Midterm 2 Prompts

Question 1

Women have been both the subject and the object of art. In a short essay using 5 works of art as examples, discuss the difference between subject and object.

Answer 1

Judith slaying Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi 1620
Italian Baroque
Subject

The Lacemaker, by Vermeer 1670
Northern Baroque
Subject

The Grand Odalisque by Ingres 1815
Romanticism
Object

The Swing by Faronard 1765
Rococo
Object

Olympia by Manet 1865
Realism
Subject

Question 2

Discuss the movement away from naturalism and art being a “window on the world” that was started in the Renaissance. Using 5 examples of art, outline the transition away from perfect realism beginning with the Baroque and ending with Realism. Why did these artists decide to shatter the realism that began with Renaissance artists? Choose a variety of artistic movements for your examples.

Answer 2

The Lacemaker, by Vermeer 1670
Baroque
Not a window into an intimate world the world of a single individual
Quiet genre scene, doing what you think is your duty, incredible realism, but soft edges, prioritizes emotion and daily life over grand historical events or narratives

Embarkation to Cythera by Wattaeu 1720
Rococo
Window into an immoral fantasy
feathery brush strokes, pastel colors, intimate, close to people, people are close to each other, but pink on black,

Oath of the Horatii by David 1785:
Neoclassicism
Window onto the world we’re aspiring to, time when people were better

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains by Bierstadt 1870
Romanticism
World of Adventure and Beauty

The Stone Breakers by Courbet 1850:
Realism,
Perfect window into the world
Shows Daily life

Question 3

In a short essay, choose 5 different movements with 5 accompanying works to compare and contrast reality vs. escapism. On top of that, discuss these works formalist qualities and how that adds to the reality or the escapism

Answer 3

The Lacemaker by Vermeer 1670
Baroque
Reality

The Swing by Faronard 1765
Rococo
Escapism
Pink on Black, Happy, but Lascivious (Shoe is flying off), love garden, unrealistic affairs

Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains by Bierstadt 1870
Romanticism
Escapism

The Stone Breakers by Courbet 1850
Realism
Reality

Harvest of Death by O’Sullivan 1865
Photography
Escapism
Propaganda about the Civil War’s violence, impact of collective memory, falsely implanted memory