The origins of contemporary art. Historical, social and cultural contexts of the 19th, Century

1. The origins of contemporary art
Historical, social and cultural
context of the 19th. Century
MA Rosa M. Brito

2. Background…
The Scientific Revolution
• Medieval view: the earth as the center of the universe,
geocentric theory
• The Scientific Revolution: early 16th. Century (1500s),
heliocentric theory
•
Copernicus, Polish
•
Galileo Galilei, Italian scientific, in 1633 supports
astronomer: the earth
moves around the sun.
The Catholic Church
declares his theory
dangerous for the faith
Copernicus´ theory and he is judged by the Holy Office of the
Inquisition of the Catholic Church
(Beck, 546)
MA Rosa M. Brito

3. Background…
The Scientific Revolution: a new universe of discoveries,
many of them questioning the catholic faith and the church´s
authority
•
•
Scientific Method: Francis Bacon y René Descartes (1600s)
• The Law of Gravity: Isaac Newton (1687)
•
Medicine and the human body: Andreas Vesalius (1500s),
•
The Evolution Theory: Charles Darwin (1859)
dissections in the human corpses to know the organs, bones
and muscles; William Harvey (1600s) discovered the
functioning of the heart and veins
(Beck, 549)
MA Rosa M. Brito

4. Background…
The Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution starts in England during the 18th.
Century.
•Mass production of goods with new machineries.
•
•
Introduction to a new form of transportation:
The locomotive
Great advances in technology
Ffestiniog Railway steam Locomotive No 8
James Spooner, 1872
Toronto Rolling Mills, William Armstrong, 1864
MA Rosa M. Brito

5. Background…
The Enlightenment or the Age of Reason
•
It reached its height half way into the 18th Century.
Its ideas still impact modern democracies. It questioned
the divene power upon the absolute monarchies.
•
• "[It is] the people, to whom all authority belongs." -Thomas Jefferson to Spencer Roane, 1821. ME 15:328
“Man is born free, and
everywhere he is in
chains”
Jean Jacques Rousseau,
1712-1778
(Beck, 553)
MA Rosa M. Brito

6. Impact of the Enlightenment Ideas
The Enlightenment ideas eventually inspired the American
Revolution (1776) and the French Revolution (1789)
•
The Declaration of Independence of United States of
America was written by Thomas Jefferson, Based in the ideas
of John Locke and the Enlightenment
•
(Beck, 564)
MA Rosa M. Brito

7. Social context that originates the French Revolution
(Beck, 574)
MA Rosa M. Brito

8. The Enlightenment created three long term effects that
gave birth to the Western Civilization
•
Belief in progress. Scientific Revolution: human reason can
•
A secular outlook. The teachings of the church were
•
Importance of the individual. The birth of individualism.
solve social problems: inequality, slavery, and ignorance.
questioned, as well as superstition and religious fear.
Tolerance towards different religions is promoted.
People turn away from the church and royalty´s guidance to
find themselves.
(Beck, 556)
MA Rosa M. Brito

9. The impact of the Enlightenment in the Arts
After producing art at the service of the church and the
royalty, the artist start to look for inspiration in nature
and human nature.
Emphasis in nature
and landscape:
José María Velasco,
(1840-1912) Mexican
painter, 19th. Century
El Popocatepetl e Iztaccíhuatl
Óleo sobre tela, 45 x 60 cm
MA Rosa M. Brito

10. José María Velasco «para lograr esos
paisajes tan espléndidos en los que
pareciera que vemos la realidad a través de
una ventana, estudió con mucho cuidado y
disciplina cada uno de los aspectos que los
componen. Estudió botánica y zoología de
manera profunda al grado de ser miembro
de la Sociedad Mexicana de Historia
Natural, dos años anatomía con el doctor
Manuel Carpio quien fue miembro fundador
de la Academia de Medicina, por supuesto
perspectiva, teoría del color y pintura,
entre otras cosas.» (El Paisaje como
Patio del ex convento de San Agustín, 1860
Óleo sobre tela, 32 x 43 cm
Expresión, Red Escolar México, 2006)
Catedral de Oaxaca
(186?) Óleo sobre
papel, 44 x 62 cm
Patio del ex convento de San Agustín (2), 1861
Óleo sobre tela, 72 x 98 cm
MA Rosa M. Brito

11. Emphasis in the individual.
The French painter
Elizabeth Louise Vigée Le
Brun (1755-1842), was a
celebrated portrait painter
in the late 1700´s
Marie Antoinette and her
children, 1787
Was Marie Antoinette painted as a
queen of France? What is her role
in this paint?
MA Rosa M. Brito

12. The promise of Science
The English artist
Joseph Wright
(1734- 1797) was
fascinated by
science and its
impact in life and
people.
A Philosopher giving a lecture on the Orrery , 1766
Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump (1768),
by Joseph Wright of Derby [National Gallery,
London]
Where is the light coming from in
both artworks’ What does it mean?
MA Rosa M. Brito

13. Politics and Society
The English artist
William Hogarth
(1697-1764), use
satire in his
paintings. In
Canvassing for
votes- The Election,
1755, he comments
about corruption in
politics.
Marriage a la Mode: The Tete a Tete c1743
The National Gallery, London
What is happening here?
What is the artist criticizing?
MA Rosa M. Brito

14. The promotion of the ideas of The Enlightenment.
•
In 1700s, Paris was the cultural capital of Europe.
The ideas of Enlightenment were promoted specially in the
Salons, predecessor of the museum, where some rich Parisian
women organized reunions among artists.
•
Lemonnier, A reading in
the salon of Madame
Geoffrin
This is Madame Geoffrin,
the owner of the house
and host for the event
MA Rosa M. Brito

15. The Encyclopedia was very important for the spread of the
new and revolutionary ideas. The philosopher Denis Diderot
imagened a series of books where the wise Europeans could
contribute with articles and essays. The first volume was
published in 1751.
Charles Philipon was a
French cartoonist who
made this cartoon about
the king Louis Philippe,
Les Poires, 1831…he
didn´t have his head
decapitated
MA Rosa M. Brito

16. Historical context of the 19th. Century
It prevails a liberal ideology where the values being
promoted are Liberty, Equality and Fraternity.
•
Napoleon Bonaparte
Military genius declared Emperor of
France in 1804.
•
Establishes order and promotes some of
the changes proposed by the revolution
•
His ambition to control Europe takes him
beyond the French territorial limits. He
changes political leaders for his own
imposed leaders.
•
Napoleon on his Imperial throne
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres, 1806
MA Rosa M. Brito

17. •
The actions of Napoleon give birth to a new movement:
Nationalism.
José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican composer, 19121958
“Huapango de Moncayo e imágenes de José María
Velasco”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCaDRUsZAx8&fe
ature=search
Nationalism is the belief that the loyalty of the individual is
not to the Church nor to the Royal Family or the foreign
imposed government, but to the group of people that share
the same culture and historical background: nation.
• The romantic nationalists declared that a nation has a right
to be independent : nation-state.
•
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18. Period of Revolutions
The 19th. Century was the period of revolutions, thanks to
the parallel nationalist movements.
•
Nations under the foreign domain establish their own nationstates. This didn´t happen only in Europe but also in the
Latinoamerican territories.
•
•
Declared their independence
• Venezuela, 1811
• Argentina, 1816
• Chile, 1817
• México, 1821
• Brasil, 1822
• Perú, 1824
• Colombia y Ecuador, 1830
• El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Guatemala y Honduras, 1841
MA Rosa M. Brito

19. Social context in the 19th. Century
In the first half of the 19th. Century, three forces fought
over the supremacy of European society:
•
•
Conservatives: rich owners of property and nobles who
•
Liberals: merchants and middle class , who wanted more
•
Radicales: wanted a drastic change to achieve democracy.
protect the monarchies.
power for the Parliament.
The poorest being supported by some intellectuals.
Portrait of Emile Zola,
Manet 1968
Henry Mosler (American artist, 1841 – 1920)
Canal Street Market

20. The Industrial Revolution created social, political and
economic reforms:
•
Capitalism. Adam Smith. The economic liberty warranties
the economic progress. There is no government intervention in
the economics of the State.
• Socialism. Some theoreticians belief that the government
must intervene in the economics of the State. The factors of
production are owned by the people and are administered for
the benefit of all.
• Communism. Karl Marx, German journalist, introduced a
radical form of socialism , Marxism (Communist Manifest)).
According to Marx and Engels, the industrial revolution has
enriched the rich and impoverished the poor. Communism
promotes one society without social classes, and the ownership
of the means of production by the people. Private property
does not exist.
MA Rosa M. Brito

21. What are the effects of industrialization present in this lithograph ?

22. Describe the scene…
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23. Cultural context on the 19th. Century
• Intellectual and artistic movements promoted and reflected
the social and political changes in Europe during the 19th.
Century.
• A new movement in the arts and ideas, with a profound
interest in nature and the thoughts and feelings of the
individual, was the central axis of the artistic production
• The new voices are in favor of creative freedom. The
arts´movement is the Romanticism, at the beginning of the
19th Century. The contemporary artist is born.
MA Rosa M. Brito

24. Architecture
In the 19th. Century, the architecture style became simple
and elegant, with a similar style to the classic Greece and
Rome. The new style was called Neoclassicism.
Teatro Degollado, Guadalajara, Jalisco
Instituto Cultural Cabañas,
Guadalajara, Jalisco
MA Rosa M. Brito

25. Music
It acquires a new style too. A more grandiose, with bigger
symphonic and bigger and more dramatic works in organ and
coral music. This style was called Classic.
As example of classical music, we have:
• Johann Sebastian Bach, German
composer
•George Frederick Handel, English
composer
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig
van Beethoven had their most creative
period in Vienna, Austria.
MA Rosa M. Brito

26. Literature
•Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote his master
piece, Faust, about a medieval scholar who,
unsatisfied with the fruits of knowledge, sells his
soul to the devil as payment for pleasure and
mundane wisdom.
• Víctor Hugo, French poet. His
novels and theatre pieces
expressed the romantic and
revolutionary spirit. His novels
Les Misérables and The
Hunchback of Notre Dame
present the challenges of the
individual against a hostile
society.
MA Rosa M. Brito

27. The popularity of the novel.
• Extensive work in prose and fiction
• A well taken story through suspense and climax
• An exploration of the thoughts and feelings of the
characters.
• Frankenstein, of Mary Shelley, who wrote her first
novel at 18 years-old. She starts the science fiction
genre.
• Tom Jones, of Henry Fielding. It is about an orphan
who is thrown out of his adoptive home. He travels
around England and encounters many obstacles to win
the hand of his lady.
•
Robinson Crusoe, of Daniel Defoe. It is about a lost
sailor in a tropical island. With his abilities and the
help of a native named “Friday”, he survives and finally
he is rescued.
MA Rosa M. Brito

28. Dance
The highly controlled minuet (a court dance) was replaced by
the popularity of the waltz. The choreographers focused in a
dance taken from the opera, called ballet, to expressed the
world of Romanticism. Among the most representative works
of classical ballet are Swan Lake, Giselle and Les Sylphides.
•
MA Rosa M. Brito

29. Painting
19th Century was a revolutionary period for painting. Major art
movements were gaining momentum:
• Romanticism: emphasis on the
individual rather than on society.
Evokes emotion, heroism, exotic
lands, fantasy, mythology
Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830
• Realism: emphasis on
nature and the struggle
of social classes
Honoré Dumier, The Third
Class Wagon, 1862
MA Rosa M. Brito

30. • Impressionism: emphasis on out
door scenes especially of the
Claude Monet,
everyday life of the bourgeoisie.
Woman with a
Parasol, 1886
Modern art is born due to the
breaking of the standards of
painting
• Post-impressionism: everyday life
scenes, and landscapes with emphasis on
geometric forms, distortions for
expressive effect, and the use of
unnatural color.
Vincent Van Gogh, The
Mulberry Tree, 1889
• Symbolism: and art movement against
realism and naturalism which favor
spirituality and the inner self expressions
(emotions, dreams, imagination)
Carlos Schwabe, The Death of the Grave Digger, 1895

31. Animation
Eadweard J. Muybridge, English photographer (1830-1904)
Pioneer of animation and cinematography
Muybridge, by Adam Pellin Deeve
http://vimeo.com/375773
The horse in motion, 1878
MA Rosa M. Brito

32. Cinema
Auguste and Louis Lumière, French
earliest filmmakers, (1862-1954,
1864 -1948)
In 1892 they started to work with
images in motion. They invented
the camera-projector,
“cinèmatographe” (1894)
Workers leaving the Lumière factory,
1895,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxLG
DF_121U&feature=related
Georges Mèllié, French earliest
filmmakers, (1861-1938)
The father of special effects
The Trip to the Moon, 1902
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FrdVdKlxUk
MA Rosa M. Brito

33. References and Bibliography
Arnason, H. H., & Prather, M. (1998). History of modern art: painting, sculpture, architecture,
photography (4th ed.). New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc..
Beck, R. B. (2009). World history: patterns of interaction. Evanston, Ill.: McDougal Littell.
Figueroba, A., & Madrid, M. T. (1996). Historia del arte . Madrid: McGraw-Hill.
Kemp, P. (2011). Cinema: the whole story. London: Thames & Hudson.
Mittler, G. A. (2000). Art in focus: aesthetics, criticism, history, studio (4th ed.). New York :
GLENCOE/MCGRAW-HILL.
Steam Locomotive Stock Photography Images From SuperStock. (n.d.). SuperStock - The Best
in Stock Photography, Vintage Photos and Fine Art Images. Retrieved January 24, 2011,
from http://www.superstock.co.uk/stock-photography/steam+locomotive
Velasco. (n.d.). RedEscolar - Portal Educativo. Retrieved January 23, 2011, from
http://redescolar.ilce.edu.mx/proyectos/acercarte/arte_mexicano_oto09/artemex5/ar
tmex05.htm
century, t. e., & the, s. h. (n.d.). Lixl. Lesson 3. Machine Age and Middle Class Culture. The
University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Retrieved January 24, 2011, from
http://www.uncg.edu/gar/courses/lixl/380BLS/380Unit3/Lesson3MachineAge.htm
gonzonet. (2007, August 5). YouTube. Huapango de Moncayo e imágenes de José MarÃ-a
Velasco. Retrieved March 14, 2010, from www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCaDRUsZAx8