Final Post

This quarter there were a few artistic periods I really enjoy. At the beginning of Avant-Garde, the realism art I found fascinating. And the modern art I also found very interesting. There are also some key characteristic that seem to tie these two periods together. And its change, and artistic rebellion.

The realism piece I found most interesting, and most memorable is The Stone Breakers by Courbet. I absolutely loved the look of his paintings, and the meaning and messages that came from his paintings. In this particular piece, as we talked about before, has a lot of political radicalism. With emphasizing the poor, and lower-class and making them the main subject matter in a very large painting, they take up most of the canvas, are not looking at the viewer. I think paintings that are radical, and oppose the common beliefs at the time are very interesting. And with Courbet’s fine tuning to detail on these men and their surroundings- it really makes a spectacular piece. You can also see in this painting that the Courbet is slightly disinterested with perspective and depth and concentrating more on the men and the message being sent. The painting has a really flat feeling to it, especially in the background. But like I said before, the men’s clothes are very detailed, and look very realistic. 

I also really like The Gleaners by Millet, much for the same reasons above. The main subject matter is of the lower class people, who at the time, were not fit to be the center of art, where made the center of art.  This painting also has some similar traits to The Stone Breakers. None of the women are looking up, but they themselves have great detail in clothing and stance. And the background is not super clear, obviously not the main focus of the painting.

The second artistic period was the modern art period. I really enjoyed the different paths art was taking and the different questions that were being aroused at the time. What is art? Being the most interesting question personally. But the piece that I found most interesting was Fountain by Duchamp. This has been mentioned many times in class, but I found his view on art, or his portrayal of art very interesting, and I admire the steps he brought to art. I really like this piece because it caused so much controversy and there had never really been art like it before.

Over all, I like art that is changing something, and causing confusion and controversy. Although I do not think everyone’s art should do that, I think art is a very important tool when used wisely to expose problems and encourage change. And all three of  the pieces I mentioned above did that.