Arts: February 1978

Barbizon School (1830-1870)

Barbizon School

The Barbizon school (1830–1870) of painters is named after the village of Barbizon near Fontainebleau Forest, France, where the artists gathered. The Barbizon painters were part of a movement towards realism in art which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. In 1824 the Salon de Paris exhibited works of John Constable. His rural scenes influenced some of the younger artists of the time, moving them to abandon formalism and to draw inspiration directly from nature. Natural scenes became the subjects of their paintings rather than mere backdrops to dramatic events. During the Revolutions of 1848 artists gathered at Barbizon to follow Constable's ideas, making nature the subject of their paintings. One of them, Jean-François Millet, extended the idea from landscape to figures — peasant figures, scenes of peasant life, and work in the fields. In The Gleaners (1857), Millet portrays three peasant women working at the harvest. There is no drama and no story told, merely three peasant women in a field. The leaders of the Barbizon school were Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Théodore Rousseau, Jean-François Millet and Charles-François Daubigny; other members included Jules Dupré, Narcisse Virgilio Diaz, Charles Olivier de Penne, Henri Harpignies, Gabriel Hippolyte LeBas (1812-1880), Albert Charpin, Félix Ziem, François-Louis Français and Alexandre DeFaux.

The Gleaners (1857) by Jean François Millet

Barbizon School (1830-1870)

Naturalism (1830- )

Naturalism

Naturalism in art refers to the depiction of realistic objects in a natural setting. The Realism movement of the 19th century advocated naturalism in reaction to the stylized and idealized depictions of subjects in Romanticism, but many painters have adopted a similar approach over the centuries. One example of Naturalism is the artwork of American artist William Bliss Baker, whose landscape paintings are considered some of the best examples of the naturalist movement. Another example is the French Albert Charpin, from the Barbizon School,with his paintings of sheep in their natural settings. An important part of the naturalist movement was its Darwinian perspective of life and its view of the futility of man up against the forces of nature.

Naturalism began in the early Renaissance, and developed itself further throughout the Renaissance, such as with the Florentine School.

Naturalism is a type of art that pays attention to very accurate and precise details, and portrays things as they are.

Controversies about terms

Some writers restrict the terms "Naturalism" and "Realism" for use as labels for period styles of the middle and late nineteenth century in Europe and America, thus making available the terms "naturalism" and "realism," all lowercase, for tendencies of art of any period so long as the works strive for an accurate representation of the visible world.

All art is conventional, but artists following the tendency "naturalism" profess a belief in the importance of producing works that mimic the visible world as closely as possible.

Thus, "Naturalism" is tied to time and place, whereas "naturalism" is timeless.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturalism_(arts)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_periods

Realism (art movement) | Art movements | Art movement stubs | Naturalism (1830-)

Liberty Leading the People (Eugène, 1830)

Liberty Leading the People (Eugène, 1830)

Artist	Eugène Delacroix (1798–1863)
Title	Liberty Leading the People Deutsch: Die Freiheit führt das Volk. Español: La libertad guiando al pueblo. Français : La Liberté guidant le peuple. Русский: Свобода, ведущая народ. Tiếng Việt: Nữ thần Tự do dẫn dắt nhân dân
Year	1830
Technique	Oil on canvas
Dimensions	325 × 260 cm (128.0 × 102.4 in)
Current location	Musée du Louvre, Paris, France
Notes	Romantic history painting. Commemorates the French Revolution of 1830 (July Revolution) on 28 July 1830. Español: Pintura histórica romántica. Conmemora la Revolución francesa el 28 de Julio de 1830. Français : Peinture historique romantique. Commémore les Trois Glorieuses (la Révolution de Juillet) le 28 juillet 1830. Tiếng Việt: Tác phẩm trường phái lãng mạn. Minh họa cuộc cánh mạng tháng Bảy năm 1830 tại Pháp.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Eug%C3%A8ne_Delacroix_-_La_libert%C3%A9_guidant_le_peuple.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

Romanticism (1800-1850)

Victorian Classicism (1830- )

Victorian Classicism

Britain, Mid to Late 19th Century. Victorian Classicism was a British form of historical painting inspired by the art and architecture of Classical Greece and Rome. Although the word classical often implies direct inspiration from antique art, but this is not a necessary part of the concept, and according to context the word might be intended to convey little more than the idea of clarity of expression, or alternatively of conservatism. In the context of Greek art, the term `Classical' has a more precise meaning, referring to the period between the Archaic and Hellenistic periods, when Greek culture is thought to have attained its greatest splendor. The term `classic' is used to refer to the best or most representative example of its kind in any field or period. In the 19th century, an increasing number of Western Europeans made the Grand Tour to Mediterranean lands. There was a great popular interest in the region's lost civilizations and exotic cultures, and this interest fuelled the rise of Classicism in Britain, and Orientalism, which was mostly centered in continental Europe. The Classicists were closely associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, many artists being influenced by both styles to some degree. Both movements were highly romantic and were inspired by similar historical and mythological themes -- the key distinction being that the Classicists epitomized the rigid Academic standards of painting, while the Pre-Raphaelites were initially formed as a rebellion against those same standards. Frederick Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema were the leading Classicists, and in their lifetimes were considered by many to be the finest painters of their generation.