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.
I think that this work of art does "[lay] bare social oppression," like Marie-Camille wanted. However, it doesn't quite "transmit a vision of the utopian socialist future." I do think, though, if upper-class people (like members of the bourgeoisie) were shown in the picture - even pulling the ship alongside the other people! - one could get a better sense of a utopian society. That would have been a good start.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, too, this painting does not include depictions of women in a demeaning way. (There are no women included!) Marie-Camille wouldn't have had anything to complain about this painting, at least in regards to that feminist topic!
-Prof. Bowen
Hi Dani
ReplyDeleteI think you did a good job at explaining what this artist is all about. It's nice to see that her, along with others, such as Courbet, stood up for the rights of people. It's also great that Camille braught subjects, such as oppression, to the forefronts of the people.
I like how you went into detail about what aspects of the painting Marie-Camille wanted. Its good to think of art in the views of another person, and to try to feel what they felt when they looked at it. However, it would have been nice to see more detail about what was going on with that time period as well, and with how the Bourgeoisie class would have reacted to this type painting, and why it would have upset them.
ReplyDeleteI also find it interesting that they didnt include any women in this image, I wonder why that is? I feel it would have been even more outrageous if they had a woman working alongside the men.
I believe that rather than including the bourgoise to make the working class's plight more visible, Marie-Camille may have wanted to "level the playing field" as Mrs. Bowen said. It seemed to me that Marie-Camille wanted art to portray a positive future for the working class.
ReplyDelete-Tyler