EUROPE AND AMERICA 1870-1900

April 15, 1874, the first of eight exhibitions for a group of artists opened in Paris at 35 Boulevard des Capucines. It was in vacated rooms of the photographer, Nadar. The artists that exhibited in the show were called ‘rebels’, ‘intransigents’, ‘the Japanese painters’ and ‘the actualists’. The exhibiting artists were rejected by the Salon Juries. They formed a Cooperative Society of Artist–Painters. Thirty artists showed their work at that time. Among those were Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, Paul Cezanne, Berthe Morisot, and Pissarro.1

 

1Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p. 3.

The French Impressionists

Up to this time the arts were in a type of control by the Academy that was taught at the E´cole

des Beaux-Arts. It ‘asserted the choice of the laureates of competitions and the Salon jury’. 2

 

THE ACADEMY

Painters, the Salon, and Critics, 1848-1870http://www.musee-orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf

The following is a brief overview of the requirements that the painters needed to meet for the Academy:

•“Respect the ‘hierarchy of genres” (which was History Painting with religious, mythological or historical subjects, then came scenes of everyday life, portraits, then landscapes and the least was still-lifes. The most important would be displayed in large formats and the least important would be in the small format style. •“Support the prevalence of drawing over colour”

•“Prefer the workshop to the open air”

•“Make ‘finished’ pieces”

•“Imitate the elders, imitate nature”3

3IBIDhttp://www.musee-orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf

When Louis Leroy saw Claude Monet’s painting, “Impression, Sunrise”, he remarked : ‘What is this canvas trying to say?’ ‘Impression, Sunrise’, ‘Impression—I was certain of it. I kept telling myself that since I was impressed there had to be some impression in it. What freedom, what ease of workmanship. Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished than that painting.’4

4Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, pp. 3-4.

“Another critic of the period instructed those who would paint in the new school: ‘Mix three quarts of black and white on canvas, rub yellow all over, add a few touches of red and blue at random, and there you have it. An Impression of springtime’ ”.5

5Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p.4.

In “The Impressionists”, by Courthion Pierre, it describes the progression of artists’ contributions that eventually resulted in the arrival of the Impressionists. Claude Lorrain (in the late 17th century), was the first to paint light at different hours of the day. He also studied the effects of light on water. Delacroix used color “filled with the fever of desire”. Turner used ‘torrents of light and color’. Manet used sunlight and clarity to “reflect [his] own life and time.” 6

• 6Pierre Courthion, The Impressionists, p. 4.

The Impressionists were branded socialists, anarchists and dangerous revolutionaries. They were deeply misunderstood. With difficulty, Roger Marx managed to include them in the Universal Exposition (World’s Fair) of 1900. When President Loubet arrived at the hall he was greeted by Gerome, who barred his entrance, exclaiming, ‘Don’t go in, Mr. President, for there stands the dishonor of France.’ To this mediocre painter, “Manet was a scribbler, Monet a fraud [and] Renoir, Pissarro, Sisley,…were actual criminals who were corrupting influences on a generation of young artists.”7

7Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, p. 6.

“But the tide was turning. At the same time Andre Perate gave Impressionism excellent reviews: ‘To fragment rays of light, to seize the very palpitations of the air, to follow its flow around the object and to envelope it in color; here is the enterprise of Impressionism.’ ”8

7Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists, p. 6.

Claude Monet 1840 – 1926Monet, Water Lilies, 1916-1919

Oil on Canvas, Musée Marmottan

Auguste Renoir1841 – 1919Self Portrait

Auguste RenoirDance at the Moulin de la Galette 1876, oil on canvasMusée d'Orsay

Edgar DegasSelf Portrait (Silver Print)

1895

Edgar Degas, French, 1834-1917The Rehearsal Onstage,1874?

Pastel over brush-and-ink drawing

Berthe Morisot1841 – 1895

Morisot, Berthe, 1841-1895In the Dining Room,1886,

oil on canvas

National Gallery of Art

Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863-1865, oil on canvas, 130.5 x 190 cmMusée d'Orsay

AMERICAN ART 1870 – 1900

American Art during 1860 to 1900

During these years, Europe had a great influence on American Art. The major American Artists traveled to Europe and absorbed the knowledge they could attain there. Paris became the most important art center. With the influence of European Art in America, other positive events occurred. Museums and art schools opened in American, including, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (1870), the Massachusetts School of Art in Boston (1873), The Rhode Island School of Design in Providence (1877). Thirty-nine art schools were in operation in 1882. Other specialized groups also immerged such as the American Society of Painter in Water Color (1866) and the Society of American Etchers in 1880.8

8Matthew Baigell, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, pp. 122-123

The American Painters colors in their paintings became lighter and more colorful during 1870s. Americans, for the most part were wary of Impressionism when it first began. Impressionism in America was different than in Europe, as it was a “decorative mode rather than a technique to explore color relationships”9

9Ibid. p. 124.

Another movement also arrived in America called the American Renaisance. In Wayne Craven’s book, American Art, History and Culture, he talks about the American Renaissance in art and Architecture as being “…a spirit that was…more associated with European culture, particularly that of the Renaissance and Baroque periods. American millionaires saw themselves as the modernday counterparts of European aristocracy, and wished to live in homes that resembled sixteenth-century palaces of Italian princes or seventeenth-century chateaux of French nobility.”10

10Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston.

Some of the American artists at this time either lived abroad for a number of years or were influenced by their visits there. Mary Cassatt, born in Pittsburgh, was taken to Europe while still a child. When going back to Pennsylvania, she studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy and in 1866 she returned to Paris and made it her home. She was considered the only American Artist in Europe to become a member of the European ‘Impressionists’.11

11Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.347.

12Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.332.

George Inness started his style of painting in the Hudson River School (a school in New York). After a trip to France in 1853, he was influenced by the Barbizon painters and began using the loose brushwork and softness in this style.12

James Abbott McNeill Whistler was born an American but taken to Russia by his family where his father worked as a railroad engineer. He later settled in Paris and was influenced by Gustave Courbet and Edouard Manet.13

13Ibid. P.342.

Winslow Homer went to France and learned about the works of Courbet and Manet also. Their work was based on observation of nature with light on them. Homer became interested in painting subjects of women engaged in casual social activities, with effects of light upon the color and form. One of his favorite subjects was painting boys life styles of working, playing and leisure. 14

 

14Ibid. p. 335.

Tomas Eakins art changed after studying in Europe also. He traveled to Spain and was influenced by the 16th and 17th century Baroque painters Diego de Velazaquez and Jusepe de Rivera. In Paris he was tutored by Leon Bonnat . By the time Eakins returned to America, he had brought with him his new themes in his paintings of outdoor activities such as rowing and sailing.15

13Ibid. P. 339.

John Singer Sargent was born in Florence Italy. 16

16Ibid. P. 345.

Some of the American Painters were interested in Japanese art. These painters began using the bright, arbitrary Japanese print colors, patterns and contours with simplified detail and loss of depth. Homer, La Farge, Whistler and Mary Cassatt were among these painters.17 Mary Cassatt had a collection of Japanese prints by Hokusai, Hiroshige, and Utamaro.18

17Matthew Baigell, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, p. 126, 18Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, p.347

American Artists such as Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Moran provided vital information about the western landscapes for the Eastern seaboard and which later contributed to the conservation movement and the creation of the National Park System.19

19Ibid.p.126.

Two types of still life paintings became popular. One was the flower paintings and the other objects.

In the object category, was a type of ‘ultra-realistic’ object painting called, trompe l’oeil. William Michael Harnett was one of the most noted American to paint in the trompe l’ oeil style.20

20ibid. p. 177.

•Albert Bierstadt, American, Solingen 1830-1902 New York City, Sunrise on the Matterhorn, Paint, after 1875, Oil on canvas, 58 1/2 x 42 5/8 in. (148.6 x 108.3 cm),The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

•Mary Stevenson Cassatt, 1844-1926,The Bath, Prints, 1890-1899, Drypoint, softground etching and aquatint in color, 32.1 x 24.8 cm (12 5/8 x 9 3/4 in.), Museum

of Fine Arts, Boston

•Mary Cassatt, North American; American, 1845 - 1926, (artist), The Lamp, Prints, 1890-1891, drypoint, etching and aquatint, ARTstor Collection, The Cleveland Museum of Art Collection

Cassatt, Mary, 1844-1926, Portrait of Cassatt (by Degas), c.1880-84, ARTstor Slide Gallery

Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Mother Holding Her Child in Her Arms,Painting, c. 1890, oil on canvas, Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Russia

Mary Cassatt, The Child’s Bath, painting, 1893, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Paul Cézanne, Castle and Village of Medan, painting, c. 1885, Art Focus (Zurich, Switzerland)

Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire, painting, c. 1897, Baltimore Museum of Art

Morse, Samuel Finley Breese, Exhibition gallery of the Louvre, 1833, Syracuse University. Art Collections.

Edgar Degas, Two Dancers Resting (Two Dancers in Blue, 1898, Musée d’Orsay.

Edgar Degas, Dancers On Stage, Pastel and gouache on

paper, 1879, Fundacion Coleccion Thyssen-Bornemisza.Edgar Degas, The Rehersal On Stage, 1874?, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Gustave Caillebotte, A Paris Street, Rain, c. 1877, Art Institute of Chicago.

Eugene Delacroix, Tiger Hunt, 1854, Musée Orsay.

Thomas Eakins, Starting Out After Rail, 1874 Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Thomas Eakins, The Champion Single Sculls, 1871, The

Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Thomas Gainsborough, Mrs. Charles Tudway, 1760-1765, Baltimore Museum of Art

William Michael Harnett, Still Life-Violin and Music, 1888, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

George Inness, Orange Road, Tarpon Springs, about 1893, The Indianapolis Museum of Art.

George Inness, The Mill Stream, about 1888, The Montclair Art Museum

George Inness, Delaware Water Gap, 1861, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Susan MacDowell Eakins, Portrait of Thomas Eakins, 1920-25, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Poplars on the Bank of the Epte River, painting, c. 1891, Oil on canvas, 39 ½ x 25 11/16 inchesPhiladelphia Museum of Art.Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36, Ohara Bijutsukan.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36, Ohara Bijutsukan.

Berthe Morisot, In the Dining Room, 1886, National Gallery of Art

(U.S.).

Moran, Thomas, Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone river, c. 1893-1901, National Collection of Fine Arts (U.S.).

Berthe Morisot, Self Portrai, 1885, ARTstor Slide Gallery.

Éduard Manet, Olympia, c. 1863-1865, Musée d'Orsay.

Éduard Manet, A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, c. 1881-1882, Courtauld Institute of Art, London, England, United Kingdom

Claude Lorrain, Seaport at Sunset, c. 1639, Musée du Louvre.

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave at Kanagawa (from a Series of Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji), Edo period (1615-18Edo period (1615-1868), ca. 1830-3268), ca. 1830-32, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Toyohara Kunichika, Japanese, Album of Thirty-Two Triptychs of Polychrome Woodblock Prints by Various Artists; Ichikawa Sadanji in Keian Taiheiki, Meiji period (1868-1912), ca. 1883-86. The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Japanese, Princess Yaegaki, 19th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Nympheas (Waterlilies), painting, c. 1903, 73 x 92, Musée Marmottan

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1916-1919, 150 x 200, Musée Marmottan.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies at Giverny, painting, c. 1918, 194 x 100 cm, Private Collection, Switzerland.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Impression, Sunrise, c. 1872, 48 x 63 cm, Musée Marmottan, Paris.

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1907, Art Stor Slide Gallery

Claude Monet, 1840 -1926, Waterlilies, painting, c. 1906, 28 x 36, Ohara Bijutsukan.

Auguste Renoir, Dance at the Moulin de la Galette, c. 1876, Musée d'Orsay.

Auguste Renoir, Two Sisters (On the Terrace), c. 1881, Art Institute of Chicago.

Auguste Renoir, Self-Portrait,1897, Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

Sargent, John Singer, Resting, ca. 1875., Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute.

Sargent, John Singer, Self Portrait, ca. 1886., The Detroit Institute of Arts.

Sargent, John Singer, Acheson Sisters, ca. 1902., ARTstor Slide Gallery.

Sargent, John Singer, The Wyndham Sisters: Lady Elcho, Mrs. Adeane, and Mrs. Tennant, 1899., The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Joseph Mallord William Turner, European; British, 1775 - 1851, (artist), The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons, October 16, 1834, ca. 1835, The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Whistler, James McNeill, Self-Portrait, c.1900, ARTstor Slide Gallery

Whistler, James McNeill, Nocturne in Black and Gold, the Falling Rocket, c. 1875, Detroit Institute of Arts.

Whistler, James McNeill, Arrangement in Gray and Black No. 1 (Whistler's Mother), c. 1871, Musée d'Orsay.

Homer, Winslow, Photograph by Sarony New York, c.1880, ARTstor Slide Gallery.

Homer, Winslow, The Herring Net, 1885, Art Institute of Chicago.

Exposition, 35 Boulevard des Capucines, Catalog, http://cdn2.all-art.org/impressioniswm_chronicle/86a.jpg

Bibliography

Courthion, Pierre, The Impressionists.

Painters, the Salon, and Critics, 1848-1870http://www.musee-orsay.fr/fileadmin/mediatheque/integration_MO/PDF/Paintersenglish.pdf

Baigell, Matthew, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture, Revised Edition, Icon Editions an imprint of Harper and Row Publishers, c.1984.

Wayne Craven, American Art, History and Culture, Boston, c.2003.