Artists, writers and composers alike respond to the world around them, acting as mirrors to established cultural norms, and challenging the way society behaves and proposing new or different ways of relating to the outer and inner world.
Conflict can be created for artists as they seek to find a balance between making a living by painting as society expects, and in developing new styles of art unrelated to the norm. Those with the most influence in setting the standards for what is acceptable art are the decision makers about what will be hung in art museums and other public places and taught in art schools; art critics; patrons; dealers and buyers.
Generally, people are most comfortable with what they already know, so rapid and unexpected change often meets with disapproval. People with limited exposure to art are generally more likely to prefer art with which they can readily identify, such as landscapes and portraits etc, painted using traditional methods.
The artist
The issues of societal norms and having sufficient funds for living has particularly been an issue for women, who have not had the same artist freedom as their male counterparts. At the same time, art critics and historians have tended to define art (particularly of domestic scenes) by female artists as 'feminine art' and of being of lesser value than painting by men. In large measure, particularly up until this century, art by women has mostly been invisible in galleries and publications.
Most well known artists, as you will see from this program, were part of a wider artistic community, who supported, challenged, and learnt from each other. Being part of a community, however loosely, also provided artists with greater access to exhibitions and other methods of promoting their work. Such communities also included patrons, dealers, art schools, and other creative groups, such as writers, designers, composers and musicians etc, all of whom influenced the direction of art from their particular perspective.
Art and art styles have also been very much a reflection of established norms in the physical act of applying paint (or other media) to a surface, and in advances in technology such as new types of paint, the introduction of paint tubes, portable easels, and new bristles on bushes. These, together with responses to other advances in technology, such as photography and printing processes, have enabled artists to be more creative, more mobile (for example, being able to move out from the studio and paint outdoors) and be able to replicate images and produce not only multiple copies of artworks, but also posters as an advertising medium.
Paintings are also a response to the individual artist's own environment, and their psyche. A number of artists spend many years in formal study and continually strive to improve their professional technique, and to explore such things as composition, form, colour and the other elements of art to create 'works of art' which reflect their unique style. Other artists are more influenced by the need for creative self expression, in response to religious or other beliefs, or as a way of dealing with personal issues. Some artists, including a number in this program, have used alcohol and/or drugs to heighten their approach to expression.
Artists tend to be 'products of their time', responding subtly or overtly to the broader political and economic environment that marks the point in history in which they are living and working.
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Introduction
Art styles result from several factors -
* The historical setting - that is, the economic, social and political
environment
* Scientific discoveries and innovations
* Painting 'norms' - the art schools, judges, juries, critics and buyers
(thought leaders)
* The artists and their personal skills, motivations and opportunities
Create an image of one of your favourite artists. In doing so, try to bring out those qualities that appeal to you about them.
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The environment
The birth of Modern Art in Europe can be traced back to the Industrial Revolution, from about 1760 up until about the mid 1800s. This period saw rapid changes in manufacturing, transport, technology and scientific development which profoundly affected the social, economic and cultural conditions of those living at that time.
With the growth in manufacturing, urban centres boomed, and there was increased migration to cities as the railroad, steam engine and subways opened, creating new opportunities for people to move greater distances, not only for work, but also leisure.
However, the period from the mid 1700s also saw great political upheaval in France, with a number of revolutions and wars, up until about 1871 (The Franco-Prussian war), which resulted in the Siege of Paris and subsequently the Paris Commune, where workers unsuccessfully attempted to take power through the formation of communes, or workers' councils.
From the mid 1800s, Emperor Napoléon III appointed Georges-Eugene Haussmann to make major changes to Paris. He was directed to 'bring air and light to the centre of the city, unify the different neighbourhoods with boulevards, and the make the city more beautiful'. The centre of Paris up until this time was overcrowded, dark, dangerous and unhealthy, with traffic circulation being a major problem. Although his changes met with a great deal of opposition and the displacement of many people, they did result in a more modern, industrious and vibrant city.
Then, from 1871 up until World War I, Paris became a relatively peaceful city which attracted large numbers of writers and artists. The turn of the 20th century was termed La Belle Époque, or “the beautiful era", in part because of the cultural development that occurred at that time. Entertainment for the general public was a fairly new phenomenon - in cafés, cabarets, the theatre and at the Moulin Rouge, for example.
Paris became 'the' city to come to, and as a result was the primary force for change in the artworld, until about the 1930s, when many artists fled to America to escape the coming war. Other centres, in Germany, Italy and Russia, also saw the rise of avant-garde art.
See more details about the
If you are interested, read more about Haussmann and the changes he made to Paris. Click on the links in the section above to see more.
You can also read more about the Seige of Paris or Paris Commune.
Perhaps you might like to read "Le Mislérables" by Victor Hugo which culminated in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, or watch or listen to the video or soundtrack.
The novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosphy,
antimonarchism, justice, and religion.
Alternatively, draw or paint a scene representative of Paris in the early 1800s.
The outcome
This new era created an environment where artists felt freerer to experiment, and you can see changes to the way colour is used, work becoming increasingly more abstract, different techniques being used to apply paint (and other media) to a surface and a changing response to the purpose of art.
For some it meant exploring 'art for arts sake' (including design and decoration), for others it meant adopting a more scientific approach to art, or responding to the inner world of dreams and feelings, or relationships to other artistic forms, such as music or sculpture. Others responded to new developments in psychology.
From about World War I, many artists responded to the conflict and destruction and what they saw as meaningless of life, by producing 'meaningless' art, or using art as propoganda. A number of artists who were directly involved in the war sought to express their own inner turmoil.
This program leads you through the period from 1840 (prior to the Modernist period) through to about 1940, showing how artists were responding to their cultural and physical environments, the rapid scientific, industrial and technological changes and improvements in painting artworks of their time, and exploring their own creative needs.
Short video outlining the historic change occurring in and around France from the 1700s
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