American Realism Flashcards
American Realism
Representational Scenes of everyday life narrative
influence of photography window into another world
convincing space on 2D canvas
Eastman Johnson
1848 trained at Dusseldorf
Attention to American subject mattere
expresses sympathies for African Americans
Winslow Homer
Visited front during Civil War 1866
Genre paintings content departed from sentimentalism and combined authenticity and reserved realism
England 1881, small fishing village
subjects have serious quality and emotion, multi-valent images within paintings
Man’s struggle with nature
very American - industrialism, mystery, realism, sentimental
Winslow Homer
Croquet Scene, 1866
young upper class people engaged in leisure
compared to Monet’s Women in the Garden but opposite style of impressionism
solidity of line
Winslow Homer
Snap the Whip, 1872
quaint, simplicity of the past, childhood, protected time
breaking away from childhood, growing up
rustic past, barefoot, one room school house
sentimentality, nostalgia, authenticity
Winslow Homer
Morning Bell, 1872
lone figure going to the mill - new industrialism
strong lines, diagonal ramp
unaswered questions - who are the women?
Winslow Homer
The Life Line, 1884
demonstration of new technology for rescue
complete fiction, made up view
life and death, freezing Atlantic
evoke sympathy, deeper connection, women frail, men strong
faceless as everyman
essential struggle of life
Prown’s take - “rock thrusting sea”, Homer’s face behind the scarf, sexual connotation
Winslow Homer
Fog Warning, 1884
Man by himself in small boat rough seas, masculine, physical labor
fog rollin gin threatening, dominating sky, coppy water
role of self made man, fisherman, man vs. nature
Winslow Homer
Eight Bells, 1886
Out on the sea living vitally through own wits, knowledge, strength
traditional values
Winslow Homer
The Veteran in a New Field, 1893
war is over, return to farming
proved masculinity nothing left to do, agrarian past
Homer is the lonesome man, autobiographical quality
central, unidentifiable figure
Winslow Homer
The Gulf Stream, 1899
ship in background makes more grim, opportunity for salvation
looking to the right intently, not concerned with sharks
black man sent adrift, rudderless, no control of destiny
current of water taking him
isolation, lack of resources
Winslow Homer
Right and Left, 1909
nature study, Japanese flattening
suggestion of human presence - man w/ shot gun
Eastman Johnson
Sugaring Off at the Camp, Fryeburg, Maine, 1861-65
rural realism
connection with simple past, productive labor, sense of community
Eastman Johnson
The Brown Family, 1869
clarity of line, reflection, effect on glass dome and glint of light
Eastman Johnson
The Old Stage Coach, 1871
engages innocence of childhood, appeal to Americans
psychological response to the war?
nostalgia, simplier past
Eastman Johnson
Catching the Bee, 1872
unwise and dangerous exploration of nature
structure basis for Hollyhucks painted few years later
Eastman Johnson
Hollyhocks, 1874-76
transition in style
reduce into flatter fields of color, looser
Eastman Johnson
Husking Bee, Island of Nantucket, 1876
looser painting
entertainment and necessity in 19th century
community comes together to husk the corn, transforms labor
nostalgic view of community, farming, sustenance
Eastman Johnson
Winnowing Grain, 1877-79
Thomas Eakins
Max Schmitt in a Single Scull, 1871
contemporary scene, particularly American, painting what he sees, rooted in experience, masculine sport, leisure activity for upper classes
Max Schmitt in foreground, Eakins in background, heroic moment, physical labor
precise - specific season, time of day, place, vanishing point
Fiction - Eakins puts himself in the boat, sense of authority
appears real but rings caused by oars are not actual, false representation
Thomas Eakins
The Pair-Oared Shell, 1872
icredibly detailed studies, perspectival drawings, mapping out rational space
used photography and traced lantern figures
Thomas Eakins
The Gross Clinic, 1875
rejected from 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia, thought too graphic
Dr. Gross performing public operation
cleaning infection in bone to save leg/arm, no antibotics at time
don’t know figure
Eakins signs name on operating table, he is in background audience sketching work as he sees it
Thomas Eakins
Singing a Pathetic Song, 1881
Song of pathos (emotionality), Pathetic - type of popular sentimental music, intimate scene, detail in dress scientific exactness, moody moment
based on a photograph, pattern in wallpaper exact
Thomas Eakins
Swimming, 1885
young nude men swimming around, committed to the human nude, scietific exactness, men enjoying nature, pyramidal structure, balance
Eakins in bottom corner swimming towards group
