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Welcome to the next

100 years of art history

The Age of

MODERN ART
c. 1870-1970

Dont confuse the word modern in Modern Art with the


definition of modern, meaning up-to-date or Contemporary
Art.that comes in the 100 years after Modern Art.

What is Modern Art?

There is no precise definition of the


term "Modern Art", although it usually refers to works produced during
the approximate period 1870-1970. Typically, modern artists rejected
previous Renaissance-based traditions, in favor of new forms of artistic
experimentation. They used new materials, new techniques of painting,
and developed new theories about how art should reflect the perceived
world, and what their functions as artists should be. In addition, entirely
new types of art were developed during the period.

When did the Modern Art Movement


begin?
According to most art critics, Modernism in painting first started with the
Frenchman, Jean Claude Monet, and the French Impressionists, for its
rejection of traditional academic art forms of the 18th and early 19th
century.
ARTISTS WERE READY FOR A CHANGE!

Modern Art - the rejection of traditional academic art for

Modern Art saw a shift from the traditional art forms to :


- different use of media, like photography, collage, assemblage
- Different use of space in architecture the high rise building (sky scrapers)
- Significant rise in Abstract and Non-Representational Art
- Social and political transformation/ non-conformity
- Artists were eager for change

We will start with the Impressionism


Art Movement followed by
Expressionism
Abstract Expressionism
Cubism
Surrealism
Pop Art
Minimalism
Color Field

Impressio
nism

The beginningsIn the middle of the 19th centurya time of


change Historical subjects, religious themes, and portraits were
valued (landscape and still life were not), and the Acadmie (art
jury) preferred carefully finished images that looked realistic when
examined closely. Color continued to be somber and conservative,
and traces of brush strokes were suppressed, concealing the artist's
personality, emotions, and working techniques.

(aka. Impressionist
ArtMovement)

Then.a group of young rebellious painters interested in painting


landscapes and still life. Experimented with a lighter and brighter
manner both in color and technique. These kids are known as

The
Impressionists
Manet
Monet
Renoir
Degas
Cassat

Impressio
nism
Check out this video

Everyday - subjects and events

Lighting - Captures effects of natural light . Color in artwork is illuminatedor


seems to glow

Brushstrokes - Artists have broken the solid shape into smaller pieces and blurred
the edges, creating dabs of color that blend together.

Outdoor en plein air was a common setting

Weather weather and atmosphere were captured


(remember ELBOW)

Claude
Monet
b. 1840 d. 1926

- He wasnt the first to paint this way, but the first


to be accepted and called an Impressionist
- Main subjects were nature and landscapes- en
plein air
- Painted same scenes day after day to capture
changing of light
weather, atmosphere and the changing of
seasons

Check out this video

Woman in a Garden, 1867, Hermitage, St. Petersburg;


This was a study by Monet to show the effect of
sunlight and shadow on color

Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant), 1872; the


painting that gave its name to the style, IMPRESSIONISM

Studies - Rouen Cathedrals, 1890

1919, Le Bassin aux Nymphas

Worth
$82.2
Million

Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini


(1908)
$165-Million in 2013

Pierre-Auguste Renoir
b. 1841 d. 1919

In characteristic Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a


scene through freely brushed touches of color, so that his figures softly
fuse with one another and their surroundings.

vibrant light
saturated color
most often focused on people in intimate and
candid compositions.
Females were his primary subjects.
Later in life he went back to more traditional
style of painting
*Suffered from arthritis badly - he
continued to paint with brushes tied to his
wrists.

1876,

Sold $71.1
MILLION in
Le Moulin de la Galette, oil on canvas

Edouard
Manet

b. 1832 - d.
1883
He was one of the first 19th-century
artists to paint modern life, and a
pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism he was
a classical artist, but then adopted the notions of impressionism. ..he
became friends with other Impressionist artists and they influenced
each other.
Most well known for his social scenes.

His self-portrait sold for over $22 million dollars


in 2010

The Cafe Concert, 1878

(early) Manet, Le Chemin de Fer (The Railroad)

Manet, Le Bar aux Folies-Bergre 1881-

Edgar
Degas
b. 1834 d. 1917

Early
work

Edgar Degas - Self-Portrait in a Green


Jacket, 1856. Oil on canvas

cropped subjects awkwardly


Showed emotional tension
chose unusual viewpoints.
Linked to his fascination with
photography.
He captured snapshots
Painted ballerinas because they sold

Sold for $27.9 million in 19

Edgar Degas, Dance Class at the Opra 1872

Dance Class at the Opra

Degas Ballerinas to Music

Singer
with a

Mary Cassatt
b.1844 d.1926
American Painter, born in Allegheny City, PA
Went to Art School in Philadelphia where only 20% of the students were
female, none of which were as determined as Mary Cassat, to make painting
a career.
Moved to Paris and met Degaswho influenced her painting.

1894, Summertime

1880-1881, The Cup of

Impressionism - the Big Break in the History of Art

Discussion Question:
Did you notice I included an adjusted price of some
paintings in the presentation? The approx net worth means if
they were up at auction in the near future, that approximately
what they would sell for.
How does one put WORTH on a work of art?

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