Art Nouveau 1890-1905

Like impressionism, Art Nouveau was a reaction to academic art. Characterised by organic, especially floral and other plant inspired motifs as well as highlt stylized flowing curvillineour forms.

Maude Adams as Joan of Arc, by Alfons Mucha, 1909

Alfons Mucha has used oil on canvas to produce this Art Nouveau painting. Most Art Nouveau paintings are chracterised by sinuous, assymetrical lines based on plant forms. Like many of his other peices Muchas has painted a healthy young woman in flowing vageuly Neoclassical looking robes. This also gives it a romantic feel. The flowers behind the womans head form a halo, making me see the symbolism influences as well as the dreamlike theme of the painting. The artisits decorative style means that the peice is full of detail and is interesting to look at. Even though the painting is of a scared woman, the pale pastel colours keep a calm and romatic atmosphere. Her perfectly flowing dress and hair add to this romantic style. The flowers in the painting have been used for more than background detail. They have been used to frame it and to decorate the whole peice. Although their colours are not dissiimilar to the womans dress they still stand out because of their bubbly shape against the dresses flowing lines. The painting has a very realistic look but the thechnique he has used to colour it gives it a flatter and more cartoony texture.

Symbolists 1886

French symbolism was both a "continuation of the Romantic and a reaction to the realistic approach of impressionism. The term sumbolism means the systematic use of symbols or pictorial conventions to express an allegorical meaning. The symbolist painters used these symbols from mythology and dream imagery for a visual language of the soal." Symbolists believed that art should show the truth but not in a direct way. They paint absolout truths in a metophorocal and suggestive manner. The theme of most symbolist paintings are death, dreams, evil, decedance, femmes fatales, adrogyny, perversity and the occult. www.huntfor.com/arthistory/c19th/symbolism.htm

The Death of the Grave Digger by Carlos Schwabe

Oil on Canvas

Shwabe has used a mystical theme to create this symbolist painting. He has used oil to successfully create a realistic scene, building up different layers to create depth, shade and realism. The brush lines are very difficult to see if possible at all. He has used a realistic location, a human subject and another realistic subject to create a realistic happening as if it were an everyday one. He has produced this scene with different symbols which the viewers have to read to get the meaning of the painting. Behing the two main subjects the background is detailed and interesting. This keeps the viewer interested for longer with more to look at and the the snowy scene creates an atmosphere of peace ans silence. To be sure that the audience's focus is on the two meanigful subjects in the painting, Shwabe has chosen dark colours to contrast with the light background. Also the drooping branches of the tree they are under seperates the background from the foreground and we are able to view them seperatly. The wings on the female subject symbolise that she is an angel and her dark colours show that she is the Angel of Death. Her scythe shaped wings also imply this. The green glow hovering in her right hand symbolise and are an example of her powers. She is looking down to the ground which we accosiate with hell but she is also pointing up to the sky which would make us think that she is sending him to heaven. The fact that she is displaying both options could suggest that she has not yet chosen where to send him. Her elegant wings are reaching into the grave and look as if they are suppoting or cradling him maybe to comfort him. The presence of the angel tells us that this man is dead. He is holding a spade in one hand meaning that he was digging the grave himself which suggests that he caused his own death. This is also implied with the expression on his face. He doesnt seem surprised that death is visiting him just amazed at her appearance. The artist has used the rule of thirds to draw the viewers eye to the male subjects head, the straight line that the angels body creates and also makes us follow her left arm up to her hand not letting us miss this important symbol. The positioning of the subjects also play a symbolic part in the peice. The man is not only below the angel but he is in the ground and looking up at her. This humbles him and strips away any importance he has as a person. The angel is high and mighty rightly looking down on her client. She is taking control and using her powers to death with the death of this man.

Arts and Crafts 1880 - 1910

Designed by Morris and the Philip Webb

"The Arts and crafts movement was a reaction to idustrialisation. Arts and crafts was a reformist movement that influences British, Canadian and American architecture, decorative arts, cabinet making and craft. It consisted of auethentic and meaningful styles. When looked at on a whole it was neither a anti-industrial nor anti-modern. The movement turned entirly against machines and towards handcraft. " www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Arts_and_Crafts_movement

This house seems to have neo-gothic influences. It looks very rustic and has "cotegey" sufaces. To express the inherent beauty in craft some products were deliberatly left slightly unfinished resulting in a rustic and robust effect. This doesnt apply to this building but it still has other Art and crafts chrecteristics. This is a very old gothic building and i can see the similarities such as the pointy decorations and old windows.

Designed by Morris and the Philip Webb

Impressionism 1860

Claude Monet - Water Lily Pond

This painting of a water lily pond is a perfect example of pure impressionism. The chosen colours represent light which is broken down into its spectrum components and recombined by the eyes into another colour when viewed from a distance. When you view Monet's painting up-close, it appears to be a choatic jumble of colours. "Impressionism was breaking the acedemic rules of painting and that was done by painting light instead of subjects."http://www.impressionism.info/info.html In pure impressionism the use of black paint was to be avoided and greys and dark tones were produced by mixing complimentary colours. Monet has used green and purple to create the illusion of blackness between the trees in the blackground. Like realism, impressionist artists painted realistic scenes but they used modern life instead of historical scenes or people. With impressionist art it was costomary to create the effect of intense colour vibration by not smoothly blending the colours and using short broken brush stroke of pure and unmixed colour. Short thick strokes of paint used to capture the essense of the subject rather than the detail. To create the willoe trees and lilies the colours have been applied side by side with very little mixture creating a vibrant surface. This makes the optical mixing of the colours occur in the eye of the viewer.

Realism - 1880

Realism - 1880
"Realist art depicts subjects as they appear in everyday life without embelishment or interpretation."www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Social_realism It attempts to reveal the truth but has been known to emphesise the ugly or sorded.

This artsist has also used this same "true-to-life" manner. He has used water colour to create this perfectly smooth looking skin of the subject in the painting. Her skin is extremely realistic as is the light shining on her body. Even though it is very accurate to real life, the water colour stops it from looking like a photograph. It gives it a softer feel. The colours that he has used are the exact same colours that we would expect to see of skin the that light and shade. He has painted a subject in a dark room with natural daylight shining on her through a window with blinds. His technique makes this very clear and believable. I can see the influences of romanticism in thsi peice. The woman looks very calm, peaceful and sat posing beautifully. The sheet is perfectly draped across the chair. This is a scene that i can imagine being painted in the early 1800's but in a more emotional way to match the romantic movement. Here the artist has discarded most of the theatrical drama that i saw in the romanticism art. The artist has successfully managed to show this ordinary woman and scene as worthy of art without added emotion and drama. The lines in the painting are also all very ordinary. The womans body is made up of slightly curving lines which are very soft in texture giving the painting a naturally calm flowing atmosphere without the artist distorting anything. The blackness of the background leaves the room that the subject is in to the viewers imagination. It also makes the subject appear closer to the viewer as we are drawn into her very private moment. The blackness also emphesises the glowing look the woman has, as do the natural rays of light decorate her. The fact that a photograph could have been taken here and the beams of ligth and dark surrounding would cause the same effects in the finished peice, lets me know that this is realism. The artist has accepted this scene as is literally is and painted accuratly what he saw. i think that the lack of emphesised emotion inthe painting sparks the imagination of the viewers and more of the audience can then draw their own conclusions as to what they should feel whilst looking at the piece and add their own emotions. The rule of thirds is clearly applied here and is used to show the straight line of the top of her body and draw the eye to her right hand and her head.

Romanticism - 19th century

Originating in eaurope in the 18th century, Romanticism uses the power of nature and its redemptive qualities. It concentrates on making things more aesthetically pleasing than they realistically would be. It was a rebellion against established social rules and conventions.

Painting: Joseph Karl Stieler - 1820

This painting is oil on canvas. The artist has used oil to successfully create a realistic portrait, building up different layers of paint to create depth, shade and realism. Behind the figure the background is dark and without detail. This gives the background a mysterious and eery feel and also makes Beethoven stand out and appear glowing against the dull shrubs behind him.

This painting is a good example of how romanticism emphesises the beauty and the mystery of the man in the picture. Ludwig Van Beethoven was apparently an "ugly little man" http://fresh.amazon.com/AmazonProduct?asin=0060759747 and this clearly isnt what we see in the painting.The background of the painting contains trees and shrubs which isnt a practical place to paint a portrait or for Beethoven to be writing music, this shows how the artist has embraced imagination and emotion over reason. Also Beethoven has been made to look powerful and handsom. His actual image has been manipulated and changed to his liking as it would be done today in photoshop. His clothes are big and thick giving him a manly look with broad shoulders and big chest. His hands look soft and clean as he works on a composition. His hair is grey and old but is made to look thick and healthy. All of the lines are curved creating a soft flowing feel. The pose of the subject creates a triangle shape with the head as the pinicle moving down and out to the shoulders and elbows. In my opinion this successfully balances the picture as does the rule of thirds. The rule of thirds is also drawing the audiences eye to the right side of his face where his cheekbone and jawline are very strong and also to his music book and hands. I can see that his manly facial feature and his composing hands are what the artist wanted the viewer to pay attention to. Most of the colours re very dark and haunting. This makes the red stand out and draw the viewers eye in as it underlines the subjects head. The red skarf also brings out the red in his cheeks. He appears blushing and healthy. The artist has been successful to create a very skin like tecture to the subjcts face. His hair looks like it would feel like soft hair and his clothes, expensive clothes. When it comes to the subject the artist has focused on making him beautiful but very realistic. The background is less realistic it looks misty and unfocused. This adds to the romanticism effect, adds mystery and lets the viewer concentrate on the subject without being distracted.

"Two Men Contemplating the Moon"

by Casper David Friedrich

Oil on canvas used, built up layers to create depth, atmpsphere and realism.

I think the colours in this painting are what first attracks the viewer. The soft warm dusty colours create a calm and somber atmosphere. The orange and yellow tones let the viewer feel the heat in the painting which is also emphesised by the orange moon in the centre background. These warm colours make it seem like the atmosphere in the painted location is very close and stuffy. This is emphesised by the curving tree branches that fill the page. The branches overhanging the subjects are much softer and fluffier looking than the wood on the trees trunk making them seem more protective of the subjects than haunting. The arstist has used a technique that gives the old trees, stumps and moss a smooth fluffy texture. Just like Steiler's painting of Beethoven, the beauty of the scene has been exaggurated to create an atmosphere that the viewer can enjoy and imagine experiencing. Again just like Steiler's romantic painting all of the lines in the painting curving and flowing beautifully. The moon in the painting is almost centered but still not our main focus. The artist used the rule of thirds to give the Subject closest to the left and the tree an eye catching position in the painting. Also the two subjects balance themselves in the painting by creating a triangle shape from their heads to the bottoms of their flowing cloaks. In this painting i think that the location and the atmosphere it created was most important to the artist whereas in Steiler's painting it was the subject that he wanted to show off. I think that the romanticism style in which they were both painted gave them both a very powerful effects.