The French Academy of Arts Think Like a Juror

Case Study Project

The Railway, 1873

Accepted Edouard Manet

The Railway would be accepted into the Salon of Traditional Paintings for a number a reasons. First, the painting could have been accomplished in the studio and therefore meets the first standard. The finish doesn’t appear to be having any evidence of the artist’s hand or brushstrokes. The color is appropriate and doesn’t give unrealistic and exotic vibes to the finish. In fact, one could envision the painting being an exact replica of the physical world the artist stood in while observing his subjects. The color of their dresses, hair, and even the puppy on the woman’s lap are realistic in nature. Clearly the artist remained mindful of traditional ideals while painting this piece due to its extraordinary traditional appeal—setting, style of clothes on the woman and daughter and their style of hair. The finish has an almost classical feel to it as well making you wonder if that was intentional or accidental. I believe this painting would fall under the style of portraiture and be recognized as one that does respect the hierarchy of genres.

Virgin, Infant Jesus, St. John the Baptist, 1874

Accepted Ferdinand Humbert

The painting of Virgin, Infant Jesus, St. John the Baptist by Ferdinand Humbert would be accepted into the Salon of Traditional Paintings. Being a painting of biblical descent and representing a historical, biblical truth, which is the first genre on the list of the hierarchy of genres, without just cause there’s no way it would be rejected. The artist paints John the Baptist and infant Jesus nude making them resemble many historical artworks, figures and leaders of the Greek world. Although they are nude they are illustrated as very natural and robust children. The color gives the finish a naturalistic look to the children, Mary and their surroundings. With a stream of water flowing between groups of trees during the sun setting/rising also all has a natural and classic appeal to the finish. The sun is either setting or rising and this is evident due to the visible moon and the shade of colors from the top to midway of the painting.

The Ballet Class, 1874

Rejected Edgar DegasThe Ballet Class by Edgar Degas would be rejected by the Traditional Salon and placed in the Salon of Avant-garde with other non-traditional paintings simply because there is nothing traditional about Degas work. Although marvelous and very staggering in everyway, this painting screams abnormal and bizarre. Identifying the obvious reasons this painting would be rejected first, there is an elderly man placed in the center of a ballet room filled with ballet dancers. With the appeal of a Kung Fu master he stands there with his arms leaned on his walking stick gazing ahead of him blankly as if anticipating an attack from an enemy. Clearly Edgar decided not to follow any traditional standards of painting and follow his imagination instead. Also the colors in his work are not being used sparingly and truthfully, but instead very sharply as if wanting to grab the viewers attention more intently. The color of the bows on the dancer’s dresses, the red bow in the hair of the dancer closets to the observer and on her fan draws more attention than it should. The walls of the room could blend more naturalistically if more of a beige brown. Overall, it would be rejected.

The Cradle, 1872

Rejected Berthe Morisot

The Cradle, 1872, by Berthe Morisot I believe could go either way depending on who’s judging. I could see an argument going for traditional and non-traditional alike. As for me, I would reject it for one simple reason: color and finish. It portrays a traditional look at first glance with it’s classic style of clothes on the woman and having a baby cradle style with drapery around the cradle that no one uses any more. The color even matches the style and doesn’t appear to have affected the traditional standards. But after more observation the white in the paintings have a gleaming gloss to it that makes it less natural to me as well as the jacket worn by the woman. Additionally, I am unable to appreciate the finish of the whites in the painting; the hand of the artist is evident and gives a poor illusion of a silky shimmer of the material of the drapery. Again, the painting could easily go the other way for some of the reason I mentioned, but if I were a judge of the Salon I would reject this painting for the reasons listed.

Poppies (Walk in Field of Poppies)

Rejected Claude Monet

Poppies (Walk in Field of Poppies) by Claude Monet are a beautiful portraiture of God’s creation and glory and are also a good depiction of nature’s beauty in an open field, and for that reason alone it would be rejected. The first standard states that “art is accomplished in the studio, not in nature” disqualifies Monet’s painting. Clearly Monet kept a traditional feel and overall purpose as he illustrated depicted by the classical style of hat worn by the woman and umbrella carried in her right hand. The woman and child following behind them also share the same taste of clothing and color. Which happens to be an additional reason why it could be rejected. The color scheme of this painting is what gives its appeal. After observation, you begin to appreciate the orange-reddish color of the poppies and the rich green trees in the background with a large estate hidden between them.

Crucifixion, 1874

Accepted Leon Bonnat

The Crucifixioni by Leon Bonnat would be accepted into the Salon of Traditional Paintings. It meets the first standard of art being accomplished in the studio, instead of in nature. Portraying the crucifixion of Christ it respects the hierarchy of genres giving viewers biblical history to admire and appreciate. With such detail to the focal point, the body of Christ, there’s more than a realistic finish to the texture of the work. The authenticity of the painting shows detail in every element of the Jesus’ anatomy. Clearly, Bonnat learned a great deal of the proper use of color from his teachers and mentors because it strongly supports and emphasizes the message being conveyed instead of over shadowing it. The brown of the wood offsets perfectly from the nude color of His skin. The dark background clearly representing the context of what is written in scriptures about the sky being darkened as Jesus dies on the cross.