CUL 245 – Introduction to Art History
EXAM PREP QUESTIONS
Please prepare answers for all of the questions listed below. EACH answer should be AT LEAST 1-2 double-spaced pages in length. You get marks for being thorough, using examples and referencing specific course material. ANY of the following study questions may appear on your final exam!
The following questions are based on Gardner’s Chapter 12 & 13: Europe & America 1800-1900 and the corresponding in-class lecture:
1) What were the main artistic and social concerns of the Realists? How did critics and the public receive Courbet’s ‘Realism’ during his time and how did he respond to this reception? Then, summarize the main differences and similarities between Realism and Impressionism defining each movement clearly. Cite and discuss one specific image example from each movement to illustrate your response.
Social realism aimed at social change, and the mural seemed uniquely able to argue for this as a very public art form. Although social realism is defined primarily by its message and political leanings rather than its style. Realism is concerned directly with what is absorbed by the senses; naturalism, a term more properly applied to literature, attempts to apply scientific theories to art. At the time, Courbet's choice of contemporary subject matter and his flouting of artistic convention was interpreted by some as an anti-authoritarian political threat. To achieve an honest and straightforward depiction of rural life, Courbet avoided the idealized academic technique and employed a simple style, rooted in popular imagery, which seemed crude to many critics of the day. Impressionism is a style of art developed in the mid 19th century that focused primarily on a fleeting moment. Impressionist artist tried to create the feeling of movement by using loose brush strokes, sketchy lines, and blotches of color that blend together to create the feeling of an impression while realism style of art uses very real images to portray the life of common people, instead of pastimes of the upper and middle classes which is the focus of Impressionism. In this picture, sketchy lines are seen which is impressionism In this picture, real picture is seem which is realism
2) Why was Manet’s Olympia considered scandalous, yet ‘modern’? Why was Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass considered controversial, yet ‘modern’? What exactly is it that makes Manet a ‘Modern’ artist? With what artistic style is Manet associated and why?
In the 19th century many people were painting what they saw as "everyday life". Manet came from a more privileged class, yet he chose to portray the lower classes or the less desirable. Like Victor Hugo, Manet captured the real life people of Paris.
One major reason Luncheon in the grass was so controversial was that many interpreted the scene as referencing the Bois de Boulogne, a large Parisian park. In 1863, when the painting was on exhibition, the Bois de Boulogne was a well-known site for prostitution.
Manet enjoyed drawing and print making. Although not many of his drawings still exist, those that do are certainly impressive. Again, he worked from reality and like in his paintings, the lines in his drawings are firm and strong.
He has long been associated with the Impressionists; he was certainly an important influence on them and he learned much from them himself.
