Dadaism and Surrealism

            The destruction of the First World War resulted in an extreme amount of casualties and suffering which in turn, initiated a new trend for artists to reject the rationality of thought as a tool to critique society. This trend is known as Dadaism. Dadaist artists embraced the rejection of expression to eliminate the idea of the subjective art form. They figured if thinking rationally is what brought on World War I, then, thinking irrationally must prevent anything of the like. This is completely against the traditional conventions of art and challenges the artist as subject.

            One artist in particular who had a huge impact on Dadaism was Marcel Duchamp and his piece Fountain of 1917. With a piece such as Fountain, Duchamp questioned artistic convention and critiqued the idea of art itself. This sculpture is an example of what he called a “ready-made”, which is a mass produced, manufactured or a found-man-made object. Basically, he purchased a standard, functional urinal, positioned it with its back facing flat on a horizontal surface, and signed it as “R. Mutt”. Dadaism wanted to bring humor to the somber world by making fun of art. Apparently, his signature refers to the plumbing company called “Mott” and also is a symbol of the comic character, Mutt; this doesn’t really make sense and seems chaotic, just like Dadaism. Duchamp came up with works such as this to create a new thought for already existing objects. He wanted his viewers to wonder if his work should be characterized as art or not, and what exactly should constitute art. Before I learned about art history or any kind of artistic trends, I never considered something like Duchamp’s Fountain art, and I still don’t. However, I do appreciate the point he is trying to make. Art isn’t always about making a statement and I believe that art serves as a different purpose for everybody. I love that he forces a different perspective on mundane objects, and he impresses me with some of his ideas. Certainly, every person has the potential to be an artist, but it’s a combination of technical skill and the creativity to execute a work of art.

            Moreover, Dadaism grew more extreme and became a new art movement called Surrealism. This new style was based on the elements of Dadaism in its critique of society, but its primary focus was on the Marxist and Freudian influences, more specifically, an exploration of sexuality. One artist who is the epitome of surrealism in terms of Freudian values was Salvador Dali. His painting Birth of Liquid Desires of 1931 is the perfect example of the irrationality of dreams and the subconscious. For example, Dali uses imagery that could never be seen in reality, such as the large yellow biomorphic shape in the background. There is a theme of rejection and turmoil based on the two figures in the center of the piece, giving a sense of sexual desire and guilty arousal while the dark cloud looms above them. During the time that Dali painted Birth of Liquid Desires, his father expressed disapproval towards Dali’s wife, which explains the rejection underlying this piece. This is a surrealist work because of the repressed sexual desire and because there are so many different emotions conveyed, the painting doesn’t make any sense.       

Primitivism in the eyes of Henri Matisse

                At the end of the nineteenth century as modernity began to overwhelm western European culture, artists began to use elements of lesser developed societies to embrace the simplicity that modern life started to lack. Artists such as Gauguin, who were spiritually endowed and in tune with their emotions were able to embody the simple part of life in a rustic environment. Only somebody that is different than the norm can truly identify the primitive or advanced characteristics of another culture. One work in particular that embodies the idea of primitive life is Blue Nude: Souvenir at Biskra by Henri Matisse.

                Firstly, Matisse was a French artist so he is native to western culture. However, this painting contrasts the typical western renderings of the reclining female nude. Most western European paintings of nude women depicted them on soft fluffy pillows wrapped in sheets and peering directly at the viewer, flaunting their sexuality. My interpretations of eye contact between the viewer and the nude woman in these kinds of paintings are a stimulation of arousal, or personal affairs with the woman giving the suggestion of prostitution. In Blue Nude: Souvenir at Biskra, the woman is not making eye contact with the viewer. She is looking down, away from the viewer. It is as if she doesn’t even realize that any one is watching her. This demonstrates that this painting was not intended to please male viewers in a sexual way, like some western nude paintings. Furthermore, Matisse’s painting can be considered avant-guarde because it reflects the characteristics based on Griselda Pollock’s three key elements: reference, deference and difference. The reference of this painting is the fact that Matisse chose a conventional composition of the reclining female nude. As for deference, Matisse expresses a similar quality to impressionism with his use of warm and cool colors to suggest highlights and shadows. He also kept his brushstrokes fairly loose which gave the piece a painterly effect, like the impressionists. Lastly, Matisse’s work is different because he placed this reclining nude figure out in a natural, outdoor setting. This contrasts traditional western paintings of the reclining nude and proves that Matisse was an avant-guarde artist for taking a different aesthetic approach to modern art.

                Moreover, this piece ties into the idea of primitivism because of artistic style and the subject matter. Blue Nude: Souvenir at Biskra is not naturalistic, rather it is more abstract. Matisse used thick outlines to define the edges of the woman’s figure, which emphasizes the idea of simplicity. Another detail that I noticed is that her right leg seems to be out of perspective with the rest of her body. It reminds me of ancient Egyptian paintings with depictions of people in twisted perspective, with both legs facing the same direction. Matisse’s painting is similar with ancient Egyptian art in that sense, which also gives it a primitive quality. As I mentioned before, the woman depicted here is completely naked and laying out in the middle of the wilderness with no clothes thrown off to the side, or blanket underneath her; just the simplicity of her own body. There is no reference to modernity in this painting, which emphasizes the primitive identity of this woman and the painting as a whole. One specific detail that caught my attention is the body type this woman has. Although she has an ideal figure, she is fairly muscular for a female. Perhaps her muscular build is supposed to demonstrate that she survives in the world by doing everything herself. For example, in modern culture houses are built for people by machinery and food is conveniently manufactured and mass produced. This woman, however, does all of that herself. One other element of primitivism is evident by Matisse’s choice of composition because women are seen as closer to nature. Throughout art history, women have been a symbol of fertility and sexuality and with Blue Nude: Souvenir at Biskra, Matisse created the perfect example of the simplicity of nature and a simple way of life. 

Isolation in the life of Caillebotte

The boom of industrialization in the late nineteenth century caused impressionist artists to celebrate the new modern life. Gustave Caillebotte, on the other hand, critiqued modernity by emphasizing the isolation that coincided with it. He felt that because of new technology and the high demand of mass produced items, interaction between people was lost and a reliance on machinery took over. Caillebotte stood out from other impressionist artists because he explored the idea of isolationism by utilizing modern gender roles in relation to the unusual interior and exterior space that he puts them in.   

                In most of Caillebotte’s work, he incorporates some kind of barrier or window to the outside world, which demonstrates tension between domestic space and the outside world in modern life, thus establishing a sense of isolation in the viewer. For example, in his work Young Man at His Window, painted in 1875 depicts a finely dressed, modern man standing at an open window. The interior space is much darker and melancholic than the outside space where the sky is lit up by the shining sun and towering buildings loom in his view. The viewer gets the sense of longing and tension because this man is trapped in this internal space. Tension between gender roles is also present in this piece. In the background, a woman walking down the street catches the man’s stare. Perhaps this is a sign of sexual tension or the question of what constitutes masculinity. Up until this point in time, women were mostly seen in domestic spaces, while the men were out and about making the money. Caillebotte incorporates this switch in gender roles to represent what is happening in modern society.              

                Another painting that delved into the idea of gender roles is Luncheon painted in 1876, just two years after his father’s death. Caillebotte’s family history may be the primary source for his central theme of isolation in painting. In fact, during only a span of four years, he lost his father, his brother, and his mother.  Moreover, Luncheon shows a scene of his mother and brother eating at the family table while a servant brings their food. Caillebotte depicted his mother with an authoritative presence in this painting because of the death of his father. Both mother and son seem occupied with their meal and separate from each other. One other theme that Caillebotte seems to use as the underlying composition for all of his paintings is illusionism and a rapid receding space. For example, in Luncheon, the table is at such a steep perspective that the viewer gets the sense of isolation because there is so much space between the two figures. This is a domestic scene, yet there are men painted within the interior space. Caillebotte was promoting the fact that domestic space can be masculine too. This is also evident in his Floor Scraper painting of 1875. The painting shows three men working in a domestic space. The lighting is dim, and the workers’ faces are kept in the shadows. The feeling of isolation is triggered by the men’s scraping motions moving away from the viewer while their shadows creep into the foreground, creating a somber mood. Similar to Luncheon, each figure is given their own space with hardly any interaction. The verticle lines receding into the background not only give a greater sense of depth and interior space, but it leads the viewer’s eye to the open window on the back wall. The decorative metal on the balcony acts as a barrier, blocking them from the outside world.       

Formal Analysis of Degas

Impressionism is perhaps one of the most fascinating art movements discussed in this series of courses. Artists during this time struggled to compete with new technology such as the camera because of its ability to capture a real, unpredictable moment in time. Thus the birth of impressionism, where art became a moment of modern life captured in a painting; unblended brush strokes are evidence of a fast paced and painterly approach while color was used to enhance a certain mood.  One artist that I have grown to appreciate is Edgar Degas. His painting The Rehearsal on Stage, completed in 1874, uses social commentary to evoke a sense of physical, sexual, and moral tension in depicting modern life.

                Firstly, The Rehearsal on Stage exhibits physical tension by the way that Degas painted the dancers. He has put some of them in strenuous and unnatural poses. For example, the dancer in the center foreground is uncomfortably leaning forward with her legs stretched in front of her. The dancers in the background are on the tips of their toes trying to maintain balance, while the girls on the side look tired and bored. . This painting demonstrates the long and gruesome hours that the young dancers experienced during practice.

                Degas also portrays sexual tension in this painting with his use of imagery. These are young women, dancing in more provocative, revealing dresses.  One important aspect of this painting is the two men sitting in the background on the right side. The men sitting there suggest that they have come to the rehearsal and paid to watch the girls dance. Because of Degas’s impressionistic approach to painting, we cannot make out the detail of the men’s faces; however it is obvious that they are simply there to watch. The men don’t seem to be carrying a conversation as if they are waiting for the rehearsal to end; rather they are relaxed, slumped in their chairs, enjoying the private show. Dancers during this time were typically of the lower class, but the strange thing is that the men watching are wearing suits so they must have been wealthy, not to mention that we are assuming that they paid to be there. In light of this, seeing this painting makes me feel as though it was easier to be taken advantage of, especially being a lower class woman, or perhaps that it was okay for the men to watch because these women were of a lesser rank. This can be interpreted as sexual tension. It almost seems as though the social commentary was showing how exhausted lower class women are of being degraded and simply seen as items of sex, which bring up the question of morality and the moral tension in this scene.      

                One characteristic that makes Degas’s work so interesting is that he was an impressionist, but he sometimes broke away from the style and incorporated more realism. For example, in The Rehearsal on Stage represents impressionism with his use of cropping. The dancer on the left closest to the viewer is cut in half; similar to how a photograph would look. On the other hand, he does not have a fascination with color and light like other impressionist artists. Instead he uses neutral colors and keeps a wide range of values without having one direct light source. Other impressionists painted exactly what was in front of them, which is what made them unique. However, Degas did not attend an actual rehearsal for this painting, but he used models instead. This isn’t a quick representation of life in front of him, however it is contrived. He exhibits a fluid, textured surface of brush strokes while still keeping a flat-like quality in his work.  A couple of elements in this painting in particular are the steepness of the floor and the bass clef in the foreground. In 1853, Japan made itself available in Western trade and diplomacy where art objects and prints became popular in France during the late nineteenth century. Degas was heavily influenced by Japanese wood block prints at this time. His work shares some of the same elements of Japanese wood block prints such as steep receding perspectives, flatness, blocks of color and geometric shapes. In The Rehearsal on Stage, Degas uses outline to shape some of the dancers; for instance the dancer’s legs in the middle ground are outlined and also the dresses of the dancers in the foreground are outlined which produces a flat effect. The bass clefs also reflect the blocks of color seen in the Japanese prints because they are immediately in the foreground and impossible to ignore which also gives the piece a flatness because of the solid dark color.   

                Overall, I love the way Degas incorporated different artistic styles into this painting to achieve a snapshot like scene of modern life in the late nineteenth century.  

Gustave Courbet: Political and Artistic Radicalism

In the nineteenth century, the oppression of the lower class by the bourgeois caused a great deal of political and artistic radicalism. Thus, began the socialist revolution in 1848. One of the avant-guarde painters of this century whose subject matter was based on this oppression of the poor was Gustave Courbet.

          For example, Courbet’s painting The Stone Breakers, completed just one year after Karl Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” in 1848, demonstrates the conditions and lifestyle of the proletariats, or lower working class. This painting shows a young boy struggling to carry a heavy basket of rocks as the gentleman to the right is in an uncomfortable back breaking position hammering away at rocks. It is apparent that the man on the left is older because of the wrinkles on his hands and the highlighted wrinkles on his cheeks where the sun hits his face. This man is trying to survive while working, and he is working in order to survive. Coubet exposes political radicalism by glorifying the working class and recognizing its oppressed state.

          Like few other artists, Courbet wanted to paint exactly what he saw in front of him; this led to a movement called realism, which was the painting of modern life. The rise of realism was inspired by the invention of the camera. Artists were suddenly challenged to keep up with new technology in order to produce images similar to what could be captured by a camera. Some artists intentionally cropped their compositions as if cutting off a section that the camera couldn’t see. However, artists still rejected the standards of the Academy simply because their subject matter was not of mythological or religious narratives; rather they painted what was directly in front of them. This is artistic radicalism. The Stone Breakers is a rather large painting, about five feet by eight and a half feet. Looking at this painting as a bourgeois member would be extremely intimidating and quite offensive. Firstly, it was untraditional for large scale works to be dedicated to “lowly” subject matter. Not to mention that these figures take up most of the painting. The wealthy must have been appalled to see this. Another aspect of artistic radicalism is expressed by Courbet with his rough paint application; he did not leave a smooth glossy finished surface like artists of the Academy would have done. Also, his figures are pushed to the foreground, forcing the viewer to acknowledge them and recognize what they do on an average day. This was happening right in front of him, and that is the very point Courbet was trying to make. The faces and the gazes of the figures are not visible, which gives them an anonymous identity, representing the oppressed class as a whole. Although their faces are not attracting attention, the simplicity and darkness of the background brings the figures into focus that much more. Courbet expresses some disinterest in creating depth and the illusion of perspective with this piece, which is also a sign of artistic radicalism.          

Introduction to Avant-Guarde: Manet

Art created in the nineteenth century created a new category of art called the Avant-Guarde. This is a term first associated with art by Saint Simon, who encouraged artists to create works that motivated society to do things for the greater good. The term Avant-Guarde was originally used to describe the soldiers in the French military who were ahead of the troops. After its association with art, it was coined to identify artists who went beyond others and challenged the artistic standards governed by the Academy. Avant-Guarde is connected with art that is seen as revolutionary, or innovative. Artists considered to be part of this were those who challenged traditional conventions such as realism and illusionism, which is what the Academy holds in high regards.

            Manet is a great example of Avant-Guarde painting. In fact, in 1960 Clement Greenberg, author of the “Modernist Painting” essay, claimed that Manet’s work began the Modernist movement. Greenberg argued that nineteenth century painting started to “purify” itself and get rid of the more traditional elements of art such as illusionism; it simply becomes nothing more than paint on a canvas. One of Manet’s most controversial paintings is Le Dejeuner sur L’herbe. First of all, it is obvious that Manet has broken away from traditional conventions with his technique. Paintings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, for example, were smooth and the paint was well blended and varnished several times. Manet, on the other hand, left his brush strokes visible because he wanted his painting to look flat, to diminish perspective. Manet has given the viewer a reference to the art world with his incorporation of a nude woman. However, alongside the woman are two modern clothed men. This sparks a bit of confusion in the viewer. The men’s style of clothing suggests that this scene takes place in modern day, and that this is a representation of an everyday occurrence. What is so strange is that these characteristics of the naked woman and the men are casually combined into one painting. What is interesting about the naked woman is that she is facing the two men as if engaging in conversation, but she is turned gazing at the viewer as if to include them in the scene. Another element of the Academy’s tradition that Manet ruins is the illusionism of depth. For example, the woman in the water behind the picnic does not appear as far away as the artist is suggesting. In order for the image to make sense spatially, she would have to be much smaller in proportion to the three people in the foreground. In conclusion, Manet’s painting Le Dejeuner sur L’herbe is a perfect example of an Avant-Guarde painting because of his modern approach to subject matter and technique that goes against traditional conventions established by the Academy.       

My Favorite Style within Renaissance Art

I have studied art from the Renaissance period in previous courses. However one aspect of European art that intrigued me in this class was Mannerism. I had never heard the term before taking this class and it was a pleasure to learn about something new and interesting!

                I am an oil painter and I am so fascinated with the Mannerist style because I feel that I have a connection with the strangeness of some works. I completed my first oil painting in high school and most of my inspiration was drawn from Renaissance artists. Though, as an artist, I’ve evolved into more of a surrealist which explains why I enjoy mannerism so much because that seemed to be the ‘Surrealism’ period of the Renaissance.  I love looking at a piece of work and being forced to ask questions. For example, when I first saw the painting Madonna with the Long Neck by Parmigianino, I had several questions going through my head. I wondered why the artist made the child’s body so large and why the Madonna’s head was so tiny, not to mention the un-functional pillar in the background. I couldn’t take my eyes off of this piece because it was so interesting to me. Parmigianino made his figures so realistic in terms of texture and color, which is why the proportions in this composition are so bothersome to look at. For example, if the baby’s head, hands and feet were covered, he would look normal because of the musculature and subtleties that the artist captured. One of my favorite parts of the piece, though, is the set of pillars lined up in the background. Parmigianino has completely de-functionalized classically derived architectural form which is shocking at first glance and makes the piece that much more unpredictable.   

                Another work that held my attention was Allegory with Venus and Cupid by Bronzino. This painting appears to be completely bizarre to most of its viewers and to me it seems a bit overwhelming. However, I am so attracted to this piece because of its strange ability to hypnotize the viewer into believing that the imagery is acceptable. The situation depicted in this painting is disturbing and uncomfortable but is redeemed by its unique characteristics and different taste that makes the viewer want to analyze every part of it. I am obsessed with the awkward poses that Bronzino has trapped the figures in. I even find a bit of humor looking at this painting simply because the inappropriate behavior between Cupid and Venus is unsettling as it is, but then to the right of them, a young child is running up about the throw flower petals at them as if celebrating their relationship. It is so absurd, I love it!

                In my own work, I tend to exaggerate details and color. I am attracted to vibrant and unnatural color while utilizing true-to-life characteristics. As did the mannerist artists, I am inspired by naturalistic and classical artistic styles, but I exaggerate them while keeping the imagery believable.