backdrop looking background, one could see what the painting means, and therefore the painting could leave an impression on them.

Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh

With  color Impressionism takes a lead in standing out and being remembered. Typical paintings displayed what the artist saw and tried to accurately recreate the piece that the artist is focusing on. However, with Impressionism he color could be skewed in a way to depict a certain mood or even a message. The art work for impressionism could be seen as more symbolic with how colors were made to make a mark on the viewer. Say the painting that you were looking at is the one above. The colors and brightness of the landscape is beautiful and gives off a happier feeling, like one is content with life. Though the larger figure in front is dark and somewhat chaos looking, it is the sky and the brightness that can pull the viewer away from the chaos and bring the viewer to feel content.

Though Impressionism was rejected by many, it still stood strong. Impressionism i a type of art that could not, can not, and will not be forgotten because it paved a way for what art could become. The art was meant to leave an impression on the viewer when looking at the painting. That is way it will not be forgotten because every person that has seen an Impressionist painting, that painting has left an impression  on them never letting them forget it.

Impressionism Stance

Claude Monet, Impression: Sunrise, 1872

      Impressionists were unlike those were were scholars in painting and art. Impressionists manipulated their work to depict anything they wanted. Sometimes the art showed something in the foreground in 3-D and the background in 2-D. Sometimes, the art was all in 2-D so the picture can be fully seen as is. Sometimes, even, colors and shapes would blend together so they could make a complete picture. Claude Monet's painting, Impressionism: Sunrise, was part of what many Impressionists used to create their art. Meaning Claude Monet's painting went against what academic painters were taught which was a cleaner non abstract type of art work.  Monet's painting (shown above) shows a variety of blues and greens to depict the shadows and the water during sunrise, as well as the paintings color enhancement with the vibrant color of the sun, the sun's reflection, and the sky. Contrary to what many people said about the painting only being a sketch and "not finished" (Art History, 986), this painting creates a full fledged scenery that one can put together but looking at the shapes and colors, as well as the whole scene of the painting.
        The painting is made complete with the use of different, yet cohesive colors like oranges, yellows, whites, greens, and blues to create a "fog over the harbor" (Art History, 986). With the colors, many parts of the painting are shown and more focused on. As the colors of the harbor and the fog blend together, the colors of the sun and the rising colors give a focal point for what the viewer should look at first when trying to understand the image. The sun radiates the color orange which also gives it a focal point since that orange color is isolate and surrounded by blue colors. Then showing the vibrant colors of the sky gives the viewers a feel of the sun rays, as it is rising, reflecting off of the clouds. It is with these two starting points the it can be clearly seen that the painting is a sunrise. Then looking at the blues and greens of city line and the water, it can be thought that this is a harbor during the early morning. With Monet's choice of color he brought his viewers to look deeper into the colors to see the painting that laid before them.
       The next part of the composition that brings this painting to life is the shapes that are painted. Though the city line (the harbor) is faded with the color, it can still be distinguished by the shapes. In the painting, smoke and chimneys, and boats can all be recognized because of the shape that is most recognizable, and how that shape has a darkness in the color. So even when looking at the painting and trying to figure out what is being shown, the viewer can distinguish smoke, and the outline of maybe factories, and boats. Another part is the shapes are not painted in depth, meaning they are painted in 2-D and not 3-D.Using all 2-D objects within the painting means that the viewer with not bypass the picture as a whole and instead focus on the meaning of the object that is in 3-D because it is different. Having the painting this way make is so objects within the painting do not stand out more then others, and that the painting is seen in its entirety.
       Monet's painting has a haze type look of the painting because no clear definitions of faces, or objects can be seen in the painting. Doing this makes the viewer really look at the painting to see what comprises it and makes the painting whole and gives it meaning. Monet was an Impressionist, even the title of the painting above is Impression: Sunrise. the painting was entitled that because this painting makes an impression on those who truly look at the painting and not just glance at it. This painting contributed and was part of redefining what art really was and what it could be. Art is really in the eyes of the beholder, and though many artistic things do not appeal to many, Monet's do. With Monet's use of color and shapes to make the complete picture, his "foggy" appearance leaves all viewers really looking into the painting and to what that painting possibly means to them.


-Dani G

Realism and Early Avant-Garde: Option 2

Bargehaulers on the Volga by Ilya Repin

Marie-Camille de G. called for art to show the oppression of society, of  age,  of gender, and of race. Her ideas  consisted of exposing the wrongs of society and making them known to everyone. In the picture above, it illustrates just what Marie-Camille de G. wanted. This picture shows lower class people, peasants to be exact, and shows them pulling in a ship. However, with a twist of the picture a young child stands among the older men. This picture shows that this child is essentially going to end up exactly like the other older men pulling the ship. The pictures also displays the realization that is how life is in that moment, and that once in a social class one is basically trapped there. The boy is trapped in the bonds pulling the ship, just like the older men, showing his oppression against a better living. Thus showing the oppression of peasants during that time. The picture though accurately fitting what Marie-Camille de G. wanted people to portray in their art, the picture still is missing something to accurately portray oppression. One way to modify the picture to accurately show oppression is by portraying people from an upper class status. Showing people from an upper class status with peasants and how the peasants were treated would create a perfect portrayal of the reality of that time as well as the oppression of those who were lower in class standing.