2.1 Challenging the Academy

Question 1

Answer 1

Alexandre Cabanel, The Birth of Venus, 1862

Question 2

Answer 2

Edouard Manet, Luncheon on the Grass, 1862

Question 3

Answer 3

Auguste Rodin, Gates of Hell, 1880-1917

Question 4

Salon

Answer 4

The officiel juried exhibition of the Academie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, which, beginning in 1725 was exhibited in the Louvre.

Came to prominence in the mid 18th C.

Conservative academic juries opposed impressionism.

Question 5

Salon des Refusee

Answer 5

French for “exhibition of rejects”

First event was sponsored by French govt in response to artist protest over rejection by Salon jurors in 1863.

Rejected artist, many of whom were impressionists, were permitted to display their works, which were subjected to much public ridicule.

Question 6

How did artists like Manet move away from the Academic tradition of painting in terms of technique and subject matter?

Answer 6

While stylistic and content-related references in his work can be found in the Renaissance Masters, Manet’s style was more loose and sketch-like, featuring visible brushstrokes, simplification of details and the supression of transitional zones. His outlining of figures in black emphasized survace and materiality of paint. Influenced by the realist style of Courbet, Manet’s subjects tended to be common people, including people in cafes, singers, and prostitutes. While he didn’t consider self an impressionist, aspects of his work influential on early impressionists.