Late 19th Century Europe

By the mid 1880’s, Impressionist art had been accepted as a legitimate style of painting by both the public and critics.

The new and upcoming artist of the time had thought that Impressionism had long run its course and even Renoir said

that he felt he had “wrung impressionism dry”. The time for a change was vastly approaching…

As you know by now, Impressionists had described their work in terms of light and color, well, the next generation of

painters, the Post-Impressionists wanted to use light and color in terms of describing the nature or structure of a

subject. In other words, Post-Impressionism served as a bridge between Impressionist and abstraction.

Some of these new artists were very analytical while others were more interested in the expressive qualities of light or

color. For example, Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin were focused in their artistic efforts on exploring the expressive

capabilities of formal elements while Georges Seurat and Paul Cezanne were more analytical in their orientation. These

four mentioned artist were the primary ones of the Post-Impressionist, of course there were others, but we will mostly

be focusing on their pieces of art.

HENRI DE TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892-1895. Oil on canvas, approx. 4’ X 4’7”. The Art

Institute of Chicago, Chicago (Helen Birch Bartlett Memorial Collection).

Toulouse-Lautrec was very interested in capturing the sensibility of everyday life and deeply admired Degas. This makes

him somewhat involved with the Impressionists, however, some of his work is deemed as borderline caricature due to

its satirical edge. His art work, to a degree, was the expression of his life. He was self-exiled because of his ailments and

his prestigious last name gave him entitlements, he became a denizen of the night world of Paris. There he encountered

entertainers, prostitutes, and outcasts of other social realms. His art work thus reflects that of cheap music halls, cafes,

and bordellos.

In his painting, At the Moulin Rouge, his work is an inspiration of Degas influences, Japanese prints, as well as the

invention of photography can even be seen with the oblique and asymmetrical, composition, the spatial diagonals, and

the strong line patterns with the added disagreeing colors. He even added himself in the background, the short man

accompanied by the very tall man who is his cousin.

VINCENT VAN GOGH

Most of you have probably heard a story or two about this particular artist, so, please let me clarify. First of all, Vincent

van Gogh started his life (born in 1853) like most, growing up with several brothers and sisters, in this case he was the

older of his two brothers named Theo and Cor as well as three sisters: Elisabeth, Anna, and Willemina. But what you

may not have known is that ‘Vincent’ was already born but sadly passed away. The ‘Vincent’ that we will be studying is

the second child and who he was given the same name of. Perhaps this is the start of never meeting his parent’s goals

and dreams. Theo would later prove to be a huge asset in his life as a brother, caregiver, and art dealer.

Vincent, at an early age worked for an art dealer like his brother Theo, but found the job to be a bit distasteful because

the owners treated the art as a commodity, and quit. From then, he went on to preach the Gospel, but failed the test

several times and gave up that dream. From then, he went on to work in the coal mines before he too quit that job.

Time after time and job after job he failed thus never pleasing himself or his parents. One instance after not having a job

and no money, he went back home to live with his parents and his father had thoughts of placing him in an insane

asylum because neighbors reported hearing him wale all night long. His attempts at living an honest life failed him.

He finally found happiness when he started creating his own art work. His art palate first started out with very neutral

colors and isn’t at all what people remember him by today. His art work really flourished when he moved to Paris and

stayed with his brother Theo at his apartment. In Paris is where he met Paul Gauguin. Gauguin and van Gogh were one

of the two strong leaders of the Post-Impressionist movement, but the two fought a lot about art and at one point van

Gogh felt like Gauguin was going to desert him. This instilled a violent rage inside van Gogh and when he confronted

Gauguin with a razor blade he panicked and reached up and cut off the lower portion of his ear lobe (NO, not his entire

ear and NO he didn’t mail it to his girlfriend). This action was probably influenced by the heavy loads of absinthe he was

addicted to drinking.

Vincent van Gogh only sold one of his pieces of art work in his life time, and then, still deemed himself as a failure. His

brother Theo acted as his art dealer and tried endlessly to help his brother, but to no avail. This was Vincent’s last

attempt at making something out of himself. He grew very restless and sick and would spend days in his room at an

asylum (which he went to willingly) drawing his view of the outside world. Making no money, he would sometimes eat

paint which threw him into a bout of hallucinations in which he was hospitalized several times for. In his last months of

living, his mental health was rapidly declining and he walked into a field close to his home and shot himself. He survived

the impact (again, failing at something) and walked back home where he died two days later. Theo, rushing to his side

recounts his last words “the sadness will last forever”. The two brothers had an incredible bond despite the mental

illnesses that Vincent had and Theo’s health rapidly declined soon after Vincent died. The two brothers are buried next

to one another. (Vincent van Gogh died in 1890).

Such mental illness that Vincent van Gogh has been said to have are: bi-polar, schizophrenia, epilepsy, poisoning from

digesting paints, alcoholism (especially absinthe which would explain hallucinations), and syphilis.

Today, Vincent van Gogh is one of the world’s most well known artists.

VINCENT VAN GOGH, The Night Café, 1888. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’ 4 ½” X 3’. Yale University Art Gallery,

New Haven (bequest of Stephen Carlton Clark, B.A., 1903).

This painting is done when Vincent moved to Arles. Here he was more concerned with focusing on the energy a location

would give off. For example, he stated that this scene was “a place where one can ruin oneself, go mad, or commit a

crime”. His work expresses this quote quite nicely. It has a very yellow light to it which expresses the “madness” of the

location and what it suggests. The figure in the corner of the pool table looks as if he is going to slide right off the canvas

and into the viewer’s space.

The way he applies the paint to this painting paves the way for his future work in that it is thickly painted on with back

and forth strokes. The paint was even sometimes squeezed directly onto the canvas which enhances the strength of his

colors.

VINCENT VAN GOGH, Starry Night, 1889. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’5” X 3’ ¼”. Museum of Modern Art, New

York (acquired through the Lillie P. Bliss Bequest).

To emphasize his ‘expressionist’ method of placing the paint onto the canvas we see this work, Starry Night. Painted in

1889, the year before his death, this work came from him while he was living in an asylum near Arles (he committed

himself there). This painting is very interesting because it is not a simple landscape of a night time sky; it is much more

than that. We are looking at Vincent van Gogh’s interpretation of the universe and the small people who live in it. This is

his communication of the electrifying vastness of the universe which is filled with whirling and exploding stars and

galaxies of stars, the earth and humanity huddling beneath this majestic scene. The tallest building in his replica of a city

is a church; this could be his way of reconciling with religion and the church after his attempt and failure of preaching

the gospel.

The colors he chose in this painting as well as the turbulent brush strokes give the audience much information about his

character and his state of mind in that time of his life. The majority of the art is done in a deep blue which suggest

depression.

PAUL GAUGUIN, The Vision after the Sermon or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel, 1888. Oil on canvas, 2’ 4 ¾”

X 3’ ½”. National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Like Vincent van Gogh, Gauguin rejected objective representation in favor of subjective expression. He broke away from

the Impressionist in the fact that he didn’t use minutely contrasted hues, but believed that color, above all, must be

expressive and that the artist’s power to determine the colors in a painting was a central element of creativity.

Contrasting with that of van Gogh, Gauguin’s palate doesn’t involve thick heavy strokes but rather colors and strokes

that appear flatter and are often visually dissolving into abstract patterns or patches.

After moving to Brittany, Gauguin deemed the people there still as ‘natural’ and uninhibited from their peasant

environment (when in fact Brittany had been transformed into a profitable market economy). Here is where he received

his inspiration for The Vision after the Sermon or Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. This work rejects that of Realism and

Impressionism and we are seeing women who are still in their Sunday attire who are visualizing the sermon they have

just heard. (This scene is recounting Genesis 32:24-30 where Jacob has an encounter with the Holy Spirit).

Gauguin departed from optical realism and composed the picture elements to focus the viewer’s attention on the idea

and intensify the message. This isn’t an Impressionist work of art because it isn’t recalling the moment, rather what

memory would have recalled and imagination would have modified.

This piece is not unified with a horizon perspective, light and shade, or a naturalistic use of color. Instead he uses pure

unmodulated color which fills the flat planes and shapes bounded by firm lines: white caps, black dresses, and the red

field of combat. He was greatly inspired by Japanese prints as well as the cloisonné metal works. These combined with

his daring experiment to transform traditional painting and Impressionism into abstract, expressive patterns of line,

shape, and color.

GEORGES SEURAT, A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886. Oil on canvas, approx. 6’9” X 10’. The Art

Institute of Chicago, Chicago (Helen Birch Bartlett memorial Collection, 1926).

In contrast to the expressionistic ways of painting by van Gogh and Gauguin we see the intellectual painting of

Frenchman, Georges Seurat. He devised a method of painting that was on the basis of color analysis. He was less

concerned with the recording of immediate color sensations than he was with the careful organization into a new kind

of pictorial order. His system is known as pointillism which involved the careful observation of placing color into its

component parts and then placing them onto the canvas in tiny dots. This means that his work is only recognizable as a

whole from a distance, when the viewer’s eye blends the many pigment dots.

In his painting A Sunday on La Grande Jatte uses repeated motifs to create both flat patterns and suggested spatial

depth. His profiles of the females, the parasols (sun umbrellas), and the cylindrical forms of the figures are all placed to

set up a rhythmic movement in depth, as well as side to side. His painting is filled with sunshine but isn’t placed as

broken patches of transient colors.

His work is not just a scientific method of placing dots of colors to create a picture; it is also recognition of the tenuous

and shifting social and class relationships at the time. The area, La Grande Jatte or the Big Bowl is an island in the River

Seine – one of Paris’s rapidly growing industrial suburbs. The painting captures people from all different classes who are

lounging on the lawn on a Sunday afternoon. The audience sees people ranging from the sleeveless worker to the

middle class man and woman seated next to him. Most people are wearing their Sunday best, but mass production of

this image diminishes the differences that fashion historically signified.

PAUL CEZANNE, Mont Sainte-Victoire, 1902-1904. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’3 ½” X 2’ 11 ¼”. Philadelphia

Museum of Art, Philadelphia (The George W. Elkins Collection).

Like Seurat, Paul Cezanne turned from Impressionist painting to create a more analytical form of art work. His studies of

the master’s paintings at the Louvre showed him that the Impressionist work lacked form and structure. Cezanne

decided that he wanted to “make of Impressionism something solid and durable like the art of the museums.”

In his Mont Sainte-Victoire, displays his own unique way of studying nature and his goal with this work was to not display

the truth in appearance, photographic truth, or truth of Impressionism, rather to create a structure that was behind the

formless and fleeting visual information that the eye absorbs. With special care, he studied the properties of line, plane,

color and their interrelationships. He studied the effect of every kind of linear direction, the capacity of planes to create

the sensation of depth, and the power of colors to modify the direction and depth of lines and planes.

By alternating warm colors and cool colors, he was able to give the illusion of a three –dimensional form. Upon closer

observation of this piece, one will notice the small details such as the houses, roads, and fields and above all of these

details, the largest form arises, the mountain. The mountain is constructed much like the rest of the painting, with

alternating colors and directions to achieve the near and far away effect.

PAUL CEZANNE, The Basket of Apples, ca. 1895. Oil on canvas, 2’ 3/8” X 2’ 7”. The Art Institute of Chicago,

Chicago (Helen Birch Bartlett memorial Collection, 1926).

Here, at first glance we see a pretty typical still life, yet it is missing something. Cezanne painted the apples and bottles

without their individual character and more as cylinders and spheres. He was so analytical and meticulous with his

choices of still life and the preparation he took before he started created a problem with him using real fruit and flowers

because they had a tendency to rot, thus changing their physical form.

In The Basket of Apples, he created the images solidity by juxtaposing color patches for each object. You may have

noticed that some of the images in the scene have a different perspective than others. This is due to the fact that

Cezanne was highly interested in understanding the three-dimensionality of objects so he often created and studied

them form a different viewpoint. This resulted in the fact that his art work did not appear optically realistic.

His ways of painting presented the viewer the experience of two-dimensional and three-dimensional images

simultaneously.

Avant-Garde

Each successive modernist movement of the 19th century: Realism, Impressionism, Post Impressionist – all challenged

artistic conventions with greater intensity. This relentless challenge gave use to the word ‘avant-garde’. The use of this

word has expanded over the years and it now used as a synonym for anything that is new or cutting edge.

The actual word ‘avant-garde’ was derived from the 19th century French military and means ‘front guard’. These were

the soldiers who were sent ahead of the army’s main body to investigate and make occasional raids on the enemy. It has

migrated from then to Politicians who deemed themselves visionary and forward thinking. It was then adopted into the

art world in 1880 by artist who referred to themselves as ahead of their time and broke the rules of the established art

forms. The artist of the avant-garde seemed to hide from the public audience and only communicate to one another

through their art work.

Symbolism

Nature remained a primary focus of artistic efforts and at the end of the 19th century; the representation of nature

became completely subjective. Artist no longer sought of creating an imitation of what nature was but longed to create

their free interpretations of it. They were very passionate about expressing their individual spirit while rejecting the

optical world and leaned more toward a fantasy one. They were choosing to stand outside on the conventional and

traditional world and spoke more like prophets in signs and symbols.

Those who followed this path adopted an approach to subject and form that associated them with a general European

movement called Symbolism. These Symbolist disregarded the thoughts and ideas of Realism and their theories about

creating what was real and in front of them. Symbolism was not to see things, but rather to see through them to a

reality far deeper than what superficial appearance gave. The artists’ mystical vision must convert the objects of the

commonsense world into symbols of a reality beyond that world and, ultimately, a reality from within the individual.

Symbolists were encouraging each other to cultivate all the resources of fantasy – no matter how obscure – in their art

work. They urged one another to stand against the vulgar materialism and conventional more of the industrial and

middle class society. Above all, Symbolists wished to purge literature and art of anything utilitarian, to cultivate an

exquisite aesthetic sensitivity and to make the slogan “art for art’s sake” into a doctrine and a way of life.

HENRI ROUSSEAU, Sleeping Gypsy, 1897. Oil on canvas. 4’3” X 6’7”. Museum of Modern Art, New York (gift

of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim).

Here we see a different but equally powerful world of fantasy in The Sleeping Gypsy. Rousseau never left Paris nor did he

receive any training and he produced an art of dream and fantasy in a style that had its own sophistication. His natural

talent for design and his imagination teeming with exotic images of mysterious tropical landscapes shows through in his

art.

This work shows a figure who occupies the silent world of the desert and sleeps under a perfectly round moon. A lion,

that appears to be stuffed or incredibly stiff, smells the gypsy. A crucial encounter is pending – an encounter of the type

that recalls the uneasiness of a person’s vulnerable subconscious self during sleep.

EDVARD MUNCH, The Cry (The Scream), 1893. Oil, pastel, and casein on cardboard, 2’ 11 ¾” X 2’5”. National

Gallery, Oslo.

Here is another famous painter with a very rocky past. His father was a doctor who married a woman half his age and

together they had five children: Johanne Sophie, Edvard, Peter Andreas, Laura Cathrine and Inger Marie. Edvard’s

mother died in 1868 when he was five years old of tuberculoses. His favorite sister, Johanne died in 1877 when he was

14. His younger sisters were diagnosed with mental illnesses at a very early age and his brother Peter died shortly after

he was married – the only Munch child to wed. The children were then raised by their father and their aunt Karen.

Edvard, who was quite sick very often, was usually kept at home and to occupy himself, he would draw. Some of his

early drawings were inspired by his father’s ghost stories by Edgar Allen Poe. He was also greatly affected by his father’s

way of reprimanding the children by his words “your mother is looking down from heaven and grieving over your

misbehavior.” All of these factors: death, grieving, loss, and not being accepted all greatly affected Edvard and you can

see his torment in his works of art.

His work, originally titled Despair, now known as The Cry or The Scream is a great example of his pain and anguish. The

painting (which is created with mixed media) is primarily made up of a fiery red and yellow sky. In the background we

see the faint resemblance of two people walking away from the main figure in the foreground. The main figure is a

skeletal man who is holding his hands to his face as a piercing scream occupies the setting. Perhaps the quote that goes

along with this work says it best:

“I stopped and leaned against the balustrade, almost dead with fatigue. Above the blue-black fjord hung the clouds, red

as blood and tongues of fire. My friends had left me, and alone, trembling with anguish, I became aware of the vast,

infinite cry of nature.”

AUGUSTUS SAINT-GAUDENS, Adams Memorial, Rock Creek Cemetery, Washington, 1891. Bronze, 5’ 10”

high.

Sculpture of this time period was not readily available to capture the optical sensations that the painters of Post-

Impressionism favored. Sculpture therefore served predominantly as an expression of supposedly timeless ideals.

Because of the heavy medium of the material as well as the manual labor that it took to create the sculptures, the artist

were primarily male and from the working class.

Saint-Gaudens was an American sculptor who trained in France and used Realism very effectively in a number of his

works. This style can’t really be seen with Adams Memorial because it was a sculptor designed for Mrs. Henry Adams

and instead chose a classical mode of representation.

We see a majestic woman who sits in mourning. Her classical beautiful face is partly shadowed by the drapery that

enfolds her body. The immobility of her form which is set in an attitude of eternal watchfulness is stirred by a natural,

yet mysterious and exquisite gesture.

AUGUSTE RODIN, Burghers of Calais, 1884-1889, cast ca. 1953-1959. Bronze, 6’ 10 ½” high X 7’ 11” long X

6’6” deep. Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington (gift of Joseph H.

Hirshhorn, 1966).

Auguste Rodin was more into that of the Realist spirit and his work reflected that. He was aware of the Impressionism

movement, but was more obsessed with the body in motion, much like that of Muybridge and Eakins. Although the

Impressionism’s view on color was not much concern to him, he did however take interest on their views of light and the

effect it had on three-dimensional surfaces. Thus, he joined his passion for sculpture, light, and the body’s movements.

The piece, Burghers of Calais, was commissioned as a commemorative heroic piece that reflects back to the Hundred

Years’ War. During the English siege of Calais, France in 1347, six of the city’s leading citizens agreed to offer their lives in

return for the English king’s promise to lift the siege and spare the rest of the population. Each of the figures seen is a

direct response to the feelings of despair, resignation, or quiet defiance. Rodin enhanced their feelings by specifically

placing them in certain locations. The burghers (which are middle class citizens) all seem to wander aimlessly.

This piece was created with a low base so that all the citizens could see them and relate to them in some way, however,

the city was ashamed of the work and banished it to a remote location and placed it on a very high base.

AUBREY BEARDSLEY, The Peacock Skirt, 1894. Pen and Ink illustration for Oscar Wilde’s Salomé.

Located at the intersection of Art Nouveau (New Art) and Symbolism, we find the work of Aubrey Beardsley. This

particular piece of work was creted for an illustration for Salomé by Oscar Wilde. The Japanese print influence is very

obvious, although uniquely altered to fit his manner. Banishing the thoughts of Realism, he converted back to the simple

forms of black and white lines omitting that of any gradient tones or shading. The space for the most part is left blank

and what does occupy the space is that of curvilinear lines and mostly organic motifs. This is clearly a piece of work that

expresses the ideals of “art for art’s sake”.

The play tells in one act the Biblical story of Salome, stepdaughter of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, who, to her

stepfather's dismay but to the delight of her mother Herodias, requests the head of Jokanaan (John the Baptist) on a

silver platter as a reward for dancing the Dance of the Seven Veils.

In this illustration, the beautiful Salome, the daughter of Herod and Herodias, tries to lure the Syrian Captain of the

guard. She uses her beauty for this act, so that the Captain can release the prisoner John the Baptist. At the end of the

play, Salome kisses John's head. As per the renowned myth, John the Baptist does not accept Salome's love. Therefore,

Salome uses her beauty and power to get John the Baptist executed.

ANTONIO GAUDI, Casa Milá, Barcelona, 1907.

Art Nouveau achieved its most personal expression in the work of the Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi. Like most artist,

he longed to create something that was uniquely his own style as well as something that was modern and would be

appropriate for his country. He decided to create a building as a whole and then create the exterior as an artist would

mold clay. His apartment home, Casa Milá, is a wondrously free forming mass wrapped around a street corner. Lacy iron

railings liven up the swelling curves of the cut-stone façade. The top of the building is quite interesting with the

chimneys that are fantastically twisting forms coming up from the rolling tiled roof.

The surface of the building looks like weathered rock and the stone that surrounds the entrances and windows are very

reminiscent of eroded sea caves. Both descriptions are reflective of the discoveries found in Spain at that time, which

was a Paleolithic cave and paintings at Altamira. Gaudi felt that each of his buildings was symbolically a living thing, and

the passionate naturalism of his Casa Milá is in the spiritual kin of early 20th century Expressionist painting and sculpture.

The Beginnings of a New Style

The Fin de Siécle or the end of the century was approaching, the momentous changes to which the Realists and

Impressionist responded had become familiar and ordinary. The prosperous wealthy middle classes dominated these

societies and the people were determined to “live the good life”. This led to a culture full of decadence and indulgence,

sexual drives, powers, and perversions. The people also emerged themselves in an exploration of the unconscious; they

were unrestrained and freewheeling. This determination to enjoy life masked an anxiety prompted by the fluctuating

political situation and uncertain future.

GUSTAV KLIMT, The Kiss, 1907-1908. Oil on canvas, 5’ 10 ¾” X 5’ 10 ¾”. Austrian Gallery, Vienna.

Here we see a really good example of the times in The Kiss. Here we see a couple who is embraced within one another.

All that is visible is the heads of the young couple; however, we can only see a segment of them. The rest of the painting

dissolves into a shimmering, extravagant flat patterning. This image is a visual manifestation of fin de siècle spirit

because it captures a decadence conveyed by opulent and sensuous images.

ALEXANDRE-GUSTAVE EIFFEL, Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1889. Wrought iron, 984’ high.

The Realist impulse encouraged architecture that honestly expressed a building’s purpose, rather than elaborately

disguising its function. Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel designed very elaborate metal skeleton structures and his work varies

from the interiors of exhibition halls to the interior armature (support system) of France’s gift to the USA, the Statue of

Liberty.

The Eiffel Tower was created for a great exhibition in Paris in 1889. At the time (and for some time after that) it had

been known as the tallest structure in the world, reaching 984 feet high. The iron structure rests on four sturdy legs

which are connected by arching open frame skirts. This is a pleasing design that masks the horizontal girders used to

support the massive structure. Visitors can take one of two elevators to the observation deck or that can take the

internal staircase.

The openness of the structure in relation to the outside air jolted some architects into the realization that the new

materials and new processes might germinate a completely new style and a radically innovative approach to

architectural design. The desire for speed and innovative ideas as well as using materials that were a reduction in fire

hazards brought on the use of cast and wrought iron. This style continued until the early 1870’s when disastrous fires in

New York, Boston, and Chicago demonstrated that cast iron by alone was far from fire resistant. This led to the discovery

that encasing the cast iron in masonry combined the strength of the material with the fire resistance of the masonry.

The discovery mention above introduced to the world the skyscraper.

LOUIS SULLIVAN, Guaranty (Prudential) Building, Buffalo, 1894-1896.

As skyscrapers continued to grow all over major cities, architects refined the visual vocabulary of these structures. Louis

Sullivan created buildings that were light-filled, well-ventilated office buildings and adorned both exteriors and interiors

with ornate embellishments. These decorations combined the commerce and culture as well as gave white collar work

spaces a sense of refinement and taste. This can be seen in the Guaranty (Prudential) Building.

This structure is steel and covered with terra-cotta. Sullivan softened with severity of the structure by adding lively

decorations on the piers, cornice, stairways, exterior of the building, ceiling, and elevator cages. The building’s form now

starts to express its function, both actual and symbolic.