An introduction to nineteenth century art

465 Pages·85.516 MB·English

by  Facos, Michelle

An Introduction to
Nineteenth-Century Art
U
sing the tools of the “new” art history (feminism, context of aesthetic, cultural, intellectual, social, and
Marxism, social context, etc.) An Introduction to political conditions in which artists were working.
Nineteenth-Century Art offers a richly textured,
• Beautifully illustrated with over 250 color images.
yet clear and logical, introduction to nineteenth-century
art and culture. This textbook will provide readers with a • Margin notes and glossary definitions.
basic historical framework of the period and the critical
• Online resources at www.routledge.com/
tools for interpreting and situating new and unfamiliar
textbooks/facos with access to a wealth of
works of art.
information, including original documents pertaining
Michelle Facos goes beyond existing histories
to artworks discussed in the textbook, contemporary
of nineteenth-century art, which often focus solely on
criticism, timelines and maps to enrich your
France, Britain, and the United States, to incorporate
understanding of the period and allow for further
artists and artworks from Scandinavia, Germany, and
comparison and exploration.
Eastern Europe.
The book expertly balances its coverage of trends
Chapters take a thematic approach combined within an
and individual artworks: where the salient trends are clear,
overarching chronology and more detailed discussions
trend-setting works are highlighted, and the complexity
of individual works are always put in the context of the
of the period is respected by situating all works in their
broader social picture, thus providing students with a
proper social and historical context. In this way, the
sense of art history as a controversial and alive arena of
student reader achieves a more nuanced understanding
study.
of the way in which the story of nineteenth-century
art is the story of the ways in which artists and society
Michelle Facos teaches art history at Indiana University,
grappled with the problem of modernity.
Bloomington. Her research explores the changing
Key pedagogical features include: relationship between artists and society since the
Enlightenment and issues of identity. Prior publications
• Data boxes provide statistics, timelines, charts, and
include Nationalism and the Nordic Imagination: Swedish
historical information about the period to further
Painting of the 1890s (1998), Art, Culture and National
situate artworks.
Identity in Fin-de-Siècle Europe, co-edited with Sharon Hirsh
• Text boxes highlight extracts from original sources, (2003), and Symbolist Art in Context (2009).
citing the ideas of artists and their contemporaries,
including historians, philosophers, critics, and
theorists, to place artists and works in the broader
“Finally, an updated, delightfully usable survey of nineteenth-century art is available.
The text is clearly written, jargon free yet conceptually informed, and clearly organized.
Facos expands areas that are sparsely covered in other surveys, for example history of
photography, women in art, and landscape as a genre. The boxes with primary sources
and the easy-to-access online extension of the text are ideal ways to open up complex
issues and elegantly facilitate open-ended classroom discussion.”
Lucy Bowditch, The College of Saint Rose, Albany, USA
“This fresh survey of nineteenth-century art provides a welcome new perspective.
Redressing a long overdue imbalance, artistic developments in America, Britain,
Eastern Europe, Germany, and Scandinavia are set beside the familiar story of French
art, enriching our understanding of the historical context. The many insights and
discoveries in this text make it useful to anyone interested in this fundamental era of
modern art.”
Jeffery Howe, Boston College, USA
“European and American art of the nineteenth century cannot be understood apart
from the social conditions of the day. Michelle Facos recognizes this, explaining the
significance of the visual arts of this tumultuous century in relation to such historical
forces as the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, the nascent women’s movement,
nationalism, and imperialism. Yet Facos never takes her eyes off the real focus of the
book: painting, sculpture, and graphic arts produced in Europe and North America
between 1750 and 1900. Her close analysis of artworks emphasizes aesthetic traditions
while also highlighting artistic innovation.”
Elizabeth Mansfield, New York University, USA
“This is an excellent textbook for students of nineteenth-century art. Facos’s synthesis
ranges widely across the countries and genres of nineteenth-century Europe. The
emphasis on Paris, characteristic of many other such textbooks, is modified by
broadening horizons to include developments in Germany, Britain, Scandinavia, Italy
and central Europe. The traditional modernist narrative is displaced by an open-
textured historical approach in which the diversity of art production is brought to life
in its own context and understood on its own terms. The book is cogent in its broad
outlines while also offering compelling readings of individual case-studies that will
awaken the interest and curiosity of students. An impressive achievement.”
Nina Lübbren, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
“This is an engaging and stimulating analysis of art in the ‘long nineteenth-century’.
Beginning its narrative in the late eighteenth-century, the book offers a view of
art which is clear and consistent but never simplistic or reductive. Michelle Facos
manages a neat trick of being simultaneously nuanced and subtle, yet also direct
and transparent … The complex variety of ways in which an image can relate to its
contemporary world, through subject, technique, embedded narrative, genre, fashion
and more, are all discussed in a relaxed and confident manner which never allows the
complexity to become confusion … I enjoyed this book.”
John Morrison, University of Aberdeen, UK
An Introduction to
Nineteenth-Century Art
M i c h e l l e Fa c o s
First published 2011 in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
711 Third Ave, New York, NY 10017
Simultaneously published in the UK
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2011 Michelle Facos
The right of Michelle Facos to be identified as author of this work has been asserted
by her in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988.
Typeset in Garamond by Saxon Graphics Ltd, Derby
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized
in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Facos, Michelle.
An introduction to nineteenth century art : artists and the challenge of modernity /
Michelle Facos. — 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Art, Modern—19th century. 2. Art and society—History—19th century. I. Title.
II. Title: Introduction to 19th century art. III. Title: Artists and the challenge of
modernity.
N6450.F35 2011
709.03’4—dc22
2010031377
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN13: 978-0-415-78070-4 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-415-78072-8 (pbk)
ISBN13: 978-0-203-83307-0 (ebk)
Contents
List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ x
Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................... xxvi
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1
Chapter 1: A Time of Transition 5
Social Critique ......................................................................................................... 6
Moral Reform ......................................................................................................... 8
Monarch as Model ............................................................................................... 11
Era of Change ...................................................................................................... 13
Age of Discovery ................................................................................................. 14
Grand Tour ........................................................................................................... 16
Antiquity Becomes Fashionable ........................................................................ 19
Neoclassical Style ................................................................................................. 23
Calm Grandeur in Dante .................................................................................... 25
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 26
Chapter 2: Classical Influences and Radical Transformations 28
Neoclassicism in Britain ...................................................................................... 28
Neoclassicism Becomes Popular ....................................................................... 33
The Elgin Marbles ............................................................................................... 35
Homer Illustrations ............................................................................................. 35
Political Instability in France .............................................................................. 37
D’Angiviller’s Reform Program ......................................................................... 38
Roman Virtue ....................................................................................................... 38
Neoclassical Eroticism ........................................................................................ 44
Neoclassical Sculpture ......................................................................................... 46
Neoclassicism in Denmark and the German States ....................................... 48
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 51
Chapter 3: Re-presenting Contemporary History 52
Legitimizing Contemporary History ................................................................. 52
Painting of Contemporary History in France ................................................. 55
Political Instability ................................................................................................ 55
New Hero for a New Republic .......................................................................... 56
Equestrian Portraits: Rulers on Horseback ...................................................... 58
Neoclassicism Made Ridiculous ......................................................................... 62
Legitimizing Bonaparte ....................................................................................... 63
Transgressive History Painting .......................................................................... 66
Representing Republican Values ........................................................................ 69
Establishing Museums ......................................................................................... 74
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 76
Contents v
Chapter 4: Romanticism 77
Origins and Characteristics ................................................................................. 78
Burke’s Sublime .................................................................................................... 78
Blake and the Imagination .................................................................................. 82
Nature Mysticism ................................................................................................. 85
Goya: Ambiguity and Modernism ..................................................................... 87
Abnormal Mental States ..................................................................................... 93
Sculpture ................................................................................................................ 96
Escape to the National Past: England .............................................................. 98
Medievalism in France: Troubadour Style ...................................................... 100
Medievalism in the German States .................................................................. 103
The Nazarenes .................................................................................................... 106
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 109
Chapter 5: Shifting Focus: Art and the Natural World 110
New Attitudes Toward Nature ......................................................................... 110
Academic Landscape Tradition ........................................................................ 112
Nature and the Sublime .................................................................................... 114
The Picturesque .................................................................................................. 116
Turner: From Convention to Innovation ....................................................... 118
Constable: Conservative Nostalgia .................................................................. 121
Naturalism and Tourism ................................................................................... 124
Friedrich: Patriotism and Spirituality ............................................................... 128
Feminization of Nature .................................................................................... 131
Hudson River School ........................................................................................ 133
American West .................................................................................................... 137
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 138
Chapter 6: Colonialism, Imperialism, Orientalism 140
Documenting Distant Lands and Peoples ..................................................... 141
Colonial Citizens ................................................................................................ 144
Picturing Slavery ................................................................................................. 146
Native Americans: Ideal or Foe? ..................................................................... 150
Orientalism Emerges ......................................................................................... 154
Orient Imagined ................................................................................................. 156
Delacroix’s Orientalism ..................................................................................... 158
Orientalist Sculpture .......................................................................................... 162
International Exhibitions .................................................................................. 164
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 165
Chapter 7: New Audiences, New Approaches 166
Modernism, Urbanization, Instability ............................................................. 166
Bourgeois Morality and the Separation of Spheres ...................................... 170
Biedermeier and the Emergence of Middle-class Culture .......................... 171
Biedermeier Portraiture ..................................................................................... 175
Biedermeier Cityscapes ..................................................................................... 177
Biedermeier Peasant Painting ........................................................................... 178
vi Contents
Biedermeier Landscape ..................................................................................... 178
Biedermeier History Painting ........................................................................... 180
Golden Age in Denmark .................................................................................. 181
Biedermeier in Russia ........................................................................................ 182
Mid-Century America ........................................................................................ 183
Victorian Painting .............................................................................................. 185
Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood ............................................................................ 185
Municipal Art Associations .............................................................................. 192
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 193
Chapter 8: Photography as Fact and Fine Art 194
“Invention” of Photography ............................................................................ 194
Documenting Current Events ......................................................................... 197
Social Reform ..................................................................................................... 201
Photography and Science .................................................................................. 203
Portraiture ........................................................................................................... 204
Landscape ............................................................................................................ 207
Travel .................................................................................................................... 209
Photography as a Fine Art ................................................................................ 210
Pictorialism and New Technologies ................................................................ 216
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 217
Chapter 9: Realism and the Urban Poor 218
Contrasting Responses to 1848 ........................................................................ 219
Urban Migration ................................................................................................. 222
Social Unrest ....................................................................................................... 224
Alcoholism .......................................................................................................... 225
Female Suicide .................................................................................................... 227
Middle-class Working Women ......................................................................... 230
Poor Working Women ....................................................................................... 232
Prostitution ......................................................................................................... 235
Documenting Work ........................................................................................... 239
Idealized Labor ................................................................................................... 240
Oppressed Workers ........................................................................................... 243
Reforming the Poor ........................................................................................... 244
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 246
Chapter 10: Imagined Communities: Views of Peasant Life 247
Peasant Identity .................................................................................................. 248
Peasant Imagery Before 1848 ........................................................................... 249
Courbet’s Burial: More than Just a Funeral .................................................... 250
Academically Acceptable Peasant Images ...................................................... 251
Powerful Peasants: Heroic or Threatening? ................................................... 254
Pitiable Peasants ................................................................................................. 258
Idealized Peasants .............................................................................................. 261
Grim Realities ..................................................................................................... 265
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 271
Contents vii
Chapter 11: Crisis in the Academy 272
The Importance of Titles ................................................................................. 273
History Painting and Autobiography: Courbet ............................................. 276
The Situation of Women Artists ..................................................................... 279
Salon of 1863 and Salon des Refusés ............................................................. 280
Salon of 1865 ..................................................................................................... 286
Sculpture and Politics ........................................................................................ 290
Foreign Artists in Paris ...................................................................................... 293
Art Academies in Austria and the German States ........................................ 294
Menzel and Academic Realism ........................................................................ 300
World’s Fairs ........................................................................................................ 302
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 304
Chapter 12: Impressionism 305
Truth .................................................................................................................... 306
Haussmannization .............................................................................................. 306
New Paris ............................................................................................................ 308
Flâneurs and Boulevardiers .................................................................................... 310
Experimentation ................................................................................................. 311
Old Paris .............................................................................................................. 313
Bourgeois Leisure .............................................................................................. 314
Café Society ......................................................................................................... 317
Suburban Industry ............................................................................................. 319
Suburban Leisure ............................................................................................... 320
Natural and Acquired Identities ...................................................................... 323
Gare Saint Lazare ............................................................................................... 324
Seaside Resorts ................................................................................................... 326
Beaches, Bathing, and Hygiene ........................................................................ 329
Cézanne and Postimpressionism ..................................................................... 333
The Macchiaioli .................................................................................................. 336
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 337
Chapter 13: Symbolism 339
Symbolist Precursors ......................................................................................... 340
Animate Nature .................................................................................................. 344
Music .................................................................................................................... 346
Music and Genius .............................................................................................. 346
Rodin: Abstract Ideas in Human Form .......................................................... 348
Pessimistic Withdrawal ...................................................................................... 352
Women: Angels or Whores? ............................................................................. 355
Imagination Out of Control ............................................................................ 356
Virgin Mothers ................................................................................................... 357
Social Pessimism ................................................................................................ 358
Memory and Degeneration .............................................................................. 360
Gauguin: Seeking but Never Finding .............................................................. 362
Van Gogh: Expressing Nature ......................................................................... 365
Genius and Creativity ........................................................................................ 367
viii Contents
Beyond the Five Senses ..................................................................................... 369
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 370
Chapter 14: Individualism and Collectivism 371
Artists’ Colonies ................................................................................................. 372
Pont Aven ............................................................................................................ 372
Worpswede .......................................................................................................... 376
Skagen .................................................................................................................. 378
Artist Organizations .......................................................................................... 380
Society of Independent Artists ........................................................................ 381
The Nabis ............................................................................................................ 381
Rose + Croix ....................................................................................................... 385
Les XX ................................................................................................................. 385
National Identity ................................................................................................ 387
France: Monet’s Cathedrals .............................................................................. 388
Russia ................................................................................................................... 390
Serbia .................................................................................................................... 393
Poland .................................................................................................................. 394
Finland ................................................................................................................. 397
Hungary ............................................................................................................... 399
Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 401
Epilogue: Looking Toward the Twentieth Century ............................................................... 403
Glossary .............................................................................................................................. 404
Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 406
Index .................................................................................................................................. 411
Contents ix