Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, Part 2

Question 1: Discuss Manet’s Olympia.

Answer 1: Manet’s famous nude Olympia (1863) possesses some similarities to Titian’s nude Venus d’Urbino. However, these similarities are completely a matter of form. Whereas Titian’s Venus is a noble and chaste woman soon to be given in marriage, Manet’s Olympia is a courtesan, a lower-class woman who lives in luxury because of her purely sexual relationship with a wealthy man. Shocking and controversial, the work offended many Parisians but accurately portrayed the hidden life of many French nobles. Rejecting the academic traditions of the time, Manet’s Olympia contains angular forms and jarring color contrasts that cause the foreground to stand out brightly against the background. The image is compressed in such a way that the figures dominate the viewer’s vision. However, the work is not a complete departure from established academic traditions: It uses a vertical-horizontal grid, which creates a stable and balanced composition. Despite its erotic subject matter, the work is remarkably lacking in sexual appeal due to Manet’s style of pure visibility.

There are lots of good resources about Impressionism that you can find available.

Question 2: Discuss Manet’s Luncheon on the Grass. Then discuss The Bar at the Folies-Bergère.

Answer 2: Luncheon on the Grass (1863) brought Manet considerable fame early in his career. Highly controversial and ridiculed by the academic community, the work, like many during its time, was inspired by a Spanish subject—in this case, a merienda, or light afternoon meal. The setting is a wooded area in which a group of aristocrats are sitting on the ground and picnicking; however, the female picnicker is completely nude. Obviously, nudity had been a common subject of art before and during Manet’s time, but never had a nude figure been portrayed in such a contemporary setting. Many critics condemned Luncheon not only for its nudity but for its use of bright colors. The Bar at the Folies-Bergère was Manet’s last masterpiece and an example of urban genre: a genre work that focuses on city people. In Manet’s typical style, it combines elements of traditional, academic art with elements of Impressionism.

Question 3: Identify Edgar Degas.

Answer 3: Edgar Degas (1834–1917) is one of the most celebrated and daring nineteenth-century French painters, and a member of the 1860s Vanguard movement. Degas’ works are known for their compressed pictorial space, their use of eccentric shapes, and their innovative use of pastels for purposes other than portraiture. These characteristics would influence Impressionist painting and eventually lead to abstraction in art. Despite his shunning of classical and academic artistic methods, Degas found great inspiration in the Neoclassical painter Ingres and studied under a pupil of Ingres, Lemothe, who impressed upon Degas the importance of line. Degas often showed his works alongside Impressionist painters and, like them, prided himself on the spontaneity of his paintings. However, he was not an Impressionist; like Manet, Degas avoided the plein-air approach to painting. Instead, he preferred to paint from memory, which, in his opinion, allowed imagination to transform the final work, leaving only the essentials.

Previous: Realism, Impressionism, and Post-Impressionism, Part 1 - Next: Reform and Collapse, Part 1

Flashcard Secrets provides test preparation products for a variety of examinations - all trademarks are property of their respective trademark owners.

3827 Phelan #179

Beaumont, TX 77707