In this class session we consider how art changes as Western society becomes increasingly modern.

1. Class 3.2
Art Now
ART 100
UVC

2. Diego VELÁZQUEZ, Las Meninas, 1656,
Museo del Prado
oil on canvas, 125.2 in × 108.7 inches
This is where we left off
last time, with the growing
interest of of painters in
people who are not
significant figures from
religion, history, or
mythology.

3. Diego Velázquez, Portrait of Juan de Pareja, c. 1650
Juan de Pareja
(1606–1670)
We looked at the
example of Velazquez's
portrait of his studio
assistant, portrayed
with same calm dignity
that a nobleman paying
for an expensive
commission would be
accorded.

4. Diego Velázquez, Surrender of Breda, 1634-5,
oil on canvas, Museo del Prado, Madrid
We talked about Velázquez's inclusion of the rank and file soldiers in this scene of dignitiar
and military commanders.

5. Diego VELÁZQUEZ, Los Borrachos (The Drinkers), 1629
Here Velázquez includes the guys from the local tavern in his mythological picture
of the Roman God of wine, Bacchus. He imagines the classical together with the
contemporary.

6. Goya, Charles IV of Spain and His Family, 1800
Goya makes little effort to flatter the royal
family of Spain.

7. Francisco de GOYA
The Countess of
Chinchón
1800
oil on canvas
216 cm x 144 cm
All the silks and jewels
in Spain can’t save the
Countess from loneliness,
despair and isolation.

8. Èdouard MANET
Corner of a Café-Concert
1878-1879
National Gallery, London
oil on canvas
38.4 × 30.5 inches
Three quarters of a century later,
Manet paints a cocktail waitress
lost in thought while serving
customers in a busy café. She
too is alone despite the crowds
in the café.

9. Jean-Baptiste Greuze, The Punished Son, 1777, Louvre, 51x64"
Here Greuze takes a dramatic moment in the life of an ordinary family and makes a
history painting out of it, elevating the domestic scene to the level of history.

10. Jacques Louis DAVID, Death of Socrates, 1787, Met, 51x77"
Despite Greuze’s example, many popular artists still made history paintings
commemorating the lives of heroic figures, such as Socrates, the Greek philosopher
who goes bravely to his death in this picture, surrounded by his followers and friends.

11. Thomas Couture, Romans of the Decadence, 1847
Over time, however, this kind of mythological, classical subject comes to seem less
and less relevant. Even the spicy subject matter of the Roman orgy comes to seem
fairly ridiculous.

13. Claude MONET
Garden at Sainte-
Adresse
1867
Oil on canvas
38 5/8 x 51 1/8 in
The Impressionists signaled a major change, as you can see here. They are like a
breath of fresh air into the art world, which in this picture takes the literal form of the
crisp seaside breeze that the well-dressed tourists are enjoying on summer vacation.
We are in the modern world now, bright, light, and always changing, as quickly as the
weather does.

14. Claude MONET, Impression: Sunrise, 1872
The Impressionists also become interested in capturing atmospheric effects, like dawn
and twilight, and all types of different weather conditions. Now that photography can
capture the literal appearance of things, artists are freer to experiment.

15. Claude MONET
The Saint-Lazare Station
1877
Oil on canvas
H. 75; W. 104 cm

16. Claude MONET
The Saint-Lazare Station
1877
Oil on canvas
H. 75; W. 104 cm
If we want to document the precise appearance of this train station, we can make
a photograph (and there are many photographs of urban Paris at this time. However,
if we want to feel some of the hectic quality of the train station, the crowds, and clouds
of smoke, we might turn to Monet’s picture instead.

17. J.M.W. Turner
Rain, Steam and Speed,
1844 oil on canvas
36 × 48 inches
National Gallery, London

18. J.M.W. TURNER
Rain, Steam and
Speed, 1844 oil on
canvas
36 × 48 inches
National Gallery,
London
Working in England at an even earlier date, Turner also becomes interested in the
look and feel of various forms of weather, to the point that portions of his canvases
verge on abstraction.

19. J.M.W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1835

20. J.M.W. Turner, The Burning of the Houses of Parliament, 1835
Here Turner renders the giant fire that consumed the British Parliament in
dramatic oranges. The buildings themselves are barely visible among the flames.

21. James Abbott MacNeill WHISTLER
(American, living in London)
Nocturne in Black and Gold: The
Falling Rocket
1875
Whistler’s paintings push even
farther into gorgeous abstractions
full of color and texture that entice
the eye while scarcely resolving into
a recognizable picture.

22. Claude MONET, Waterlilies, c. 1920, MoMA, NYC
Monet’s late pictures of waterlilies floating on the pond in his garden push toward
abstract painting as well.

23. "A picture, before being a war horse, a nude
woman, or some anecdote, is essentially a flat
surface covered by colors in a certain order.”
—Maurice Denis

24. Vincent van GOGH
(Dutch, 1853–1890)
La Berceuse (Woman
Rocking a Cradle,
1889 oil on canvas,
36 1/2 x 29 inches

25. Second level Second level
Mark Rothko, 1950

26. Vincent van Gogh
Portrait of Joseph Roulin
1889
Oil on canvas
25 3/8 x 21 ¾”
Depth becomes less
important as surface
and background seem
to melt together.

27. Georges SEURAT, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884

28. Georges SEURAT, Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884
Though Seurat uses conventional perspective to create the illusion of depth, his figures
seem to lack volume and appear to be cardboard cutouts.

29. Paul GAUGUIN 1848 – 1903
Vision after the sermon
oil on canvas (73 × 92 cm) — 1888
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh

30. Paul GAUGUIN Vision after the sermon
1888
National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh
Other painters not only
flatten the canvas and
use surprising spatial
effects but also do so
to emphasize the
otherworldliness of this
world, suggesting a
latent spiritual potential.

31. Paul Cézanne, Gulf of Marseilles seen from L’Estaque, c.1885, oil on canvas, 31.5 × 39.2 in

32. Paul Cézanne, Gulf of Marseilles seen from L’Estaque, c.1885, oil on canvas, 31.5 × 39.2 in
Cézanne sees the French landscape in terms of geometric solids and brings
a new sense of structure and solidity to the bright French landscape.

33. Paul Cézanne, Mont St. Victoire seen from Bellevue, c. 1885, 37.5 × 51.3 inches) Barnes Foundation

34. Paul Cézanne, Mont Sainte-Victoire and Château Noir, 1904-6, oil on canvas, 25.8 × 31.9 inches

35. Picasso, Portrait of Wilhelm Uhde, 1910
Catalan artist Pablo PICASSO
had no difficulty painting
representational pictures,
abstractions, and everything in
between. Here he fragments the
portrait of one of his art dealers
into rectangles and triangles.
Over time he will oscillate back and
forth between styles in a seemingly
effortless manner.

36. Picasso, Still Life with Chair Caning, 1912

37. Pablo PICASSO, Still Life with Chair Caning, 1912
For this collage, Picasso used wallpaper that imitated chair caning, and wrapped the
whole canvas in real rope. The other portions are painted in imitation of various objects
that might be found on a tabletop.

38. Picasso, Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper, 1913,
Picasso, Bottle of Vieux Marc, Glass, Guitar and Newspaper, 1913

39. Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase, 1912 Duchamp, Bottle Rack, 1914

40. Marcel Duchamp realizes that the dynamic forms that interest him can be
found in actual objects just as well as in painting.
The bottle rack on the left was a common object in French life, used for
drying out empty wine bottles before reusing them.

41. Duchamp, Tu M’, 1918
This picture plays with illusion and reality, including a found object that sticks directly
out of the painting. The question Duchamp asks here: why paint a representation of
the object if you can just use the real thing?