19th-Century Culture and Arts Chapter Notes | AP European History - Grade 9 PDF Download

Introduction

The 19th century witnessed profound changes in European culture, particularly in the arts. Amid political turmoil, industrialization, and social transformations, movements such as Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism emerged, each diverging from conventional norms and responding to the evolving world. This guide compares these movements with earlier art periods and examines their contributions to the development of artistic expression from 1815 to 1914. This chapter explores the evolution of artistic movements like Romanticism, Realism, and Modernism, contrasting them with earlier periods. By examining their characteristics and societal impacts, we uncover how these movements reshaped artistic expression and reflected the dynamic changes of the period from 1815 to 1914.

Comparison of Art Movements (Renaissance to 19th Century)

Key Art Movements (1815–1914)

Romanticism

• Romanticism emerged as a counterpoint to Neoclassicism’s focus on order and reason, prioritizing emotion, intuition, and individual expression. Artists sought to capture the sublime and mysterious, exploring themes like the supernatural, nature’s grandeur, and national histories.
  • Characteristics: Emphasis on emotion, nature, individualism, the sublime, and nationalistic themes.
  • Notable Artists:
    • Francisco Goya - Pinturas Negras (Black Paintings)
    • Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
    • Eugène Delacroix - Liberty Leading the People
• Romantic writers such as Victor Hugo and William Wordsworth explored similar themes, addressing nature, emotion, and the revolutionary spirit, often in response to the societal shifts of the Industrial Revolution.

Realism

• Realism arose as a reaction to Romanticism’s idealization, aiming to portray everyday life and social issues with truthfulness and objectivity. Realist artists depicted the experiences of ordinary people, particularly the working class, influenced by contemporary political and social upheavals.
  • Characteristics: Representation of everyday life, focus on social concerns, and rejection of idealization.
  • Notable Artists:
    • Gustave Courbet - The Stone Breakers
    • Jean-François Millet - The Gleaners
    • Honoré Daumier - The Third-Class Carriage
• Realist art sought to highlight the challenges faced by the working class and shed light on issues such as industrialization, poverty, and social disparities.

Modernism and Its Variants

Modernism represented a dramatic break from traditional artistic conventions, embracing abstraction, subjectivity, and personal expression. It gave rise to movements like Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Pointillism, and Cubism.

Impressionism

• Impressionism departed from conventional techniques, emphasizing the transient effects of light, color, and movement. Impressionist artists painted outdoors (en plein air) to capture fleeting moments of daily life, prioritizing atmosphere over detailed representation.
  • Characteristics: Loose brushstrokes, focus on light and color, capturing ephemeral moments.
  • Notable Artists:
    • Claude Monet - Impression, Sunrise
    • Edgar Degas - Ballet Rehearsal
    • Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Luncheon of the Boating Party
• Impressionists were particularly drawn to scenes of leisure and modern urban life, often focusing on the middle class.

Post-Impressionism

• Post-Impressionism built on Impressionist techniques but emphasized personal expression and structural composition. Artists used color and form to convey emotions, moving beyond the mere depiction of light and color effects.
  • Characteristics: Increased focus on structure, emotional depth, and symbolic meaning.
  • Notable Artists:
    • Vincent van Gogh - Starry Night
    • Paul Cézanne - Mont Sainte-Victoire
    • Georges Seurat - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte (Pointillism)
• Pointillism, developed by Seurat, involved applying small dots of color that blended into a cohesive image when viewed from afar, reflecting a more scientific approach to color theory.

Cubism

• Cubism revolutionized artistic perspectives by depicting subjects from multiple angles, breaking them down into geometric shapes. Led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, this movement marked a radical shift from traditional spatial representations.
  • Characteristics: Fragmented forms, geometric shapes, multiple perspectives.
  • Notable Artists:
    • Pablo Picasso - Les Demoiselles d’Avignon
    • Georges Braque - Violin and Candlestick
• Cubism embraced abstraction and challenged viewers’ perceptions of reality by presenting objects in innovative, non-representational ways.

Women in Modern Culture

• Despite the cultural transformations of the Industrial Revolution, women’s societal roles in Europe remained largely static, with only gradual advancements in their legal and social status.
  • The Scientific Debate on Gender: Thinkers, including Charles Darwin in The Descent of Man, argued that women were biologically inferior, reinforcing stereotypes that confined women to roles as mothers and caregivers.
  • The Contagious Diseases Act (1864–1886): In England, this law subjected women suspected of prostitution to mandatory medical examinations, with those found diseased detained. It provoked protests from middle-class women, leading to its repeal in 1886.
• Feminist Movements: Figures like Emmeline Pankhurst led the Suffragette movement, advocating for women’s rights. Their efforts resulted in women gaining voting rights in Britain in 1918 (for those over 30) and 1928 (for all women over 21).

Continuities and Changes in Artistic Expression (1815–1914)

Continuities

• Art continued to mirror societal values, political ideologies, and social conditions.
• The exploration of human nature and the human condition remained a central theme in European art.
• Classical ideals continued to influence European art, though they were increasingly questioned by new movements like Romanticism and Realism.

Changes

• Romanticism diverged from Neoclassical rationalism, prioritizing intuition, emotion, and individuality, shifting from structured, idealized forms to more personal and expressive works.
• Realism rejected Romanticism’s idealized subjects, focusing on the daily lives of ordinary people, particularly the working class, and addressing social issues like poverty and exploitation.
• Modernism, through movements like Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, and Pointillism, moved away from representational art, embracing abstraction, experimentation, and subjective interpretations of reality.

These shifts in artistic expression reflect broader transformations in European society, including industrialization, political revolutions, and emerging philosophical ideas.

Key Terms

• Caspar David Friedrich: A German Romantic painter known for his evocative landscapes that convey emotion and spirituality, reflecting Romanticism’s focus on nature and the sublime.
• Claude Monet: A French Impressionist painter celebrated for capturing light and color, pioneering techniques that shaped 19th-century art.
• Contagious Diseases Act: British laws from 1864 to 1886 controlling sexually transmitted diseases, targeting suspected prostitutes and sparking women’s rights protests.
• Cubism: An early 20th-century avant-garde movement using geometric shapes and multiple perspectives to challenge traditional representations, influencing modern art.
• Darwin’s Descent of Man: Charles Darwin’s 1871 work applying evolution to humans, sparking debates on gender and human origins that influenced cultural attitudes.
• Edgar Degas: A French Impressionist known for his innovative depictions of ballet dancers and everyday life, contributing to 19th-century artistic shifts.
• Emmeline Pankhurst: A British activist who led the Suffragette movement, advocating for women’s voting rights and shaping feminist history.
• Francisco Goya: A Spanish artist whose work transitioned from Rococo to dark Romanticism, reflecting societal turmoil and human struggles.
• Georges Seurat: A French artist who developed Pointillism, using dots of color to explore scientific approaches to art, advancing modernism.
• Imperialism: The policy of extending national power through colonization or military force, influencing 19th-century art and cultural exchanges.
• Impressionism: A late 19th-century movement emphasizing light, color, and fleeting moments, painted en plein air, marking a break from realism.
• Industrial Revolution: A period of rapid industrial growth starting in the late 18th century, reshaping economies and inspiring artistic responses to societal change.
• Ludwig van Beethoven: A German composer bridging Classical and Romantic eras, known for emotionally expressive music that influenced 19th-century culture.
• Modern Art: A late 19th- and early 20th-century movement breaking from tradition, exploring abstraction and innovation in response to modern life.
• Pablo Picasso: A Spanish artist and Cubism co-founder, whose innovative works profoundly impacted modern art and artistic expression.
• Paul Cézanne: A French artist whose structural approach bridged Impressionism and Cubism, influencing modern art’s evolution.
• Paul Gauguin: A French Post-Impressionist known for bold colors and symbolic content, exploring non-Western cultures and advancing modern art.
• Pinturas Negras: Francisco Goya’s dark, haunting paintings from 1819–1823, reflecting personal and societal turmoil through modern emotional expression.
• Pointillism: A late 19th-century technique using colored dots to form images, pioneered by Seurat, emphasizing scientific color theory.
• Post-Impressionism: A late 19th-century movement extending Impressionism, focusing on emotional expression and structure, led by artists like van Gogh and Cézanne.
• Romanticism: A late 18th- and early 19th-century movement emphasizing emotion, individualism, and nature, reacting against Enlightenment rationalism.
• South Pacific: A region inspiring 19th-century art and literature, reflecting cultural encounters during European colonial expansion.
• Suffragette Movement: A late 19th- and early 20th-century campaign for women’s voting rights, using militant tactics to challenge gender norms.
• Victor Hugo: A French Romantic writer whose works addressed justice and human struggles, shaping 19th-century literary culture.
• Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog: Caspar David Friedrich’s 1818 painting symbolizing Romantic themes of solitude, nature, and introspection.
• Waterlilies: Claude Monet’s series of 250 paintings from 1897–1926, depicting his Giverny garden, exemplifying Impressionist focus on light and nature.
• William Wordsworth: An English Romantic poet whose nature-focused works, like Lyrical Ballads, emphasized emotion and individualism.
• Women’s Social and Political Union (WSPU): A British suffrage organization founded in 1903, using militant tactics to advocate for women’s voting rights.