Chromolithographs, circa 1850
Dear class, there's plenty to comment on: William Blake, Crystal Palace, Art Nouveau, Pictorialism, the Pre-raphaelites, and their heroes: Mackmurdo, Morris, Owens, Evertt Millais, Ford Madox Brown, Morris's Kelmscott Press, etc.
Go ahead.
18 comments:
The movement of Pictorialism is very intriguing. Photographers turned photography into an art form by capturing photographs and making them appear as paintings. Cameras along with special printing methods were used as paint brushes. Pictorialists highlighted the beauty of the subject and atmosphere in their images rather than the focus of reality. While some pictorialist photographs look like they were captured on a camera, there are many that are difficult to distinguish from real paintings. Edward Steichen used the technique of multiple printing to give his photograph Pond a painterly effect that had never been equaled. The Pre-Raphaelites who designed art in a real, archaic, and morbid manner were also an interesting topic. John Everett Millais’ Ophelia is a pre-raphaelite piece based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Millais is aggressively realistic and emphasizes nature in his depiction of Ophelia’s death. The background is full of flowers and plants as she floats in the river.
-Robert Bolton
It is funny to think for a time children's books were not created with the intended audience in mind. Not until the 19th and 20th century, known as the Golden Age for children's literature, do we see a transition to the style of children's books that is still utilized today. This shift in literature was characterized by more child oriented compositions and Randolph Caldecott among other artists played a large role in revolutionizing these works. Caldecott is well-known for his ability to combine the text with detailed, animated pictures so the books would be more appealing to children. He was able to capture a balance between using fewer words and allowing the pictures to fill in the remaining context, and this really helps to engage children's imagination which I feel is an important part of development. In combination with the talents of Caldecott and similar artists, the use of new technology allowed for better detail and color production. Additionally, the inspiration from Pre-raphaelites, Art Nouveau, among others, helped these Golden Age artists to incorporate realism into their work.
- Kailyn Hayes
The Crystal Palace......I have always been intrigued by glass structures and being built in the 1800's by simply displaying art is so captivating. Today you rarely see a glass building showing off artwork. You see the white walls and the plain structures so it doesn't take away from the art work. Studying this building, they took many pieces of art and if anything it only enhanced them with the amount of light that came through the building. Housing The Great Exhibition in 1851. Prince Albert and Queen Victoria and the president of the royal society of the arts created the idea of taking international exhibitions to participate from all around the world, is fascinating. I want to know how they took giant sculptures, statues, and plants with presented them there. The transportation of these huge pieces. I would have loved to see this structure of course. The unfortunate events of it burning down makes it a cool part of history. That it was once there in London.
Gianna Guirgis
One of the most interesting aspects about last week’s lecture was the discussion of Pictorialism and its place in the consideration of the history of graphic design. Pictorialism as a practice exists within the intersection of realistic representation and aesthetic production, making it a unique concept in understanding the progression of artistic movements with the advancement of time. Pictorialism truly emphasizes the ability of an artist to create a characteristic “mark,” highlighting the ever-changing nature of art and design as a whole. The example of Edward Steichen’s Pond from 1904 puts this practice into perspective. The blurred effect that was intentional in the creation of the image takes reference to painters from the past that impact the advancement of photography as an artistic practice. Overall, Pictorialism and its distinctive qualities allow for one to consider the changing nature of art, and the ways in which technology plays a role in the ability for someone to make a mark in new and individual manners.
Divya Srinivasan
Good thread, class. My advice, read the thread; if you see a subject already approached, move on to a different topic. Let's aim for diversity.
In class, it was fascinating that we talked about an important graphic designer named William Blake (1757-1827). My major is graphic design and it was interesting to know about graphic designers during that time. Blake reconstructed an illuminated manuscript until there were movable printing rules. This, however, led him to develop a Greek style that became well-known by the pre-Raphaelites and French artists of the 19th century. Blake influenced different art schools such as Puvis de Chavannes, one of the famous schools of the time. The school became successful and influenced a painter named Picasso. William Blake was captivated by Gothic Art into which he integrated his artworks. One of his works was Poetic Sketches (1783) which was a collection of poems he had written over a decade. He overall was an artist who was regarded as an important figure in the Romantic age and was an inspiration for other artists and writers.
-Joshua Escobedo
An artist that I found really interesting was Ford Madox Brown. Ford Madox Brown was associated with the pre-raphaelite brotherhood, which was a group of young british painters that was inspired by classical renaissance art and the early Italian renaissance. They admired what they saw and created their art as a direct depiction of nature. Pre-raphaelite work included great detail and a bright color palette. Though Ford’s early work can be described as somber and dramatic, his painting style slightly changes after visiting Italy. His painting, Work (1852-1865), is his most well known painting. This painting shows the main characteristic of pre-raphaelite art, direct observation. This piece also comments on the divide between the working class and the noble in a Victorian society. Upon deeper analysis, the painting has great details and stunning color. The painting acts like a reminder of the class-consciousness of the Victorian age and the many artistic movements that were inspired to draw attention to and reform.
- Emily Collins
For me, Art Nouveau has managed to remain my favorite movement in the history of art since I was first exposed to it in high school. I thoroughly enjoy the intersection of design, crafts, and the “fine art” world. The movement is an excellent lens through which we can look at the mounting pressures of a newly industrialized Europe as it imposed limitations on the mass production of objects as well as the explicit intervention of the artistic hand on commonplace forms ranging from the chair to the facade of buildings. The late 1880’s until about the first world war witnessed the burgeoning visions of artists like Mucha, Privat-Livemont, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Tiffany (to name a few) as they sought to elevate every day ephemera like posters, cigarette cartons, and fashion accessories with organic forms, curvilinear design, and Japan-inspired aesthetics. I adore how these artists combat the formula of industrialized production by embodying neo-rococo sensibilities and pushing the form of objects without sacrificing their functionality. As a result, these artists were able to make highly decorative pieces of art widely accessible during a time where the popular market was limited by the restrictive design parameters of industrial production.
-Ricky Durga
Arthur Mackmurdo is a pioneer of modern style art. His art work like the cover of the book and the chair panel are the most outstanding masterpieces. The lines used in his works are extremely flexible and full of beauty. It can be seen from the style of the works that Mackmurdo must be an artist with advanced thinking and creativity. I saw a lot of his woodcarving works. Most of his works are symmetrical. Not like his pattern on the book cover. From those symmetrical artworks, I can feel solemnity and nobility.
He often based his designs on real but strange-looking natural forms, for example, around 1882 he designed a pattern featuring a primitive sea creature called a 'crinoid', related to coral.
--Rui Zhu
Art Nouveau, which translates from French to the words “New Art” was an influential art movement that emerged in the late 19th century and was widely used until the early 20th century. The new style of art was inspired by natural forms and structures such as plants, flowers, animals, or even sometimes human beings. For this reason, I enjoyed looking at the artwork from this period since I tend to be drawn toward art that consists of living organisms and depicts them in exciting ways. This movement began in Europe, mainly in France and Belgium, and quickly spread throughout the entire world of art. The many artists who created works during this period created a wide range of objects such as furniture, jewelry, and architecture in addition to paintings and drawings. The designs from this period were characterized by curvature, asymmetrical shapes, lines containing many turns/curves, and a strong emphasis on decoration. The style also had many vibrant colors, intricate patterns, and materials that aren’t seen often in art. This art movement did not last the longest of times, however, it did leave an everlasting impact on design and art and its influence can still be seen in newer contemporary art.
- Damien DiTaranto
William Blake was a highly influential artist and poet of the Romantic era, known for his visionary and mystical works. His art often depicted fantastical scenes and explored themes of spirituality, nature, and human emotions. His influence can be seen in later artistic movements such as Art Nouveau and Pictorialism. The Crystal Palace was a famous building designed by Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. The building was a marvel of engineering and glass construction, and it became a symbol of the Industrial Revolution and the Victorian era. Art Nouveau was a decorative arts movement that emerged in the late 19th century, characterized by organic forms, curving lines, and elaborate ornamentation. It was a reaction against the mass-produced goods of the Industrial Revolution and sought to bring art and beauty into everyday life. Pictorialism was a photographic movement that emerged in the late 19th century, characterized by soft-focus, dreamlike images that often resembled paintings. Pictorialists sought to elevate photography to the level of fine art and to use it to express emotional and spiritual themes.
-Ally Campisi
Because John Millais, Dante Rossetti, and William Hunter believed that the classical posture and graceful painting elements before the Raphaelite era had been corrupted by academic methods of teaching, so there was the Pre-Raphaelite era. group. This school of painting has not been active for a very long time, but the Pre-Raphaelites are really a magical art genre, with a small number of people and works, and the works have basically not deviated from the traditional track of realism, but it is like the great Impressionism It also had an immeasurable impact on later generations - Aestheticism, Symbolism, Vienna Secession, and even some contemporary paintings after the 1970s. The Pre-Raphaelites inherited the color usage of the Raphaelites, such as dark green, sapphire blue, emerald, green, brown, yellow, orange red, light beige, bright red, etc. These simple colors are separated and used independently on the screen. caused a violent collision. They should be the most beautiful and admirable flower that Britain dedicated to the history of world art: gorgeous colors, smooth lines, moving details, lively and spiritual female images, becoming their genre main features.
-Kai Gao
In what we covered in class I came away with the general idea of mimicry. When design is done well, in the case of Joseph Paxton's Crystal Palace, or when design is rooted in strong political expression like the eclecticism of Victorian decoration, it is replicated and mimicked quickly and expansively. The glass atriums in large gallery and public spaces all over Europe resonate with the exquisite design of Paxton's innovation. The overindulgence of all things foreign and exotic in terms of Victorian decoration underpinned imperial power and access and in such a way were symbols of not only national but personal wealth. From today's perspective, the Victorian aesthetic is busy in a sense over-designed but from their perspective it was the abundance and the opulence that made this particular aesthetic so attractive in the first place. The layers upon layers of decoration and design taken from so many places and cultures was their way of reasserting their patriotism and cultural id in a dominance display over subjugated exoticism.
-ShelbyQuay Ernst
The Pre-Raphaelites were something that spoke to me during the lecture for it felt like that time period’s “hipsters”—the younger, misunderstood, yet pretentious majority that dictated what was in. While I admire their point of view and understand their urge to challenge the status quo, I question the relevancy of only painting things that are dramatically unordinary. The Pre-Raphaelite Doctrine follows four statutes that could also be considered the idealized lives of artists: studying nature fervently to properly express it, sympathizing with the serious and heartfelt of previous works of art—except anything conventional or well known, obviously—having the ability to produce art, and finally, having good ideas. When the layman thinks of an artist, they usually picture an ostentatious young adult, conveniently backed by wealthy parents, who has a lot of social engagements and makes art that “people just don’t understand.” This stereotype is what the Pre-Raphaelites aim to fulfill, by creating aggressive, bold art with social commentary that you’d only be able to understand if you went to an Ivy League school. I do not disagree that this form of art is important and that society directly benefits from these art movements, but I wonder if this consistent theme of pretentious art goers detracts from the craft itself. If a community is full of those with small minds and high expectations, how is anyone supposed to succeed, or yet even join?
-mary gorski
An artist that really stuck out to me was John Everett Millais. John Everett Millais was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. This group of young English painters came together in opposition to the immensely popular genre of painting at that time. One of his most controversial works was Christ in the House of His Parents (1849-50). The painting realistically depicts a carpentry workshop, where young Jesus assists Joseph building a wooden door. Taking a closer look, one can see Jesus’s hand is bleeding. This can be seen as foreshadowing to his crucifixion. The painting was seen as controversial during the time because the way Everett Millais illustrated the Holy Family. He made them ordinary. By the mid-1850s, Millais began to develop a new form of realism in his art. He became one of the wealthiest artists of his day.
Milla Nader
John Everett Millais was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and an English painter. This brotherhood was founded in his family home in London, and Everett Millais became the most famous people who used this style of painting. His paintings such as "Ophelia" and "Christ in the House of His Parents" caused an uproar due to the fact that he had neglected the new mechanical style of painting. The painting of his titled "Ophelia" really caught my attention because of all the detail and small brushstrokes. His style of painting seems as if he didn't blend much but used many small brushstrokes to achieve the appearance of blending. The abundance of color adds a lot to the piece as well and makes the somewhat unsettling scene appear brighter and more cheerful.
-Sydney Essex
The part discussed in class that I found really interesting is the discussion about political humor. "Punch" was new and the fact that people decided to exhibit their frustration with the government in a form of satirical art created a new approach. The political humor did much more than simply criticizing the government, the authors criticized the whole society and the morals it was built on. Later in the discussion was brought up war photography. I enjoyed learning about the history of war-related media. People always craved to know updates about current war, it is a great way to check up on the loved ones. That is why a sketch artist would go to the front lines to capture the recent events. With the development of printed photography, it became easier to publish about political conflicts. Graphic content capturing the battles and the victims was printed in regular newspapers, which highly desensitized the public to graphic visuals and even death and war as concepts.
Eva Klovatskiy
One of the main aspects that interested me was Honoré Daumier’s political caricatures. The figure of his character Tragala being inspired deeply on King Louis Phillipe was a statement on itself, but also the way he sketched the character in enough complexity for it to be distinguishable while also remaining faithful to the naturalist movement of not portraying idealized version of figures that do not reflect reality at all. When I visited the link to his website, I was eve more impressed by how much recognized he was for his work. By seeing the stamp and medals section of the website with stamps for different occasions and contexts, from his exposition in the Museum of Beaux Arts to a more recent one featuring the great painters of realism: Millet, Daumier, Courbet, Repin. Another nice feature of his caricatures that I have noticed on the exposition “Boats, Ships, Barges” is how he introduced those non-idealized and more stylized figures in an environment in which I could easily imagine an idealized figure be: on a boat/landscape. That is something that brings even more recognition to his style and specific craft. The meaning of this exhibition “Boats, Ships, Barges” is present on its description: “Right or wrong – I am the captain!”, in which leaders/boat captains are trying to make the best out of a situation even in unpredictable circumstances.
Roberta Macedo
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