People Flashcards
Constable:
painted very realistic landscapes
love of nature, depiction of those who work in nature
Why did he include the Cathedrals in his paintings?
Connection between God and nature
Friedrich:
German
painted solitary figures before sublime landscapes
Looked at nature as uncertain, not being sure what the future will bring
Typically painted oak trees, or other trees.
Melancholy undertones in his paintings
The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (moment of emotional and naturual drama)
Turner:
English
landscape painter, painted Interior of Tintern Abbey, Slave Ship, etc.
Reminds us of impressionism, more focused on light than the objects (Rouen Cathedral)
He abhorred the industrial revolution (this is seen in Rain, Steam and Speed; dark train–red and black–in a beautiful landscape)
What are the differences between Constable and Turner, in terms of subject matter, focus, and placement?
Goya:
Spanish
Depicted the fall and follies of Spanish society
He was the darkest of the Romantic painters (Spanish art tended to be a lot more intense than its contemporaries’ styles)
Was the court painter for the Spanish, but did not approve of the leadership.
Paintings were propaganda, against the empire
Did lithographs, etchings, and engravings
Beethoven:
Austrian (born in Germany, raised in Austria)
key figure in transition from classical to romantic era
came from abusive home (drunkard father, locked him in his room)
eccentric personality, relied on Count Waldstein to take care of his affairs
Wrote his emotion, just like the poets, in his works.
Enlarged the orchestra in order to achieve a sufficient range of emotional expression.
Beethoven does what he wants.
Anti-utilitarian - The music was written for art’s sake, not to be used for masses or meetings, but to simply listen to.
Many of his works were written while he was deaf.
Embarrassed by the fact that he was deaf.
The 9th Symphony was an amazing mention to joy and how things are good and happy (based on a poem by a German Romantic poet)
Berlioz:
autobiographical compositions
About a witches sabbath
there is a narrative, or story, to the music
PROGRAM MUSIC (given a program of music you can listen for, you can recognize parts of the story with the program)
Idee Fixe: melodic fragment of notes associated with a certain character
Chopin
Polish sought after composer/pianist who played in salon concerts Very popular for nationalism Died of Consumption as a young man Lover = George Sand (female author) Prodigy Famous for writing Etudes: very difficult pieces Wrote many “Nocturnes”
Emerson:
Unitarian minister
wrote a lot about nature
Thoreau:
abolitionist
lived on Emerson’s property in a small cabin
Known for writings on Civil Disobedience (HRS)
Pugin:
designed the interior of the House of Parliament
wrote about the decay of taste overtime as seen by architecture
Géricault:
French
painted Napoleon’s limitations, joined the Royal Musketeers
Wanted to show death and the insane.
The purpose of his art is to disturb and to move to action
Delacroix:
Rubens with a high fever
Worked on many canvases at the same time
Often brought exotic scenes to Europeans (Greece, Algeria)
Painted scenes from Algiers, especially with the harems of the Algerians
Observing humanity and nature
Ingres:
Odalisque (female slave or concubine) his subjects were not kept in proportion
classical romantic
Luxury-laden, sensual paintings, an idealized versions of the harems and sexual slavery of the women in Algeria
Exaggerated the length of the spines of women to make the painting more sensual. Also elongated the arms and legs for the same effect.
Daumier:
political satire, drew lots of cartoons for the newspapers
one of the first political cartoonists, concerned with social injustice
did etchings, engravings, and prints
images of death; La Rue Transnonain has images similar to Gericault’s
understand social issues and political discourse
Courbet:
leading realist painter, goal was to paint the world just as he saw it
Set up his own exhibitions because the other realists would not allow him to put his paintings with theirs
Decided to paint scenes from real life exactly how he saw them.
Connected with the common folk
art becomes less establishment, more rebellious
Louis Napoleon (Napoleon III)
nephew of Napoleon I elected as president of France
Manet
considered a flâneur - a man about town, someone that walks around town, goes to cafes, too cool to have a job, but simply enjoyed life.
pre-impressionist or the first impressionist
do something that a camera cannot do; make impressions of what the scene looks like, not what it looks like to the eye
What made his painting of the nude woman and two clothed men cross the line?
The woman is looking directly at us
Very normal woman, not a goddess or other figure as depicted in previous nude paintings.
Woman seemed “cheap” - choice of things to wear,
Time of day that the painting is depicted.
Garnier:
Paris opera house
built in the center of Paris
Mixture of Neoclassical and Baroque style in architecture
Very large, with staircases that were over 90 feet long
Verdi: opera verismo
More realistic style of opera that dealt with contemporary life.
Considered one of the most popular writers of operas.
Il Trovatore, La Traviata, Aida, etc.
Wagner:
used the Leitmotif meaning “leading motive” which is the same as an idee fixe (musical line accompanying a character)
believed that his work The Ring of Nibelung (a 4-piece operatic series from German mythology, The Ride of the Valkyries is one of the most famous pieces) was his Gesamtkunstwerk meaning “total work of art”
Did not call his works operas, but instead he called them Music Dramas
changed the way the melody was carried (orchestra carrying the melody, the singer simply adds to it)
Liebestod: love/death. Lots of tension exists in his music (Tristan & Isolde).
Monet
Was the first painter to paint in this style (though he did not like to think he belonged to the impressionist movement)
Degas
Didn’t want to be considered an impressionist
Subject matter is typically dancers
Interesting points of view: elongated and from the side as opposed from the audience
Morisot
One of the only women in the group
this was admitted because the group was already not accepted by the public as a legitimate art group.
Typically painted women and children.
