Origins of Modern Art

Chapter 1

“What is Art?”

“I have seen and heard much of cockney impudence before now, but

never expected a coxcomb to ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of

paint in the public’s face.”

John Ruskin, 1877

Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling RocketJames McNeill Whistlerc1875Oil on Panel23 x 18 inchesDetroit Institute of Art

Art for art’s sake

The value of “true” art has no didactic, moral or utilitarian function.

Théophile Gautier“everything useful is ugly”

Truth in Nature

To promote moral value as well as aesthetic pleasure.

John Ruskin“Art is not a study of positive reality, it

is the seeking for ideal truth.”

The Changing Art Experience

Prior to the 18th centuryOnly seen in the galleries of the wealthyCommon people saw art in the Church

During the 18th centuryArt DealersSalonsCriticsArt DealersCollectors

The Modern Artist

Prior to the 18th centuryEmulationInventiveness within the tradition

During the 18th centuryArtist’s unique vision, unconstrained by academic practice and freed from the pictorial conventions that had been obeyed since the Renaissance.

Economic Changes

Mercantilism

Capitalism

Bourgeoisie

Le Salon Carré au Musée du Louvre Giuseppe Castiglione1861Oil on Canvas69 x 103 cmMusee du LouvreParis, France

Oath of the HoratiiJacques-Louis David1784Oil on Canvas10 feet 10 inches x 14 feetMusee du LouvreParis, France

Holy Family on the StepsNicolas Puussin1648Oil on Canvas28 x 44 inchesCleveland Museum of ArtCleveland, OH

Grande OdalisqueJean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres1814Oil on Canvas36 x 64 inchesMusee du LouvreParis, France

The Disasters of WarPlate 30Francisco de Goya y Lucientes1810-11 Etching5 x 6 1/8 inchesHispanic Society of AmericaNew York, NY

The Lion HuntEugene Delacriox1861Oil on Canvas30 1/8 x 38 ¾ inchesThe Art Institute of ChicagoChicago, IL

Cloister Graveyard in the SnowCaspar David Friederich1819Oil on Canvas48 x 67Formerly at the NationalgalerieBerlin GermanyDestroyed during World War II

The Burning of the Houses of ParlimentJoseph Mallord William Turner1834-35Oil on CanvasCleveland Museum of ArtCleveland, OH

The Edge of the Woods at Monts-Girard, Fontainebleau ForestThéodore Rousseau1854Oil on wood31 1/2 x 48 inchesThe Metropolitan Museum of ArtNew York, NY

The AngelusJean-François Millet1857-1859Oil on Canvas21 ½ x 25 7/8 inchesMusée d'OrsayParis, France

NocturneJames McNeill Whistler1878Lithotint with scraping, on a prepared half-tint ground6 3/4 x 10 1/8 inchesMetropolitan Museum of ArtNew York, NY

For Tuesday

Read Chapter 2