homework milestone 5-Module5 DUE TODAY
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fas202_module_5.pdf
Post Impressionism
The Starry Night, Vincent van Gogh, 1889.
What to expect in Module 5:
1. You will prepare a draft of your Final Project and submit part of it in the Rough Draft Workshop for Discussion Board 51.
2. You will prepare a draft and submit it in its entirety as Milestone Two. 3. Finally, you will explore Post Impressionist art.
Take careful notes of all vocabulary terms and key concepts throughout this module. Use the provided review questions, exercises, and games to test your knowledge. Doing so will prepare you for both the Discussion Board this week and Milestone Two.
Learning Objectives and Graded Activities
The following activities will be graded:
Discussion Board 51 Milestone Two NOTE: There is no graded quiz for this module.
These activities support the learning objectives for this module:
Interpret meaning in visual and literary analyses Propose alternate and/or additional interpretive analyses of art Contrast formal characteristics between two works of art Explain how culture, history, and society are reflected through art Describe how two works of art approach a shared theme as a product of their historical setting and culture
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Timeline of Post Impressionism
Video: Post Impressionism
PostImpressionism
PostImpressionism was an art movement of the early 20th century that was influenced by Impressionism but had a greater emphasis on expression, structure, form, and emotional response. Some of the major PostImpressionist artists were Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, and Henri de ToulouseLautrec. Cézanne and Seurat fell into the category of PostImpressionists known as "Formalists," as their paintings portrayed even more structured images than the Impressionists. Van Gogh, Gauguin, and ToulouseLautrec were known as "Expressionists," who wanted to be more expressive and emotional in their works.
Even within these different groups, individual painters had widely diverging and distinctive stylistic paths in search of authentic intellectual and artistic pursuits. PostImpressionists did not view themselves as part of a collective group at the time, in the way the Impressionists did, but they shared a common departure from the naturalism of Impressionism and a shared exploration of abstract tendencies.
Post Impressionism
Key Concepts: Post Impressionism
Post Impressionism was an art movement of the early 20th century that, while influenced by Impressionism, emphasized a greater concern for expression, structure, form, and emotional response. Post Impressionists were interested in portraying forms and colors not found in the natural world.
During the 1880s, the Post Impressionists, though not formally recognized as a group at the time, evolved out of the Impressionist style toward greater concern for selfexpression and form. There were two categories of Post Impressionist artists: "formalists" such as Paul Cézanne, who were concerned with new ways to represent volume and threedimensional form; and "expressionists" such as Vincent van Gogh, who sought to express the emotional and expressive qualities of art. Both groups were part of a general cultural shift away from the materialism of the previous decades and a return to individualistic attempts to express modern life, nature, and human experience.
Contextual influences during this period included inspiration from nonwestern culture (in an imperial era that saw greater exploration of other parts of the world) and a new understanding of physical reality in the wake of significant scientific and technological discoveries. In many ways, these painters laid the conceptual foundation for the development of nonrepresentational art that flourished in the 20th century.
Technology, Science, and Art
Industrial technologies, such as electricity, synthetic paints, and photography, impacted both how the world was (literally) seen but also how it was represented. The development of synthetic paints, for example, allowed artists to expand their palettes with brilliant hues. The invention of portable paint tubes enabled artists to paint en plein air, meaning in "open air." Impressionist artists embraced en plein air painting, as it gave them natural light and a more immediate perspective of the natural and urban world around them.
During the 19th century, Post Impressionist artists were not only influenced by, but also incorporated scientific innovations into their creative process. Michel Eugene Chevreul, Odgen Rood, and Charles Blanc created color theories and systems that directly impacted Post Impressionist techniques and color palettes. Review the slideshow below to learn more about how the science of topics and color theory affected Post Impressionists.
Optics, Color Theory, and Impressionism. Michel Chevreul's color wheel (PD in the U.S.).
Michel Eugene Chevreul was a French chemist who, in 1824, discovered the law of simultaneous contrast: Colors, when placed next to one another, imposed a complementary color on the other. When mixed according to complementary colors, paint gave an optical effect that either enhanced or muted the colors' intensities. In order to demonstrate which colors would have which complemetary impact on other colors, Chevreul developed a circular color system that paired complemetary colors and would provide a new way for painters to create color. Michel Eugene Chevreul (PD).
Additionally, Chevreul suggested painting techniques that would make good use of his color system. For example, Post Impressionist painters began to apply paint using individual brushstrokes, which would require the viewer's eye to combine them optically. Later, Post Impressionist painters would apply tiny dots of color that, when combined optically, created a cohesive image. Night Cafe by Vincent van Gogh (1888).
Chevreul also influenced the French Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix, who, using Chevreul's color system, was able to better represent vibrant, bold colors through pigment experimentation. Impressionist and Post Impressionists would later, in turn, be influenced by Delacroix's innovative use of color. The Death of Sardanapalus by Eugene Delacroix (1827).
Another color theorist whose scientific approach to color would affect Post Impressionist painters was Ogden Rood. Rood was an American physicist who, in his 1879 book titled Modern Chromatics, with Applications to Art and Industry, divided color three ways: purity, luminosity, and hue. Rood, like Chevreul, developed a complementary color wheel that could change the mood and tone of a painting. His work was influential on GeorgePierre Seurat, a Post Impressionist painter, in his use of pointilism. In pointilism, small dots of color are applied to the canvas individually, but when viewed collectively, they come together in a cohesive picture.
A Sunday Afternoon on the Isle de la Grande Jette, (18841886). Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Marianika (PD).
Charles Blanc, a French art history professor and the director of the Beaux Arts from 18481852, built upon the color theory groundwork laid by Chevreul and Rood and continued to merge art and science by asserting that mixing colors optically (such as we see in pointilism) created the most pure and intense in colors. He used a color "star" to demonstrate complementary colors. Blanc asserted that white light (created by combining a primary color and its complement) is the combination of all colors and that some color complements destroyed one another, while others achieved their maximum vibrancy. RGB color wheel. Photograph courtesy of Wikimedia user DanPMK (CC BYSA 3.0).
The scientific advances in optics, color chemistry, and color theory opened new doors of possibility for artists to capture light and color. The Bather by Paul Cézanne, c. 1885 (PD).
Characteristics: Post Impressionism
Some of the common characteristics of Post Impressionism include:
diverse approaches and artistic techniques divergence from Impressionism's naturalism and focus on immediate visual perception in favor of deeper thematic symbolism less focus on technique and more on emotional expression experimentation with composition and structure the use of bright colors and expressive forms a greater use of painterly strokes
Post Impressionist Art
Key Concepts: Post Impressionist Art
Post Impressionists focused on conveying emotions and personal responses. Like Impressionists, Post Impressionists were not concerned with being realistic or abstract. Artists such as van Gogh and Gauguin were inspired by the expressive quality of Impressionism, while Cézanne and Seurat were more interested in the structured features of Impressionism. A shift towards abstraction in art occurred in the late 19th century as artists put more emphasis on a point of view or perception than on the perceived object.
Post Impressionist artists had a greater concern for expression, structure, and form than did the Impressionists.
Post Impressionists also emphasized their emotions and personal responses in their paintings, which consequently were more expressive and figurative in nature. Post Impressionists were interested in portraying forms and colors not found in the natural world, and they echoed Impressionists in being neither realistic nor abstract.
Major Post Impressionists included Paul Cézanne, Georges Seurat, Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Paul Gauguin.
Post Impressionist artists employed aspects of Impressionism in their work, typically expanding or exaggerating some technique or approach. Some art historians categorize Post Impressionists into two groups: a) those painters drawn to the more structured features of Impressionism (Paul Cézanne and Georges Seurat) and b) those who turned to the emotional and expressive qualities of Impressionism (Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri de ToulouseLautrec).
Paul Cézanne innovated with a geometric approach that created planes of color, borrowing from Impressionism's separation of colors.
Georges Seurat, who wanted a more scientific use of color, adapted the daubed paint and broken brushwork of Impressionism into Pointillism with its tiny, bright colored dots. "Some say they see poetry in my paintings," he said. "I see only science."1
Vincent van Gogh took Impressionism's bold color palette and use of impasto to communicate his emotional reaction to the world. "I dream of painting and then I paint my dream," he explained.2
Paul Gauguin moved toward more vivid styles and symbolic content. Later in his career, he became known for his focus on primitive art, with its flat forms and the violent colors, and painted scenes of native life in Tahiti and Polynesia.
Gauguin explained his approach in an interview in 1895: "I arrange lines and colors so as to obtain symphonies, harmonies that do not represent a thing that is real, in the vulgar sense of the word, and do
not directly express any idea, but are supposed to make you think the way music is supposed to make you think, unaided by ideas or images, simply through the mysterious affinities that exist between our brains and such arrangements of colors and lines."3
Henri de ToulouseLautrec shared the Impressionist appreciation of Japanese woodcut prints and painted scenes of Parisian nightlife that relied on a painterly application of paint with long, thin strokes.
Author Jane Bingham has noted: "The Post Impressionist artists took Impressionism in new directions, forming a bridge between the Impressionists and the art of the twentieth century. Their interest in pattern, color, and symbolism inspired many later artists and designers."4
Notes
1. Ings, S. (2008). A natural history of seeing: The art and science of vision. New York: W.W. Norton.
2. McAfee, B. (2011). Full voice: The art and practice of vocal presence. San Francisco, CA: BerrettKoehler.
3. Tardieu, E. (1895, May 13). Interview with Paul Gauguin. L'Écho de Paris, p. 110.
4. Jane Bingham, Post Impressionism (Mankato, MN: Heinemann Raintree, 2008), p. 39.
Key Post Impressionist Art
Here are examples of Post Impressionist art.
The Bather by Paul Cézanne was part of a larger series of works by Cézanne depicting various subjects as bathers. The hazy distortion of the subject's form and the unnatural color of the sky and landscape behind him are characteristic of the Post Impressionist emphasis on unnatural colors and quasiabstract form. The Bather (c. 1885) by Paul Cézanne (PD).
The broad depiction of form in this painting is representative of Cézanne's Post Impressionist style. Cézanne sought to maintain the basic form of his subjects and use bright colors to give them an impressionist feel. However he only ever maintained the most basic form of his subjects instead of going into too much detail. La Montagne SainteVictoire (1885) by Paul Cézanne (PD).
The Bathers represents the Post Impressionist emphasis on the abstract that was still relatively grounded in reality. The nature of the landscape and the human form in the painting cannot be found in nature and is thus abstract; however it is still possible to determine what they are. In addition the application of thick brush strokes and distortion of geometric forms were common Post Impressionist elements. The Bathers (1905) by Paul Cézanne (PD).
Widely regarded as one of his greatest works, van Gogh's Starry Night shows how he painted his scenes slightly out of perspective with unnaturally jarring colors. This was representative of the Post Impressionist preference for abstract reality: a presentation that was abstract but still recognizable. The Starry Night (1889) by Vincent van Gogh (PD).
Post Impressionists were particularly fond of painting still life. This painting was part of a larger series of sunflower images by van Gogh and is an example of how Post Impressionist painters applied unnatural colors to natural subjects. This painting also continues the theme of slightlyremovedfromreality. The color of the sunflowers are similar enough to reality for them to be recognized as sunflowers, but they are abstract enough to constitute shapes—impressions of flowers. Sunflowers (1888) by Vincent van Gogh. Photograph courtesy of The Yorck Project (PD).
This seemingly realistic painting still retains some of the abstract qualities that were typical of Post Impressionist art. Although the colors of the flowers are relatively realistic, the soil, the flowers in the background and the form of the flowers themselves are all slightly distorted, giving the image an abstract feel. Irises (1889) by Vincent van Gogh. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Mefusbren69 (PD).
Georges Seurat's revolutionary style of Pointillism, of abandoning brushstrokes for dabbing at the canvas with the tip of a tightly rolled brush dipped in paint, is on full display in Sunday Afternoon on the Îsle de la Grande Jatte. Sunday Afternoon on the Îsle de la Grande Jatte (18841886) by Georges Seurat. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Marianika (PD).
Paul Gauguin's painting depicts two topless Tahitian women, one with a tray of fruit, the other with a small bouquet of flowers, in a vibrant primitivist style. The colors are bright and rich, and he uses simplified figures and flat planes. Gauguin pays homage to earlier artistic tradition by connecting (and comparing) female breasts to fruit or flowers. Two Tahitian Women (1899) by Paul Gauguin. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Oxag (PD).
Lautrec's painting of Parisian nightlife captures the somewhat decadent 'endofthecentury' feel of this music hall. The harsh lighting and melancholy figures endow the painting with an emotional power. At the Moulin Rouge (1892) by Henri de ToulouseLautrec (PD).
Vincent van Gogh, The Night Café, 1888
The Rise of the Abstract
With their focus on human subjectivity, Romanticism and Impressionism had introduced greater abstraction in art. Art up until the 19th century depicted scenes or events in the real world; by the 20th century, much art no longer did. The shift towards abstraction in art occurred as artists put more emphasis on a point of view or perception than on the perceived object.
While Renaissance artists are celebrated for their ability to imitate threedimensional reality in twodimensional form, Vincent van Gogh deliberately created his The Night Café (1888) slightly out of perspective and in unnaturally jarring colors in order to provoke a feeling of unease. While no one would mistake The Night Café for a photograph, the space itself is still recognizable as a room with a pool table, chairs, tables, and lights.
Similarly, Claude Monet's Impression, Sunrise (1872), which gave Impressionism its name, has what is recognizably a boat with people in the foreground.
Wassily Kandinsky and Frantisek ushered abstract art onto the scene around 1910.
Art Nouveau
Key Concepts: Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau was an international style of art, architecture, and design that emerged in the late 19th century, which favored sinuous lines, curves, and organic motifs, such as plants and flowers. Popular Art Nouveau images included graceful and slender female figures, bird and animal designs, repeating patterns, fantasyrelated subjects and the use of gold and silver colors. Other artists during the period were influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, which featured floral motifs and "whiplash curves" (a connected series of reverse curves of more or less elliptical form).
An international style of art, architecture, and design that emerged in the late 19th century, Art Nouveau (French for "new art") favored sinuous lines, curves, and organic motifs, such as plants and flowers. It often took inspiration from the unruly aspects of nature.
Popular Art Nouveau images included graceful and slender female figures, bird and animal designs, repeating patterns, fantasyrelated subjects and the use of gold and silver colors. Art Nouveau designs surfaced in glassware, jewelry, and other decorative objects.
Many artists during the period were influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, which featured floral motifs and "whiplash curves" (a connected series of reverse curves of more or less elliptical form).
Art Nouveau architects turned to asymmetrical shapes, decorative surfaces, curved forms, and an extensive use of arches. They favored mosaics, stained glass, and an organic look mimicking plants and nature. Leading architects included Spain's Antoni Gaudí, Germany's Otto Wagner, and the Americans Louis Sullivan and Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Characteristics: Art Nouveau
Some of the common characteristics of Art Nouveau include:
international movement of art, architecture, and design use of sinuous lines, curves, and organic motifs, such as plants and flowers popular images include graceful female figures, bird and animal designs, repeating patterns, fantasyrelated subjects use of gold and silver and dramatic colors influenced by Japanese woodblock prints
"The unfolding of Art Nouveau's flowing line may be understood as a metaphor for the freedom and release sought by its practitioners and admirers from the weight of artistic tradition and critical expectations," Cybele Gontar of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has noted2. Art Nouveau, as its name indicated, represented a break with neoclassical and classical traditions.
"Art [N]ouveau's early influence was Japanese print art disseminated throughout Western Europe but as the movement gained momentum, the style became more ostentatious and freeform—design schemes started to feature mythical beasts, screaming masks, twisting flora, goddesses and goblins," author Tom Masters has noted.1
A precursor to Modernism, Art Nouveau lasted until the First World War.
Notes
1. Masters, T. (2009). Europe on a shoestring Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet, 2009, p. 724.
2. Gontar, C. (n.d.). Art nouveau. Retrieved from www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/artn/hd_artn.htm
Gustav Klimt
Following in the footsteps of Impressionists and Postimpressionists, Art Nouveau artists challenged previous notions of art by looking to the future instead of the past.
While many prior art movements valued what came before, the Art Nouveau movement sought to create something new and distinctly modern.
As a new century approached, artists questioned modernity and attempted to create a new aesthetic that would reflect the modern age. In search of something new, many artists turned to nature, mimicking the shapes, lines, and movement found naturally in the world around them.
Alternately, other artists found greater inspiration by turning inward, uncovering new, artistic insight in their own imaginations, dreams, and spirituality, rather than what was present in nature. This attention to the innerself inspired an art movement known as Symbolism.
One of the leading figures of the Symbolist movement was Gustav Klimt. Klimt's work exemplifies a fascination with the innerself by exploring eroticism, expressing sexuality, and depicting dreamlike illustrations or scenes.
Klimt's style is defined by distinct patterning, bright colors, and a strong focus on female subjects. Some of his most wellknown works were created during his "golden phase," a phase of his artistic career during which he used gold leaf to embellish his paintings and achieve a supernatural aesthetic.
One of Klimt's exemplary pieces is "The Kiss," which is a richly intimate illustration of a couple held in a tight embrace. The use of gold in this piece achieves several different aesthetic goals: it gives the piece an otherworldly, ethereal feeling; it draws the viewer in and creates depth; and it reworks the aesthetic of early, religious iconography in a way that is distinctly modern and abstract, using gold to emphasize sexuality and sensuality instead of as a symbol of sainthood or righteousness.
In this piece, as with many others, Klimt uses intricate patternsblocks of color, subtle swirls, and circles of colorto complicate the scene and create visual intrigue. The patterning in this piece differentiates the strong, masculine figure from the kneeling, feminine figure.
In "Portrait of Adele BlochBauer" Klimt uses even greater pattern variety to emphasize his subject's high social standing and communicate a feeling of royalty.
Bold squares, broad strokes, gold speckling, varied triangles, zigzagging lines, and a distinct Egyptianeye pattern merge to create a sea of textured gold. If you look closely, you can see how Klimt used different, intricate patterns to offset Adele's dress and create the illusion of a throne behind her.
The collection of Klimt's work suffered a great loss when, during World War II, the Nazi's deemed his work "degenerate," fearing its sexuality, eroticism, and abstraction. Although viewed as "degenerate" work, the Third Reich later sponsored an exhibition of Klimt's work in Vienna, Austria, and eventually the Nazi's celebrated Klimt, deeming him a national icon.
This adoration would eventually lead to the destruction of a great deal of his work, as Nazi forces burned many of Klimt's pieces in a last effort of control before surrendering. Despite this loss, Klimt's surviving body of work continues to make a lasting impression, melding vivid colors, distinct patterns and shapes, and luscious, shimmering gold to create scenes that catch our eye and capture our attention.
Key Art Nouveau Art
Here are some examples of Art Nouveau works of art.
The presentation of a graceful slender female subject characterized by curves and a gold color represent the tenets of the Art Nouveau movement. Portrait of Adele BlochBauer (1907) by Gustav Klimt. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Venerator (PD).
The entire canvas of The Kiss is detailed in gold, true to its Art Nouveau style, and it features a repetition of curves and circular shapes, embedded in the attire of both subjects. The Kiss (19081909) by Gustav Klimt (PD).
The Peacock Skirt by Beardsley reflects the influence that Japanese art had on Art Nouveau artists. The Eastern style of presentation and the whiplash curve of the subject's cape are representative of some of the common elements in Art Nouveau. The Peacock Skirt (1893 by Aubrey Beardsley. Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia user Perhelion (PD).
A graceful young woman is the focus of this work by Mucha. The colors chosen and emphasis on curves and flowing lines make this a sensuous depiction. Autumn (1896) by Alphonse Mucha (PD).
Henri Matisse, Woman With a Hat
This illustration for the Russian folk tale The Tale of the Golden Cockerel by Ivan Bilibin is an example of the internationalization of Art Nouveau. The folkloric setting, the use of rich colors, and the integration of sinuous patterns (such as on the tent walls) mark this as Art Nouveau. Illustration for The Tale of the Golden Cockerel (1906) by Ivan Bilibin (PD Russia).
Gaudi's Casa Batlló in Barcelona reflected the emphasis Art Nouveau architects placed on floral and natural motifs in their work. Casa Batlló (19041906) by Antoni Gaudi. Photograph by Wikipedia user Sabalas (CC BYSA 3.0).
Early Modernist Art
Key Concepts: Early Modernist Art
Modernism is a broad term to describe the artistic movements of the late 19th and 20th centuries. These movements challenged traditional representational art forms and developed new styles and forms. Among these movements were fauvism, cubism, and expressionism.
Modernist painters approached their art with a spirit of experimentation and an openness to the functions of art. An important trend was the movement toward abstract, nonobjective art that began with Impressionism and was advanced by PostImpressionist artists.
The development of photography and cinema meant painting, drawing, and sculpture were no longer the only visual means of depicting the world. Abstract art moved Modernist artists into a new limitless, subjective space filled by the imagination.
Many Modernist styles of painting relied on abstraction, which transformed recognizable scenes or objects into new expressive works of art.
Henri Matisse, Innovator
Matisse, along with Pablo Picasso, was one of the two most influential artists in 20th century art. His work coalesced many of the important artistic avantgarde techniques of the late19th and early20th centuries. Matisse's radical use of color in his 1905 Woman with a Hat provoked the charge that he was a "wild beast," (fauve in French), which provided the name for the artistic movement he headed, Fauvism.
Matisse's work at this time was characterized by strong, flat colors and by the abstract shapes of Cubism that he is best known for; however, early in his career, he had produced traditional realist art and by the end of his career, some of his art was completely abstract. Because he was such a longlived and prolific artist, he came under the influence of a wide range of artists, primarily the Impressionists and PostImpressionists, and in turn influenced many younger artists. He produced drawings, paintings, sculptures, cutouts, murals, as well as writing a number of significant articles on contemporary art.
Modernist Styles
Fauvism
Fauvism (from the French word fauve, meaning "wild beast") surfaced in the early years of the twentieth century as a break from Impressionism. Fauvist painters adopted spontaneous, bold reactions to nature and employed vibrant, wild colors directly from the tube to match their subjective vision. "I used color as a means of expressing my emotion and not as a transcription of nature," Fauvist André Derain explained.
The Fauvists were influenced by earlier artists, like Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who had made use of bold, vibrant colors. Fauvist art was characterized by a rough, unfinished look and by bold sometimes clashing colors on flattened space along with flowing images. Many Fauvists painted with distorted linear perspective in the seascapes and landscapes they created.
Several techniques allowed Fauvist painters to communicate emotional expression: they used patterns and contrasting colors, smeared and daubed pure and unmixed paints on their canvases, and employed unnatural and clashing color combinations.
Henri Matisse's Les toits de Collioure André Derain's Portrait of a Man with a Newspaper
Cubism
Cubism, considered by some the most influential art style of the twentieth century, began in Paris with Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque early in the century. Cubist painters represented a subject from multiple angles, using simplified geometric forms. They often broke up, analyzed, and reassembled an object in an abstract form to illustrate the deconstruction and reconstruction of reality.
Pablo Picasso's Guernica and Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) Juan Gris, Portrait of Picasso Georges Braque's Violin and Candlestick
Expressionism
Expressionism was found in many modern art forms, but it generally describes art that raises subjective feelings above objective observations and focuses on conveying emotions. Painters in the German Expressionism school, circa 1905, dwelt on darker human emotions.
Edvard Munch's The Scream Käthe Kollwitz Woman with Dead Child
Vocabulary
Post Impressionism Art movement of the early 20th century that, though influenced by Impressionism, emphasized a greater concern for expression, structure, form, and emotional response.
Art Nouveau Art movement of the late 19th century through early 20th century that favored sinuous lines, curves, and organic motifs, such as plants and flowers.
Modernism Artistic movements of the late 19th and 20th centuries which challenged traditional representational art forms and developed new styles and forms.
Fauvism Art movement of the early 20th century that emphasized spontaneous, bold reactions to nature and employed vibrant, wild colors.
Cubism Art movement of the early 20th century that represented a subject from multiple angles, using simplified geometric forms.
Expressionism Art movement of early 20th century that emphasized subjective feelings above objective observations and focused on conveying emotions.
symbolism The use of a symbol, object, or image to represent something else (that is, a concept or idea).
Pointillism School of painting in late 19thcentury France that emphasized the application of paint in small dots and brush strokes.
motif A single or repeated design or pattern.
Analysis: An Overview
Milestone Two involves taking the theme and the two works of art paired with them, which you chose in Milestone One, and exploring their similarities and differences. Furthermore, it involves creating meaning and relevance around these similarities and differences.
Your first step in this process is to look closely at each work of art individually and to analyze what you see, but what does it mean to analyze a work of art? Understanding the difference between simply summarizing what you see and analyzing it is central to your successful completion of Milestones Two and the Final Project and to your growth as a university student.
Analysis vs. Summary
When analyzing a work, you want to be sure to not only point out items that stand out but also to consider and then write about the significance of why these items stand out. Analysis is about the "so what?" Asking yourself "so what?" will move your thinking and writing from a summary to an analysis.
Let's say you see something that is repeated more than a couple of times within one piece of art or across two pieces of art. A summary would mean that you point out and describe that something is repeated and how many times it is repeated. An analysis would summarize what you see but then would ask: So what? What is significant about this repetition? What deeper meaning might this repetition reveal? What is the meaning? Why is it significant to understand the repetition?
Analyzing a work of art can feel awkward because there is not necessarily a "right" answer all the time. Because analysis is about interpretation of what you see, it is sometimes subjective. That said, even a subjective look at a work should be substantiated by what you see (providing details) and what you know about the context in which it was created (tying those details to broader historical and cultural meaning).
Moving from simple summary to analysis means engaging what you see with what you've learned so far in this course and through your own research. Instead of simply pointing out what you see, discuss what is significant and important about what you see. Explain why it's important by connecting what you see with the terms associated with an artwork's time period, style, and form.
Formal and Contextual Criticism
We can approach a work of art through several kinds of analysis. Formal criticism of art applies to what you can see in the object of art itself: lines, curves, shape, form, space, color, and texture. Contextual criticism applies to what you can't necessarily see: the history, culture, and other situations that gave rise to the artist's work and vision. In Milestone Two and the Final Project, you will use both types of critical analysis.
Formal criticism
Formal criticism focuses on the work of art in a descriptive way, criticizing only what we see and hear (excluding most external information, such as historical context and intent of the artist). Formal analysis typically consists of four aspects:
Description: What is it? Analysis: How did the artist do it? Interpretation: Why did the artist create it? Evaluation: What does it effectively represent?
This formal analysis, in theory, is supposed to be objective and not attentive to the viewer's emotional response. What is the color scheme like? What materials are used? Are the lines/curves vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or mixed? Lots of space or are things cramped? How about the distance between elements in the piece?
Contextual criticism
Contextual criticism adds to formal criticism—the facts and information about the artist, his or her life, the culture and history involved, etc., which provides context for our evaluation and interpretation.
A contextual analysis brings to bear the personal, cultural, societal, and political background of the piece. Who commissioned the work? Why? Was it the Church, State, or a private party? To whose glory was the piece executed? Why was this particular artist chosen? What else has that artist done? What were other artists of the same period doing? What influenced the artist? Who was his or her teacher? This analysis will also examine the intellectual background of the artist, piece, and time period. What was the philosophical influence of the day? What about the subject—is it biblical, historical, or literary?
Gender also plays a role in the contextual analysis, both of the artist and the subjects depicted in the piece. Is there evidence of patriarchy or matriarchy? Where is the piece of art seen? Where was it intended to be seen? A church? A public square? A private home? A government building? And who was meant to see it?
Lastly, what was the effect on the viewer? Now we have the subjective and emotional response of the viewer enter into the analysis. Were viewers driven to worship more fervently? To fight for their country more fiercely? Or, perhaps, to view local and national politics differently?
Introduction and Context Paragraphs
Milestone Two's Guidelines and Grading Rubric requires that you analyze both works of art for their historical significance. You started this process in Milestone One, so for Milestone Two, you will expand on your analysis by providing more descriptive detail of what you see, more discussion of the significance of what you see, and more research to substantiate the significance you are discussing.
As you start to draft your essay, you will first want to write an introduction paragraph and a context paragraph. This page will cover these two types of paragraphs and their purpose in your essay.
Introduction paragraphs
An introductory paragraph's purpose is to simply introduce the topic you will discuss in your essay and to provide a main point for your essay. The introduction should:
identify the works of art identify the artists identify the time dates and/or time periods in which the work of art were created briefly introduce the main purpose of the essay
The good news is that the work you did for Milestone One will serve as a draft of your introduction paragraph — so you've already started the writing process!
Context paragraphs
In order for your reader to better understand your analysis, you will want to first provide your reader with context. This context should include any relevant historical, cultural, and biographical information that will help her or him better understand the works of art you've selected and why you've chosen to compare and contrast them. Your essay draft will introduce each work of art, provide context for each work of art, and begin analyzing each work of art's larger, historical significance.
Examples: Introduction and context paragraphs
In Milestone One, we saw a writer's work on comparing two works of art, one by Betye Saar and one by an unknown 19th century painter.
Introduction
The introductory paragraph simply introduces the two works of art, the artists, and the time periods represented by each painting. This is the information you gathered and organized for your Milestone One submission. It's fine to use that assignment as your introduction paragraph, just be sure to make any necessary revisions in response to feedback from your instructor.
In this paper I will evaluate two artworks that share similar themes,
and I will consider a contemporary expression of one of those themes. The
first painting is by an unknown artist and is titled Robert, Calvin, Martha,
and William Scott and Mila (which I'll simply call Mila). It was created some
time between 1843 and 1845 and depicts a group of white children with an
African American slave caretaker. The assemblage piece by Betye Saar,
titled The Liberation of Aunt Jemima, was created in 1972 and depicts a
series of "mammy" images, derogatory images of Black women, but
reimagined as empowered and powerful. I plan to focus my comparison on
how each of these works of art depicts and represents the "mammy" figure in
two different time periods and with two different meanings. Furthermore, I
will consider how the artworks depict the harmful stereotype that African
American women are "natural" domestic workers, a belief that still
marginalizes the labor of African American women today.
Note that she concludes her introduction with the main point of her essay — which connects the selected artworks to the corresponding theme from the Comparative Suggestion List. If you find that the direction and main point of your essay starts to change, especially after you've worked on your comparison and contrast paragraphs, simply return to your introduction to adjust it accordingly.
Context
Next, she provides historical and biographical context that will prepare the reader for the compare and contrast analysis portion of the essay. The purpose of this paragraph is to explain the relationship between each artwork and the culture in which it was produced, as well as to determine how those cultures influenced the selected works:
Note that she includes intext citations (in MLA format) from credible sources to substantiate the contextual information. The writer draws both from the MindEdge eLearning material and from the Jim Crow Museum website, which includes information written by a professor named Dr. David Pilgrim.
The writer will then draft a similar paragraph on Saar's Aunt Jemima, providing context for Postmodern art, which will set up the contrasts between the two paintings to be explored in the body of her essay.
It would also be appropriate to include biographical information on each artist, but since the artist is unknown, the writer opted to focus on the historical context for Romantic art and the "mammy" figure. In her context paragraph for Aunt Jemima, she will address Saar's biography.
Robert, Calvin, Martha, and William Scott and Mila was painted
during the Romantic period in the United States, not long before the start of
the Civil War. Artwork during the Romantic period emphasized "passion,
emotion, natural beauty, and exotic settings and subjects" (MindEdge).
Romantic period paintings use bright colors and strong color contrasts to
depict emotion and "natural feeling" (MindEdge). In Mila, we can see how
the painter used color contrast to highlight the differences between the white
children and their slave nanny, Mila. The painter also uses bold, vivid color
for the children and soft, cool colors for the natural landscape that is the
backdrop for the children and Mila. Mila's role as a "mammy" figure is clear,
here. The "mammy" figure, according to Dr. David Pilgrim, "served the
political, social, and economic interests of mainstream white America" by
suggesting a "mammy" is happy and content with her role as a slave. Mila, in
this painting, represents the assumed feelings of happiness and subservience.
While we know this assumption about slave women is not true, it's important
to understand that the painter wanted to depict this very common thought in
mainstream 19th century America.
Organizing: Comparison and Contrast Paragraphs
Your final project, and Milestone Two that leads up to it, asks you to compare and contrast two works of art and to draw significance from this process.
To compare simply means to note the similarities between two things. To contrast simply means to note the differences between two things.
Helpful tools for organizing your ideas in a comparison and contrast include listing, Venn diagrams, and outlining.
Listing and Venn Diagrams
Start first by simply listing the similarities and differences between the two works of art. From there, organize the lists using a Venn diagram. A Venn diagram presents two circles that overlap partially with one another. One circle represents one work of art and the other circle represents the other work of art. What the works have in common are listed in the area where the circles overlap. Their differences are listed in the nonoverlapping parts of the circles. This kind of visual organizer will help you quickly organize your thoughts and prepare to write the comparison and contrast section of your essay.
For example:
In this example, the writer uses the Venn diagram to see where the two works of art are similar and where they are different. This will build the foundation for her main point as to what is significant about these similarities and differences.
Outlining
There are a couple of ways to write an organized comparison and contrast essay. You can choose either pointbypoint or topicbytopic. In a pointbypoint comparison and contrast essay, you organize your essays by points you want to make about each work of art sidebyside. In a topicbytopic comparison and contrast essay, you will organize your essay into one section on comparisons and one sections on contrasts.
For example:
After you've listed and organized your ideas about both works of art, you'll want to start analyzing what larger point you want to make about how the works of art compare and contrast. This will impact how you structure your essay. Is it most important to make an argument about how the works of art are dissimilar, which helps us better understand the significance of these differences? Alternately, is it most important to make an argument about how the works are similar and the significance of their similarities? Clarifying these questions will help you revisit your main point in the essay and make sure it is still accurately represented in your introductory paragraph and throughout your essay.
Drafting: Comparison and Contrast Paragraphs
Once you have organized your ideas around how the two works of art compare and contrast, and what significant meaning you can draw from this process, it's time to start drafting your comparison and contrast paragraph.
Be sure to choose either a pointbypoint or topicbytopic organizational strategy. It is not right or wrong to choose one over the other, but you will want to stay consistent with whichever organizational pattern you choose.
The comparison and contrast paragraphs will include a combination of:
descriptions of what you see in each work of art analysis of significant aspects of each work of art any relevant contextual information that helps your reader better understand the significance of your analysis outside sources that help substantiate the points you are making (if applicable)
For example, let's look again at the writer whose work on the two "mammy" figure artworks we've been following. As you can see below, her paragraphs follow a pointbypoint organizational pattern, meaning she writes a paragraph for each way the artworks contrast: composition (color and lines) and symbolism. Note that these sample paragraphs are focused on contrast. She will also write a paragraph on how these works are similar in subject matter, using similar principles as are shown here, as required by the rubric for Milestone Two and the Final Project.
In the Mila painting, Mila is shown to be softly smiling, resting on the
ground at a lower level than the children around her. The way she is painted
represents what Dr. Pilgrim notes as "loyal servitude" to a system that enslaves
her. The skyline of New Orleans, a Southern city where slaves were prominent,
sits in the background, alongside a slave cabin that's placed right behind Mila's
head. These symbols of a Southern, slaveholding city and a slave cabin
alongside Mila's soft smile suggest she is happy with her station in life. In
contrast, Aunt Jemima's "mammy" figures are fighting against what Mila
represents. There is a "mammy" figure on a postcard in the middle of the
assemblage piece whose apron has been replaced by a large, closed fist, a
symbol of the Black Power movement. Behind that is a "mammy" figurine who
is holding both a broom and a rifle. She stands on a bed of cotton, a symbol of
slavery. The closed fist and rifle symbolize her rebellion against slavery and the
racist stereotypes of the "mammy," especially the assumption that a slave woman
is happy with her station in life. Through an analysis of these symbols, the intent
behind portraying African American women is very different in these two works
of art.
In the Mila painting, Mila is painted in subdued colors of black, brown,
and a little white. She almost blends into the trees and clouds that surround her.
In contrast, the white children she cares for are painted in vibrant, explosive
colors. This difference in color choices emphasizes the children over Mila. In
Aunt Jemima, the assemblage piece is full of primary colors, mostly red. Red
symbolizes anger and danger. The "mammy" figures here are angered by their
representation and find the representation dangerous. There is danger in their
role as slave women.
Citing sources and avoiding plagiarism
When using outside sources to help you articulate a point about a work of art or context surrounding a work of art, it is extremely important to give credit to that source. Providing quotation marks when using someone else's writing wordforword and an intext citation are both crucial to avoiding plagiarism. Equally important is providing intext citations when paraphrasing someone else's ideas, even if those ideas are expressed in your own words.
Provide an MLAformatted intext citation for any outside source whose ideas you reference or whose words you quote. For every source you cite in your essay, be sure to have a corresponding reference citation on an MLAformatted Works Cited page. This page will be placed on its own page, after the last page of your essay.
The lines in both works of art also provide a larger meaning. In Mila, all
of the lines in the painting are curved and circular. Since a "mammy" was
supposed to be content with her station in life, this connection is portrayed as
"natural." In Aunt Jemima, Saar fights back against this notion portrayed in Mila.
The straight lines in the assemblage piece—the frame of the shadow box and the
edge of the illustrated card in the center—suggest that this stereotype of African
American women boxes them in. The diagonal lines in the piece are created by
the broom and the rifle, making them stand out.
