WHAT IS MODERN ART?

There is no precise definition of the

term "Modern Art", although it usually refers
to works produced during the approximate
period 1870-1970.

When did the Modern Art

Movement begin?
According to most art critics, Modernism in
painting first started with the Frenchman,
Jean Claude Monet, and the French
Impressionists, for its rejection of traditional
academic art forms of the 18th and early
19th century.
ARTISTS WERE READY FOR A CHANGE!
 MODERN ART
IMPRESSIONISM

EXPRESSIONISM POP ART

OP ART

PERFORMANCE
ART

SURREALISM HAPPENINGS
AND MOB
 Impressionist Art Movement
 Art that strayed away from tradition in
Europe started in France.
 The Impressionist incorporated new
scientific research into the physics of color to
achieve a more exact representation of color
and tone.
 applied pure colored rather than broader
strokes and painting out of the doors to catch
a particular color.
•Everyday - subjects and events
•Lighting - Captures effects of natural light . Color
in artwork is illuminated…or seems to glow
•Brushstrokes - Artists have broken the solid shape
into smaller pieces and blurred the edges, creating dabs
of color that blend together.
•Outdoor – en plein air was a common setting
•Weather – weather and atmosphere were
‘captured’
(remember ELBOW)
 Began in the 19th century in France.
 Began publicly exhibiting their art in the
1860’s.
 the artists aims to catch the moment
meaning by catching the lights, shadows,
movements, colors, atmospheres, emotions
and moods.
 Photography inspired impressionists to
capture the moment.
 A new method of capturing images became
available.
 Frederic Bazille (1841 - 1870)
 Gustave Caillebotte (1848 - 1894)

 Mary Cassatt (1844 - 1926)

 Paul Cezanne (1839 – 1906)

 Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917)

 Armand Guillaumin (1841 – 1927)

 Edouard Manet (1832 – 1883)

 Claude Monet (1840 – 1926)

 Berthe Morisot (1841 – 1895)

 Camille Pissaro (1830 – 1903)

 Pierre-Auguste Renoir ( 1841 – 1919)

 Alfred Sisley (1839 – 1899)

 1840 – 1926
He wasn’t the first to paint
this way, but the first to be
“accepted” and called an
Impressionist
Main subjects were nature
and landscapes- en plein air
Painted same scenes day
after day to capture changing
of light weather, atmosphere
and the changing of seasons
 He is the father of
Impressionism in Arts.
Woman in a Garden, 1867, Hermitage, St. Petersburg; This was
a study by Monet to show the effect of sunlight and shadow on
color
 Impression, Sunrise (Impression, soleil levant), 1872; the
painting that gave its name to the style, IMPRESSIONISM
 Studies - Rouen
Cathedrals, 1890’s
1919, Le Bassin aux Nymphéas

Worth
$82.2
Million
Claude Monet, Le Palais Contarini
(1908)
$165-Million in 2013
PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR
 In characteristic Impressionist
style, Renoir suggested the
details of a scene through freely
brushed touches of color, so that
his figures softly fuse with one
another and their surroundings.
• vibrant light
• saturated color
• most often focused on people in
intimate and candid compositions.
• Females were his primary
subjects.
• Later in life he went back to more
traditional style of painting
*Suffered from arthritis badly
- he continued to paint with
brushes tied to his wrists.
1876, Le Moulin de la Galette, oil on canvas Sold $71.1
MILLION in
1990
 EDOUARD MANET
 He was one of the first 19th-
century artists to paint
modern life, and a pivotal
figure in the transition from
Realism to Impressionism …he
was a classical artist, but then
‘adopted’ the notions of
impressionism. ..he became
friends with other
Impressionist artists and they
influenced each other.
Most well known for his social
scenes.

His self-portrait sold for over $22

million dollars in 2010
The Cafe Concert, 1878
(early) Manet, Le Chemin de Fer (The Railroad) 1872-73
Manet, Le Bar aux Folies-Bergère 1881-82
 EDGAR DEGAS

Early
work

• cropped subjects awkwardly

• Showed emotional tension
• chose unusual viewpoints.
• Linked to his fascination with
photography.
• He captured ‘snapshots’
• Painted ballerinas because
Edgar Degas - Self-Portrait in a
they sold well!
Green Jacket, 1856. Oil on canvas
Sold for
$27.9 million
in 1999
Edgar Degas, Dance Class at the Opéra 1872
Dance Class at the Opéra
Degas Ballerinas to Music

Singer with
a Glove,
1878
MARY CASSATT
American Painter, born
in Allegheny City, PA
Went to Art School in
Philadelphia where only
20% of the students were
female, none of which
were as determined as
Mary Cassat, to make
painting a career.
Moved to Paris and met
Degas…who influenced
her painting.
1894, Summertime 1880-1881, The Cup of
Tea