Option #2: As we learned in the case study, the art critic Marie-Camille de G. (who was a Saint-Simonian) wanted “an art that laid bare social oppression” and could “transmit a vision of the utopian socialist future.” Select a work of art from this week’s reading in the textbook (either Stokstad or The Challenge of the Avant-Garde), and discuss how this work of art fits or diverges with Marie-Camille’s ideas. If the work diverges from Marie-Camille’s ideas, how could the painting be modified (in terms of subject matter) to better fit with what Marie-Camille wanted?
Marie-Camille de G. wanted art to invoke the bourgeoise to the facts of the lower class, but she was a conservatist. Which relates to one of the assumptions that we should never make, just because someone is a revolutionist or reactionary, doesn't mean the art they want or like is going to be crazy out there and in your face. Which Marie-Camille de G.was a reactionist, but like things to be very subtle and influence people in a drastic way, without totally offending them. Marie-Camille used art for her politcal points, one piece that made a big impact that she choose to put in a salon, was called "A Burial at Ornana" a painting by Gustave Courbet in 1849.
This was a time period that photography had begun, and started a new art movement which we call, Realism. Realism is a form in which artists depict the world around them, litterally, so there is no mythological creatures or gods, or anything that isn't actually there. Gustave Courbet's painting depicts a burial, obivously, at Ornans. The burial is on a families land and the person being buried is obviously someone that all the lower class people know very well.
Below I have hopefully *crosses fingers that my ipad did what I want it to do for once* attached a picture so that you can see what I'm talking about.
Gustave led the realist movement, and the Burial painting is of the burial of his grand uncle. The painting recieved a ton of praises and a lot of fierce comments. The Burial brought a on roar and applause from Marie-Camille, because the painting had made itself known in the art history, it was almost like a dity person crashing a nice cozy little party. Subtle but powerful just the way Marie-Camille wanted it.
Though I greatly appreciate the painting that Marie-Camille has choosen I feel that there is another painting that would do the same thing, though the painting that I choose was painted 20 ish years later, so I had to find another one, because, another assumption that we can never make is everyone will see the painting the same way that you do. Kind of like there's always two sides to the story, I feel that there could of been another painting that would of gotten the job done.
But from the paintings in our book sections I couldn't find any that appealed to me, after looking online though I found a painting by Gustave Caborte, which was a self-portait, titled "Desperate Man". It's a painting of a man who has a look of desperation and franticness about him, and his eyes pierce the eyes of the viewer. His clothes aren't of the working class, but they are also not of the bourgeoise, it's more of what an artist would wear of the time. I feel that the painting almost forces the viewer to feel what he is feeling, and though the Burial painting is great, a lot of the people in the painting do not pull you into it, they are looking either at the burial that is happening or looking off into the distance. I can see why Marie-Camille did not choose this painting though, it's because she wouldn't of liked the drastic intensity that is forced onto the viewer, so in order to change the painting for her pleasure I would change the direction that the man is looking, so that he isn't so drastically forcing his gaze and his emotions onto the viewer. Also instead of having the man take up the entire painting I would have the man be in a room, so that we could see where is located, giving the viewer a little more knowledge of what is this man so frantic and crazed about.
Marie-Camille de G. wanted art to invoke the bourgeoise to the facts of the lower class, but she was a conservatist. Which relates to one of the assumptions that we should never make, just because someone is a revolutionist or reactionary, doesn't mean the art they want or like is going to be crazy out there and in your face. Which Marie-Camille de G.was a reactionist, but like things to be very subtle and influence people in a drastic way, without totally offending them. Marie-Camille used art for her politcal points, one piece that made a big impact that she choose to put in a salon, was called "A Burial at Ornana" a painting by Gustave Courbet in 1849.
This was a time period that photography had begun, and started a new art movement which we call, Realism. Realism is a form in which artists depict the world around them, litterally, so there is no mythological creatures or gods, or anything that isn't actually there. Gustave Courbet's painting depicts a burial, obivously, at Ornans. The burial is on a families land and the person being buried is obviously someone that all the lower class people know very well.
Below I have hopefully *crosses fingers that my ipad did what I want it to do for once* attached a picture so that you can see what I'm talking about.
Gustave led the realist movement, and the Burial painting is of the burial of his grand uncle. The painting recieved a ton of praises and a lot of fierce comments. The Burial brought a on roar and applause from Marie-Camille, because the painting had made itself known in the art history, it was almost like a dity person crashing a nice cozy little party. Subtle but powerful just the way Marie-Camille wanted it.
Though I greatly appreciate the painting that Marie-Camille has choosen I feel that there is another painting that would do the same thing, though the painting that I choose was painted 20 ish years later, so I had to find another one, because, another assumption that we can never make is everyone will see the painting the same way that you do. Kind of like there's always two sides to the story, I feel that there could of been another painting that would of gotten the job done.
But from the paintings in our book sections I couldn't find any that appealed to me, after looking online though I found a painting by Gustave Caborte, which was a self-portait, titled "Desperate Man". It's a painting of a man who has a look of desperation and franticness about him, and his eyes pierce the eyes of the viewer. His clothes aren't of the working class, but they are also not of the bourgeoise, it's more of what an artist would wear of the time. I feel that the painting almost forces the viewer to feel what he is feeling, and though the Burial painting is great, a lot of the people in the painting do not pull you into it, they are looking either at the burial that is happening or looking off into the distance. I can see why Marie-Camille did not choose this painting though, it's because she wouldn't of liked the drastic intensity that is forced onto the viewer, so in order to change the painting for her pleasure I would change the direction that the man is looking, so that he isn't so drastically forcing his gaze and his emotions onto the viewer. Also instead of having the man take up the entire painting I would have the man be in a room, so that we could see where is located, giving the viewer a little more knowledge of what is this man so frantic and crazed about.
I think you mean that Marie-Camille de G would have liked Courbet's painting, right? She wrote a review of the Salon of 1834, which was about fifteen years before Courbet's "A Burial at Ornans" was exhibited in the Salon of 1850-51.
ReplyDeleteHow do you think that these paintings by Courbet "[lay] bare social oppression" and "transmit a vision of the utopian socialist future?" Do you feel like these people look oppressed?
Since Marie-Camille was a radical socialist and feminist, she looked for art that would not only show suffering, but also show how society could change. As a Saint-Simonian, she wanted art to motivate people to do good. Unfortunately for her, there wasn't any art in the 1834 salon that supported her viewpoint. She ended up highlighting a conservative painting by Ingres, simply because it was the "least worst option" of the paintings on display that fit with her Saint-Simonian viewpoint. So, even though she had politically-radical leanings, she ended up endorsing a conservative painting.
-Prof. Bowen
I guess I missed that part in the readings and stuff, I appologize. I have ADHD and it's hard to focus on the small issues like that when reading, and I tend to get lost in all the details. I totally understand now, what Marie-Camille's point of view was, exspecially reading the other posts from my classmates. I feel that I've really missed the mark here, though I did pretty good on the test, so I'm lost as to if I understand the information that's being given or what. like I said in my email, I'm a horrible writer, I'm a designer and performer, I do my best when talking in person because it doesn't involve sentences, with a bunch of words that I get really lost in. I'll try harder next week and hope I do better. I'm sorry this wasn't the best.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, Brian! You did mention some nice ideas in your post, too. I'm glad that my comments (and the blogs of your peers) were helpful in solidifying some concepts. That's one of the reasons why we do these blogs - to solidify the things we are learning and keep everyone on track.
ReplyDelete-P.B.