19c avant-garde 3

THE AVANT GARDE Part 3: 

1 THE AVANT GARDE Part 3 THE POST IMPRESSIONISTS

THE POST IMPRESSIONISTS: 

2 THE POST IMPRESSIONISTS The Post Impressionists should not be considered ANTI-Impressionists. Actually, they built on the advances of avant-garde art before them, from early Realism to Impressionism. The best-known Post Impressionists are Van Gogh & Gauguin. Both of them knew & admired the accomplishments of older artists like Courbet, Manet & Monet.

CLAUDE MONET, Impression: Sunrise, 1872. Oil on canvas, 1’ 7 1/2” x 2’ 1 1/2”. The IMPRESSIONISTS--who considered themselves Realists– preferred lyrical, sunlit beauty.: 

3 CLAUDE MONET, Impression: Sunrise , 1872. Oil on canvas, 1’ 7 1/2” x 2’ 1 1/2”. The IMPRESSIONISTS--who considered themselves Realists– preferred lyrical, sunlit beauty .

They often depicted carefree Parisians at play… PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, Le Moulin de la Galette, 1876. : 

4 They often depicted carefree Parisians at play… PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR, Le Moulin de la Galette , 1876.

Many of their canvases are paeans to the City of Light. GUSTAVE CAILLEBOTTE, Paris: A Rainy Day, 1877. : 

5 Many of their canvases are paeans to the City of Light. GUSTAVE CAILLEBOTTE, Paris: A Rainy Day , 1877.

CAMILLE PISSARRO, La Place du Théâtre Français, 1898. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 1/2” x 3’ 1/2”. LACMA. : 

6 CAMILLE PISSARRO, La Place du Théâtre Français , 1898. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 1/2” x 3’ 1/2”. LACMA.

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7 But not all of the modern city was a beautiful, comfortable, easy place… Atget photo of the Zonard shanty town Manet’s Ragpicker , 1869

In the nineteenth century, industrialization spread throughout Europe & the U.S. Below: Industrialization in 1850: 

In the nineteenth century, industrialization spread throughout Europe & the U.S. Below: Industrialization in 1850 8

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With industrialization come the horrors of modern city life: Overpopulation Pollution Labor abuses Unemployment Urban poverty Slums Cholera epidemics Crime on an unprecedented level, including mass murderers like Jack the Ripper… ARTISTS RESPONDED TO THESE CHANGES IN A VARIETY OF WAYS. ( Did you know that murder mystery writer Patricia Cornwell has suggested that the Ripper was an artist?) To the right: Lewis Hine’s “Making Human Junk,” in protest of child labor abuses, from 1915. 9

Many artists saw a darker side of the modern city. HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892–1895. Oil on canvas, approx. 4’ x 4’ 7”. The Art Institute of Chicago.: 

10 Many artists saw a darker side of the modern city. HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, At the Moulin Rouge , 1892–1895. Oil on canvas, approx. 4’ x 4’ 7”. The Art Institute of Chicago.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901): 

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) 11

Perhaps the most famous artistic response to the nightmares of the modern city: EDVARD MUNCH, The Cry, 1893. Oil, pastel & casein on cardboard, 2’ 11 3/4” x 2’ 5”. National Gallery, Oslo. : 

12 Perhaps the most famous artistic response to the nightmares of the modern city: EDVARD MUNCH, The Cry , 1893. Oil, pastel & casein on cardboard, 2’ 11 3/4” x 2’ 5”. National Gallery, Oslo.

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13 Munch’s painting is so famous, you can even buy a blow-up doll of the painting image!

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14 Some artists chose to abandon the city, to get away from all of the “civilized” problems like overcrowding, pollution, unemployment & crime. Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) moved to the South of France. Paul Gauguin moved to rural Brittany, then on to Tahiti .

But even in a rural village, Van Gogh felt the ominous presence of evil. VINCENT VAN GOGH, The Night Café, 1888. : 

15 But even in a rural village, Van Gogh felt the ominous presence of evil. VINCENT VAN GOGH, The Night Café , 1888.

Van Gogh on The Night Café (Letter to Theo, September 1888): 

16 Van Gogh on The Night Café (Letter to Theo, September 1888) VINCENT WROTE TO HIS BROTHER THEO (AN ART DEALER LIVING IN PARIS): I have tried to express the terrible passions of humanity by means of red and green. The room is blood red and dark yellow with a green billiard table in the middle; there are four lemon-yellow lamps with a glow of orange and green. Everywhere there is a clash and contrast of the most alien reds and greens, in the figures of little sleeping hooligans, in the empty dreary room, in violet and blue. The blood-red and the yellow-green of the billiard table, for instance, contrast with the soft tender Louis XV green of the counter, on which there is a rose nosegay. The white clothes of the landlord, watchful in a corner of that furnace, turn lemon-yellow, or pale luminous green.

Van Gogh also found radiant spiritual beauty in the night sky. VINCENT VAN GOGH, Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5” x 3’ 1/4”. Museum of Modern Art, New York. : 

17 Van Gogh also found radiant spiritual beauty in the night sky. VINCENT VAN GOGH, Starry Night , 1889. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5” x 3’ 1/4”. Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Van Gogh’s iconic painting has been copied thousands, perhaps millions, of times.: 

18 Van Gogh’s iconic painting has been copied thousands, perhaps millions, of times.

Like his friend Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) left Paris & moved to the French countryside. He sought a kind of “primitive” spirituality in the peasants there. PAUL GAUGUIN, The Vision after the Sermon or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, 1888. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 3/4” x 3’ 1/2”. : 

19 Like his friend Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) left Paris & moved to the French countryside. He sought a kind of “primitive” spirituality in the peasants there. PAUL GAUGUIN, The Vision after the Sermon or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel , 1888. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 3/4” x 3’ 1/2”.

Gauguin soon realized he had to leave Europe to find what he was seeking. He moved to Tahiti, a French colony at the time, & painted the native people there. PAUL GAUGUIN, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897. Oil on canvas, 4’ 6 13/ 16” x 12’ 3”. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.: 

20 Gauguin soon realized he had to leave Europe to find what he was seeking. He moved to Tahiti, a French colony at the time, & painted the native people there. PAUL GAUGUIN, Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897. Oil on canvas, 4’ 6 13/ 16” x 12’ 3”. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

GEORGES SEURAT wanted to add science, geometry & solidity to the Impressionist vision. Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884–1886. Oil on canvas, approx. 6’ 9” ´ 10’. The Art Institute of Chicago.: 

21 GEORGES SEURAT wanted to add science, geometry & solidity to the Impressionist vision. Georges Seurat, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte , 1884–1886. Oil on canvas, approx. 6’ 9” ´ 10’. The Art Institute of Chicago.

GEORGES SEURAT, detail of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884–1886. : 

22 GEORGES SEURAT, detail of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte , 1884–1886.

PAUL CÉZANNE wanted to explore space & volume. Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902–1904. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3” x 2’ 11”. Philadelphia Museum of Art.: 

23 PAUL CÉZANNE wanted to explore space & volume. Cezanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire , 1902–1904. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3” x 2’ 11” . Philadelphia Museum of Art.

PAUL CÉZANNE, The Basket of Apples, ca. 1895. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3/8” x 2’ 7”. The Art Institute of Chicago.: 

24 PAUL CÉZANNE, The Basket of Apples , ca. 1895. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3/8” x 2’ 7”. The Art Institute of Chicago.

Cezanne’s paintings are analytical. The objects in his still lifes are visually analyzed from multiple perspectives.: 

Cezanne’s paintings are analytical. The objects in his still lifes are visually analyzed from multiple perspectives. 25

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26 Both Seurat’s analysis of color & Cezanne’s analysis of space & volume were influenced by scientific advances of their era. Other scientific advances made great innovations in architecture possible.

Even as some painters bemoaned the modern city, architects began creating the enduring icons of their cities: ALEXANDRE-GUSTAVE EIFFEL, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1889. Wrought iron, 984’ high.: 

27 Even as some painters bemoaned the modern city, architects began creating the enduring icons of their cities: ALEXANDRE-GUSTAVE EIFFEL, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1889. Wrought iron, 984’ high.

One of the first skyscrapers: LOUIS SULLIVAN, Guaranty (Prudential) Building, Buffalo, 1894–1896. : 

28 One of the first skyscrapers: LOUIS SULLIVAN, Guaranty (Prudential) Building, Buffalo, 1894–1896.

End of the 19th Century: 

29 End of the 19th Century As you have seen, the end of the 19th century was characterized by remarkable diversity in artistic style & intention. The accomplishments of the Post Impressionists led the way to the revolutionary avant-garde developments of early 20th century High Modernism.