Identifying Artists, Works, and Schools of 2D Visual Art from the Nineteenth Century - CLEP Humanities

Delacroix was a famous nineteenth-century painter known for his orientalist paintings, which illustrated Middle Eastern culture and lifestyle to a Western audience.

Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) was a French painter who reacted to the previous generation's bold romanticism and his contemporary critics' love of history painting by developing what he termed "realism." Courbet wished to use his painting to comment on social issues and values, which he felt were valuable topics on which a painter might focus. Courbet sought out landscapes, portraits, and still lifes that depicted the everyday in rough, honest brushstrokes.

Even if the image is not instantly recognizable as Vincent van Gogh, the piece of art has many of his hallmarks. This 1889 self-portrait features expressive colors, deep texture in the paint, and an emotional style. Van Gogh was one of the premier post-impressionists of the late nineteenth century, who took the emotional and innovative elements of Impressionism to new artistic ground.

This painting, an 1899 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, stands firmly in the tradition of post-impressionism. Post-impressionists took many of the elements of the Impressionists of a generation earlier, including visible brushstrokes, emotional concerns, and everyday scenes, and pushed them further. As seen in this work, the paint is extremely thick and textured, with bright, almost unrealistic colors sharpening the image.

The Hudson River School was a group of painters in the early part of the nineteenth century who gathered in communities along the Hudson River in New York. These artists were heavily inspired by the romantic movement coming out of Europe and painted dramatic landscapes. Prominent members of the Hudson River School were Thomas Cole, Asher Durand, and Frederic Edwin Church.

Jacques-Louis David first made a name for himself as a historical painter in the 1780s, but his republican sympathies meant he was allied with French revolutionaries. This benefitted him most by allowing him to become the Emperor Napoleon's official court painter. Famous for his portraits of Napoleon, and particularly his large Coronation of Napoleon from 1806, David's style featured bold expressions, bright colors, and dramatic poses.

The work of Matthew Brady during the American Civil War pioneered many notable aspects of photography, which was still a new medium and had mostly been devoted to portraiture. Brady's willingness to document the Civil War by going to battlefields reframed the possibilities for photography, notably allowing for the development of photojournalism.

John James Audubon was a Frenchman who came to America in 1803 to avoid the Napoleonic Wars. He made a name for himself in the early nineteenth century as a painter of wildlife and landscapes of the then vast American frontier. His The Birds of America, published in sections between 1827 and 1838, not only was a remarkable work of art by an American artist, but helped ornithology immensely in understanding avian wildlife in America.

Impressionism grew popular in the nineteenth century as a reaction to France's main artistic competition, the Salon de Paris. The Salon's judges valued grand themes, realistic portrayals, and fine brushwork, whereas the Impressionists focused on everyday scenes, emotional depictions, and visible, thick brushstrokes. Some of the major impressionists include Paul Cézanne, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Claude Monet.

Vincent van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Joan Miró were all connected as artists through their use of color and experimentation with forms. Nonetheless, each artist developed his own unique style that largely stood apart from other artists. Van Gogh's postimpressionistic style built on impressionism, while Matisse and Miro's deconstruction of form and representation exploded many of impressionism's notions of art.

Frederic Remington was a native New Yorker who began his career as a painter and illustrator for magazines after the Civil War. After going on assignment to illustrate a magazine article on the Apache leader Geronimo in 1886, Remington began to paint and sculpt images of the American West exclusively. Remington's style was naturalistic and empathetic to his subjects, and also had a natural ability to capture accurate movement. Remington's images of the Old West are some of the most famous images of cowboys and Native Americans.

The Barbizon School was a group of painters led by Théodore Rousseau from 1830 to 1860. They painted many nature scenes, landscapes, and scenes of rural peasant life in France. They influenced American landscape painters and the Impressionists.

Based in France and the United States, Realism focused on accurately depicting nature. Landscapes done in a realistic style, and realistic drawings of peasant life are key topics in Realists' work. They were influenced by early photography.

All of the painters listed were influences on the Realist artists. Additional influences included Socialism and the European revolutions of 1848. The Realists eventually influenced the pre-Raphaelites and American Scene Painting.

The Arts and Crafts Movement began for several reasons. The low quality of manufactured items in England in the 1800's caused the reactionary move toward handcrafted, individually made goods. The style is similar to medieval art, influenced by the level of craftsmanship of medieval guilds.

The Impressionists adopted a critic's use of the word "impression" to describe their work. Their focus, particularly in painting, was the use of color to convey light and shadow. They influenced the Post-Impressionists and the Fauves.

Key Post-Impressionists included Cezanne, van Gogh, and Seurat. They were influenced by the Impressionists, and attempted to develop many Impressionist ideas. The Post-Impressionists influenced many art movements, including German Expressionism and Symbolism.

Art Nouveau developed in both Europe and the United States. Tiffany's work with stained glass and Antoni Gaudi's unique architectural style both had many elements from nature. These natural elements included flowers, leaves, and flowing, wavelike patterns.

Impressionism was a significant artistic movement developed in France during the late nineteenth century that utilized visible brushstrokes, representations of natural light, and everyday scenes. Challenging traditional ideas of art, the movement was initially derided by critics, but proved hugely influential. Its leading artists included Éduouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne. Henri Matisse was a full generation younger than the impressionists, and was highly influenced by them, but helped develop modern art in the early twentieth century.