The Romantic Era

    Art nouveau came into being at the end of the 19th century. It was originally created to oppose the official world of academic art. It brought vivid colors and bold forms that are often found in Japanese art. The style has organic forms, natural hues, and asymmetric forms embellished with curving lines.
The piece above is called La Femme Animee en Fleur by Alphonse Mucha is a great example of art Nouveau. This piece was lithograph on silk. The subject matter definitely has the intention to oppose what was considered art in academic art. Mucha's art often had women as the subject and he was well known for his poster illustrations.

The piece The Kiss by Gustav Klimt uses vivid color and asymmetric forms that are known in the style of art nouveau. He was most influenced by Japanese art and its methods. He was also famous for his controversial paintings. When it comes to intentions, his intention was to make something different from what was the norm of academic art. The colors are vivid, and the forms are asymmetric.

Impressionism also came around in the late 19th century. The style involved loose brushstrokes, sketchy lines, and colors that seem to blend together. The subject matter of impressionism is lighter pleasant moments. When looking at an impressionist piece it is almost as if the subject of the painting was taken at a glance, an impression of what is being painted. It is also said that impressionist paintings are influenced by Japanese art as well. 
The Woman with the Parasol- Madame Monet and Her Son by Claude Monet is an excellent example of impressionism. It uses loose brushstrokes and has a very light and airy subject matter. Nothing is well defined and gives the illusion of shape and impression of the subject matter. 

The Ballet Class by Edgar Degas is one of his many works that involve ballet dancers. Degas was often a visitor of the Paris opera house and would come backstage to visit the dance studio. Again there are the classic loose brushstrokes and the sketchy outline of the subject of the art. 

One thing that I find most apparent with the intentions of all of these pieces is trying something different. These pieces do not have the same structure of classic "academic art" that was being presented at the time. These artists wanted to push the boundaries to create something new that people had never seen before.

“The Ballet Class - Edgar Degas - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-ballet-class/fwE5p5FTjV9Ezg.

“The Kiss - Gustav Klimt - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/the-kiss-gustav-klimt/HQGxUutM_F6ZGg.

“La Femme Animee En Fleur - Alphonse Mucha - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/la-femme-animee-en-fleur-alphonse-mucha/uQFhuh8brnO7rA.

“Woman with a Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son - Claude Monet - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, Google, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/woman-with-a-parasol-madame-monet-and-her-son-claude-monet/EwHxeymQQnprMg.


Comments

  1. Juliana MondelliMarch 30, 2023 at 7:14 PM

    Hello Clara,
    Before this class I had never heard of nouveau art, but it is very interesting to me. Even within the style there is so much variation that can be seen in the two different pieces that you chose that adds to understanding the wide range of style that nouveau covers. I found it really interesting that the style of nouveau art was made for both beauty and functionality due to how a lot of the style was found in popular places throughout Europe like train stations and even within books.

    Europeana. “Origins of Art Nouveau.” Europeana, https://www.europeana.eu/en/exhibitions/art-nouveau-a-universal-style/origins-of-art-nouveau.

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  2. Tamrit HowellMarch 31, 2023 at 5:30 PM


    Hi Clara, great post! I enjoyed your exploration and discussion of Nouveau and Impressionism. These artworks you chose were great pieces to support the artistic elements of both styles. Out of the four artworks, "The Ballet Class" is my favorite! Like Juliana, I too did not know about the Nouveau style of the Romantic Era. Thank you for sharing!

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  3. Sydney RobertsonMay 2, 2023 at 2:08 PM

    Hi Clara! What a great post! I was really impressed reading about your view on impressionism. I think out of all of the paintings that you chose, I really liked the one by Claude Monet. The painting really stuck out to me with how bright and blue it is. It just reminds me of a warm beautiful summer day!

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