THE 19th CENTURY

Joseph M.W. Turner, The Slave Ship
Oil on Canvas, 1840, Museum of Fine Art, Boston

Turner stands out as one of the most well-known and loved landscape painters in art history. His works were often linked to literary themes, both actual and fictional. In "The Slave Ship" Turner created a piece that involved several levels of meaning. Like "The Raft of Medusa," by Gericault, he was influenced by a recent incident in which the captain of the ship began throwing slavesoverboard because there was an epidemic on board. He combined this horrifying incident with a passage from 'The Seasons" by James Thompson which describes how sharks follow the smell of disease that wafts from slave ships . Turner's technique of depicting such a scene with a style that Constable deprecatingly described as "airy visions, painted with tinted steam" imbues the piece with both beauty and intellect - qualities that raised him above the older landscape painters. His innovative style would be drawn upon later by the Impressionists.

Nadar, Sarah Bernhardt
1859, George Eastman House, Rochester, NY
In the early years of photography, Nadar attracted many famous French to his studio. Sarah Bernhardt sat for him several times, and the fruit of these sessions prove to be the ancestors of modern glamour photography.

Edouard Manet, Olympia
Oil on Canvas, 1863, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

Here, we see Manet's re-interpretation of Titian's famous "Venus of Urbino." In creating this modernized version, Manta is taking on the conventions of art and the academic tradition that was embedded in government institutions in France. Though the painting was accepted by the Salon of 1865, it was highly criticized by defenders of tradition. Manet's "Olympia" is not the classic, mythical figure that is her namesake. Nor is she like Titian's inviting beauty who has the same pose. This woman looks out at the viewer, confronting them with her gaze. She doesn't let the viewer feel comfortable with gazing at her. Many thought Manet did the portrait of a prostitute - because what other type of woman can be depicted nude without the classic style to hide behind? With Olympia, he managed to make a crack in the wall that the academics were hiding behind.

Winslow Homer, Snap-the Whip
Oil on Canvas, 1872, Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio

This Boston-born painter began as a freelance illustrator in New York. He received wide exposure through coverage of the Civil War for Harper's Weekly, which ran his work as covers. Though his work as an illustrator is well respected, it is for his work as a painter that Homer is best known and most loved. His paintings became appreciated in his lifetime for their almost "pre-Impressionist" style - lying somewhere between Corot and Monet. In "Snap the Whip," Homer created color harmonies that point directly to the influence of Impressionism upon his work - probably absorbed during his time in Paris as a young man. Despite this influence, his bold style and strong forms identify him as the quintessential American painter. He chose to depict scenes like that in "Crack the Whip," which represent life in America in the late nineteenth century. From leisurely activity to a hard day's work, Homer painted intellectual, beautiful, emotive scenes that describe a period in our history that we rarely catch a glimpse of today.

Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic
Oil on Canvas, 1875, 96" x 78", Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

This graphic painting of clinical instruction by the great American artist, Thomas Eakins, was his submittal to the exhibition for the Philadelphia Centennial. Due to the depiction of blood, the painting was shown in the medical section instead. Though the painting may not have been as appreciated as Eakins hoped, it is an arresting piece that marks the high point of psychological realism in nineteenth-century art. "The Gross Clinic" exemplifies Eakins' control over perspective, anatomy, and the human form in motion. His painting gave the public that attended the great Centennial celebration a glimpse into the emerging, specialized world of medical science. He also gave them a face to associate with that exciting, unexplored territory. As our century comes to a close, and we face the unknown terrainof the second Millenium, one can't help but wonder who the next pioneer will be, to lead us on our continuing journey.

Gustav Courbet, The Burial at Ornans
Oil on Canvas, 1849, Musee d'Orsay, Paris

As an artist who once said, "I cannot paint an angel because I have never seen one," Courbet most assuredly was a Realist. His overtly socialist paintings created a buzz in Paris, yet it was this painting that made him notorious when he exhibited in the Salon of1850. The bleak scene of a funeral in a provincial landscape could not have been of less interest for the salon-going Parisians. Using 45 of his friends and family in Ornans (his hometown), Courbet created a gallery of portraits and expressions that tell us more about the funeral attendants than the deceased. Though Parisians thought he was satirizing contemporary social values, Courbet was actually giving an honest interpretation of undramatized life and death, and how interesting it actually is to observe people in their ordinary environments.

Jean-Francois Millet, The Gleaners
Oil on Canvas, 1857, Musee d'Orsay, Paris.

The work of Millet is representative of the Realist painters of the Nineteenth century. The dominating style of this school is obvious - they trusted their own eyes to open a window on the world as they saw it. Due to this aim, it is easy to relate works of this style to political or social issues at the time. What the artist chose to represent is what he or she felt the world needed to take notice of. Millet's work often had confrontational, socially conscious themes. As part of the Barbizon school-a group of regional painters- Millet found his niche by depicting the life if poor farmers and laborers. Here, Millet represents the very humble act of man, working a field, working with nature. This style later influenced Impressionists such as Vincent Van Gogh.

Claude Monet, The Terrace at Saint-Andresse
Oil on Canvas, 1867, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Impression: Sunrise
Oil on Canvas, 1873, Musee Marmottan, Paris

The most famous and recognizable artist of the Impressionist movement is Claude Monet. These two works represent his earlier and later style. In "Terrace at Saint-Andresse" we can see the influence of Japanese art upon Monet as he depicts the results of French and English intermingling in Le Havre, which was oriented toward the English channel and received many English tourists. Monet utilizes the traditional Japanese flatness and lack of perspective to create interesting juxtapositions- land/sea, leisure/commerce, light/shadow, French/British. Here, we see Monet's interest in color and light in an early form. He pays careful attention to the colors of the flowers and plants, a s well as the light and shadow that plays off of them and the shadows created by the terrace, the chairs, and the people.

Monet's interest in the affects of light upon objects in nature is a theme dominates his ouevre. "Impression: Sunrise" is the painting that gave the movement its name, and it exemplifies how Monet's earlier interest is played out. Here, he's is trying to capture the brilliant colors and light created by the sun as it rises over the water- what it does to the sky, the trees, the water. This work of Monet's certainly did not describe the work of all the artists who were labeled as Impressionists, but it did give a name to the decidedly non-traditional artists producing with him.

Vincent Van Gogh, Starry Night
Oil on Canvas, 1887, Musee du Louvre, Paris

Van Gogh diverges from the typical Impressionistic style, for he felt that the style did not allow enough freedom for expression of emotion. His brief career has become fodder for books and movies, but if one feels that his work is over-appreciated, overpriced canvas, just look again at his thick brushwork and amazing coloration for a reminder: the man was brilliant, tortured, but brilliant.

SOURCES

Janson, H.W., History of Art, 4th edition, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1991.

McNeil, William H., History of Western Civilization: A Handbook, 6th edition, Univeristy of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1986.

Snyder, James, Medieval Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, 4th-14th Century, Harry N. Abrams, Inc. 1989.

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