French Landscape Painting
Content
French Landscape Painting
Lorraine to Cezanne
Diane Marks
Introduction Landscape painting was an underappriciated genre for most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France. It was looked down upon by the elites in the Academy, and seen as being lower than all other forms of painting. Despite that, artists like Lorraine and Poussin in the seventeenth century were able to elevate the status of landscape painting, even if only briefly. The nineteenth century was when landscape painting was taken more seriously by the Academy, creating an award for it in the beginning of the century. Treatises were being written about landscape, and there were more landscape painters in France then there ever had been before. It had become a golden age of landscape painting. 17th Century While landscape was highly thought of in countries such as the Netherlands and England around this time, it was looked down upon in France. It was considered a lesser genre at best, and was not even represented in the royal collection until the 1660’s. (Wintermute) Though that is not to say that it was not collected at all before then, landscape has been previously purchased by the nobility to decorate their homes, but it was not seen as a serious genre. Landscape before Lorraine had raised its status was rarely done, and when it was it was because of influence from other countries. (Wintermute) Le Nain Much of the careers of the Brothers Le Nain are unclear, and it still unknown which of the brothers painted what, because all three of them signed with just their last name. Guesses have been made as to who created what based on materials used, and the subjects of the works.
None of the art currently known about is dated past 1648, the year that Antoine and Louis had died. Mattieu was known to have painted after the deaths of his brothers, but either he did not sign them, or they were lost with most of the paintings that he and his brothers created. (Kromm) Landscape with Peasants and a Chapel (B1) It is a landscape with figures that has no clear narrative. The buildings are set in the middle ground and background, and do not have as much dimensional realism to them that the figures do. The primary grouping of figures is in the foreground, what looks like a family of peasants sitting out in the field by the chapel. There are other figures in the setting, but they are set in the middle ground. Le Nain seems to have set up the composition to focus on one family in a landscape setting. The landscape has an overall tonal feel to it, and there is localized color, in the clothing of the peasants. The sky is light and full of soft clouds, and the landscape appears to be tilted up slightly. There is a path that winds from the foreground, past the chapel and into the background. It helps draw the viewer’s eye from the front to the back of the painting. Landscape with Peasants (B2) A small group of peasants are set into a moody tonal landscape. The sky is full of dark, and the land beneath them is vast and pastoral. There are small hills in the background, at the horizon line, and the space feels vast and open. There are four figures in the foreground, three children and an old woman. The reddish tone of the children’s clothing is in contrast to the tonal greens and browns of the painting. Behind the old woman is a building, the only one in the foreground. There are more in the background, in the pasture and on the hills.
Poussin Early in Poussin’s career, he did not yet have a set style; his patrons would push and pull his style depending on what they wanted. (Kromm) When he did develop his style more, it was very methodically set, and he would research the subject and did multiple studies on how to compose the painting. When he would compose his paintings, he would use a box with wax figures placed into it and artificial lighting. He paid attention to the landscape in his landscape scenes; however, it wasn’t until later in his career that he would become more concerned about nature in his landscapes. (Allen) Ashes of Phocion (B3) Part of a series, this painting depicts the widow of Phocion collecting his ashes. Unlike most of Poussin’s work, the figures are a small part of the work. The landscape is the main attraction of the art. It is an imaginary landscape, carefully calculated by Poussin. There is a mathematical precision to every detail of the painting, giving it a very un-natural feeling. The clouds look like cotton hanging in his sky, instead of gaseous clouds. The ancient buildings in the background look as though they were painted from a miniature. This very well may be possible, as Poussin was known to have a box in which he would set wax models to figure out his composition, using artificial light to set up his lights and shadows. The foliage looks as though he painted every leaf in great detail. Poussin had a great attention to detail, and would make many studies and do research before he would create the final composition on canvas. Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun (B4)
It is a lighter, more whimsical painting than most of Poussin’s paintings over his career. It almost has a more decorative feel to it, a precursor to so-called Rococo art. The giant Orion is being led away from the viewer, by smaller figures while Diana looks on from a cloud. The foliage in the landscape is all in a muted tone, and the cloud that Diana is on is dark and foreboding. The cloud looks tactical, as though it were made of cotton, as do the clouds in the background of the painting. There are no sharp contrasts in the piece; it has an overall muted, tonal quality about it. Lorraine Claude Lorraine spent most of his working life in and around Rome, Italy. His patrons were his friends, and he did not try to win the approval of the French Government, or to be patronized by the French. He was also the first major landscape artist of French origin, as well as one of the first artists to be known to work out-of-doors. His work in landscape temporarily elevated the status of landscape painting from barely suitable to be considered more than craft to that of fine art. In his earlier work, he was inspired by mannerism, and incorporated the landscape formulas of Paul Bril and Adam Elsheimer. (Allen) However, as his career progressed, he developed his own formula, and moved to more of a classical style. In his work, the landscape was the major feature of the work, there would be figures in his art, but they were small and there was generally no clear narrative. In other paintings with a landscape setting, the figures were the important part of the painting, and the landscape was merely a backdrop. Lorraine was also the first artist who, through observation, incorporated atmosphere and lighting effects, and only worked at sunrise or sunset to get the effects he desired. (Kromm)
The Mill (B5) It is a painting from early in Lorraine’s career, before he developed his signature formulaic composition style, though signs of its beginnings can be seen in this painting. The trees are backlit, giving the entire composition a moody feel. There are small figures in the foreground, but they are mostly in the shadow of the trees. It feels as though Lorraine put them there because he felt like he had to. The landscape is the star of the painting. The figures are in the foreground, by a body of water, and in the middle ground are a cluster of trees to one side of the water and on the other side is a mill. In the background is a forest area, with hills faded by atmospheric mist. Great attention is paid to the lighting and the atmosphere, more so than most other artists of his time. The Roman Campagna (B6) Painted a few years after The Mill, Lorraine has further developed his signature style. The foreground is flanked by groupings of trees. In the shadows, between the trees are livestock and a Shepard. Behind the Shepard is a winding river that draws the viewer’s eye to the horizon line. In the river, at about the middle ground is a boat with figures on it. At the same level is a castle or a fortification and a path that leads back to the foreground, and the Shepard. In the background, there are rolling hills that are faded and blue-ish in tone. The sky makes up for a large part of the composition in the middle ground and background. This was a new concept in French painting, and other artists would tip up the landscape to have less empty space in the composition. 18th Century
There was a disdain for landscape painting by the French Academy, giving it the lowest ranking of all the genres, below even genre painting and portraiture. (Wintermute) Landscape was seen as just being there as a backdrop, it was the figures that mattered the most to the Academy. However, despite the Academy, there were several artists during this time that worked purely in landscape painting. (Wintermute) During the Neoclassical revival, there was a demand to go back to the standards of Poussin, including for landscape, and his name would be invoked to emphasize their point. (Wintermute) Watteau Watteau’s landscapes were largely made up; he preferred to set his comedians in gardens while his first teacher had them on a stage. He did also do landscapes from observation, and was known to have made at least one open air oil painting on paper. (Wintermute) He was an outsider in the Academic circle, though he tried to be a part of it. Watteau submitted The Pilgrimage to Cythera for his reception piece, it was accepted by The Academy however, he was not accepted as a history painter. Instead they created a new category for him, the Fete Gallante. (Kromm) He unfortunately could not have a Salon career, as they were not a regularly scheduled event until after his death to tuberculosis. He like other artists of his time had a private circle which he sold to, and he flirted with censure for having painted a sign for an art dealer. (McClellan) The Pilgrimage to Cythera (C1) Watteau’s attempt at a history painting is moody and evocative. The figures dressed in garments of his time, instead of ancient garb. The landscape is dreamy, and in muted tones.
The foreground is in tonal browns and greens, and the middle ground and background are in more whimsical shades of green, as well as muted blues, pinks, and purples. The river in the middle grounds seems to lazily drift off into the background, as mist creates a romantic atmosphere, the clouds in the background as light and fluffy, contrasting with the browns of the foreground. The figures in the foreground are coupled up and are off to an island famed for romance, and couples are in different stages of romance in the painting. Putti are in the background, flying in a circle to add a key as to what the main theme of the painting is. The View (C2) Figures are set in a small clearing in the way to a stately manor seen in the background beyond the trees. The figures are paired off, and are courting while resting. There are architectural and sculptural elements behind the figures as well as a couple of groups of trees. The landscape is in muted tones, and the leaves on the trees look as though there are more feather like than leaf like. The sky peeking through the trees and around the manor is cloudy, and helps to give a moody feeling to the painting. The figures are in fancy dress, and the fabrics of their clothing are brilliantly rendered in great detail.
Fragonard As an artist, Fragonard is a rarity in the history of art. He never actively sought a public career; all of his patrons were friends. When he went to Rome, as the winner of the first prize in painting in 1757, he spent three years at a school for gifted young artists; however, instead of
looking toward antiquity for his inspiration, he looked at landscapes. Fragonard used figures to establish a narrative in his art, where most artists in his time would have made them their focal point. During his first trip to Italy, he spent much of the time painting with a fellow French artist named Hubert Robert, and they had a mutual influence in one another’s work as well as a playful competition. (Hubert) Upon his return to France, he did not try to enter into the French Academy, and never made a reception piece for them. He worked in paintings, as well as took commissions for decorative pieces. Fragonard was as talented a draftsman as he was a painter, and his drawings were often as worked up and detailed as his paintings. The Progress of Love: Love Letters (C3) Love Letters is part of a series that was meant to be decorative. It shows a pair of lovers sitting together, reading love letters to one another. They rest on a large circular piece of architecture in the center of the painting. To the right of them, is a sculpture of Venus and Cupid on a tall base. Beneath the sculpture is flowers and the lady’s umbrella. In the foreground by their feet are flowers, and right by the place they sit is a dog. Dogs are often used as a symbol for loyalty and faithfulness; it could be that Fragonard placed the dog there to symbolize the faithfulness of the couples love for one another. In the background behind the couple are trees and a cloudy sky. The trees are in placed so that the clearing behind them is shaped roughly into a heart. Landscape with a Passing Shower (C4) The sky in this painting fills over half of the canvas with clouds and atmosphere, as Fragonard shows a landscape during a rain shower. The foreground of the image is rendered in great
detail, while the middle ground and background are in less defined due to the atmospheric effects of the storm on the landscape. The figures are set in the foreground and are tiny compared to everything else. The tones of the foliage and the overall composition are reminiscent of Dutch landscape painting.
Vernet Claude-Joseph Vernet was part of a family of artists. His father, son, and grandson were all artists as well. In his time, Vernet was both praised and criticized for his art work. The name Poussin was brandied about as a way to either praise or shame an artist and his work, and Vernet’s contemporaries used the deceased artist’s name in both manners when describing his art. He was praised by Diderot, who thought him the equal of Chardin (Levey); however, his critics would demand that his landscapes were approached in a more serious manner with a greater grandeur. During his career, he went to Italy for long stretches of time. He also worked in several different manners during his career, from topographical to picturesque landscapes and seascapes, drawing inspiration from several artists including Lorraine and Rosa. (Conisbee) He was commissioned in 1746 to paint a series of eight paintings for the Marquis de Villet, two of which were to be in the style of Rosa. (Conisbee) Vernet was also commissioned to paint the ports of France, and though he did not complete it, Vernet produced 15 pieces, which were exhibited in the Salons between the years of 1755-1765. (Website d) La Rochelle Harbour (C5)
The harbour is bathed in the golden yellow of the sun; its tranquil waters are surrounded by buildings. There are a few figures in the foreground, but it is a quiet gathering and not the crowded port that one would think of when thinking of a port scene. There are trees to one side of the painting, mingled in with the buildings, and across the harbor there is nothing but buildings, some appear to have been built right on the water and some were set back behind docks. In the background, there are two large buildings at the entrance to the harbour. The sky takes up over half of the image. It is laden with bright yellow and white clouds, kissed by the light of the sun in this Italianate composition. Entrance to the Port of Palermo in the Moonlight (C6) A full moon lights the image in this nocturne, the only other source of light comes from a red fire in the foreground that contrasts with the overall tone of the image. Most of the figures huddle around the fire in the foreground, though there are some that stray to the water side. Buildings are in the middle ground, though they are only seen as silhouettes in the image, hidden by the dark of the night. Surrounding the moon are clouds that fade are lit by its light and fade into shadow as they get closer to the foreground. Ships are in the harbour, under the light of the moon, in the middle ground and background, and the water is calm, but there is a gentle ripple that distorts the reflection of the moon in it. Off in the distance is a tower, perhaps a light house, its light not easily distinguishable from the light of the full moon. 19th Century At the turn of the century, the artist Valenciennces published a treatise on landscape painting. He pushed and succeeded in getting a special Prix de Rome prize started with the Academy in
1817, and was an inspiration to artists that were involved in the Barbizon School and Impressionism. (Wintermute) It was in this time that the status of landscape painting rose, despite what the Academy had to say, and the number of treatise on landscape painting multiplied in France. Artists were starting to paint whatever they wanted, and the Academy had less of a presence in the world of art as the century progressed. Corot Corot began to study art by taking night classes in drawing at the Academie Suisse, between the years of 1812-14, and his parents sent him to Rome to study art there. However he did not study ancient art and ruins as other artists did. Instead, he was more interested in the city and landscapes, as well as light and shadow. (Guffey) When he would paint landscapes, he would make sketches in situ and paint them elsewhere, altering them so that he could get them into the Salon. For example, he would add figures, change the coloring, and add additional objects into the scene. Some of his landscapes would become history paintings because of the figures he added and the titles he would give them; one of which was Homer and the Shepherds (D1), which quoted figures in a David painting. (Guffey) As a result of his changing his composition to suit the tastes of the Salon, he became an awarded and accomplished artist, receiving the two Salon Medals, one each in 1833 and 1838, the Legion of Honor in 1846 and first place at the Universal Exposition in 1855. (Champa) He did also paint landscapes that were true to life, painting exactly what he saw in the places that he had sketched, and as a result they looked more natural than the paintings he made alterations to. Fontainebleau: Oak Trees at Bas-Bréau (D2)
The earth and sky both look as though they were very quickly rendered in this painting. The dirt and rocks look as though they were done with a palette knife instead of a brush, and while the sky looks more finished than the ground, it too looks like it may have been done the same way in part. The clouds look realistically, and the trees are in greater detail, highlighting their importance in the painting. The trees are in crisp detail compared to the rest of the painting. It is as though Corot zoomed in on the trees and left everything else out of focus. Waterfall at Terni (D3) Nothing in the painting looks as though it were rendered in crisp detail. Even the ledge on which the viewer sits has the presence of the artist’s rapid brush strokes. The rocks that the waterfall flows off of look to have been done in several quick brush strokes loaded with paint. The waterfall itself looks to be so rapid and thick that it is as white as milk. It is unusual, the water being surrounded by browns and greens for it to barely have any of the color reflected in it. The trees and brush in the middle ground blocks most of the background, save for the hills and sky that peek out from behind them. Courbet In his painting, Studio of a Painter (D4), Gustave Courbet surrounds himself with symbols of his career to that point, but he is not painting any of them. Instead, in the center of the painting, he shows himself painting a landscape, identifying himself as a landscape painter. (Morton) Moreover, his technique was forward thinking, in that he skipped all the prep work and composed directly onto his canvases, either on site or in his studio. Not only did he refuse to paint what he could not see, he also has been quoted that one must “paint the land you know”,
that you could not just paint anywhere, but you had to have a connection to the land to be able to paint in properly. (Morton) In his most prolific years of work, he had gone back to his hometown and painted landscapes there, including the Source of the Loue series (D5). Courbet was fortunate enough to have a private patron, Alfred Bruyas, who shared his ideals and was willing to fund Courbet in his ambitions, because unfortunately, Courbet’s work was not well received by the French Academy or the Salon jury, and in response to the Salon not selecting Studio of a Painter, Courbet organized his own exhibitions to show all of his work, which was an innovation in his time because most artists relied on the Salon to be seen and to sell art. (website a) He called it "The Pavilion of Realism". Despite ill will toward him by the establishment, his seascapes garnered him great attention due to their “visual power and pictorial innovation” (Morton) Two of his seascapes The Stormy Sea (D6), and The cliff at Etretat after the storm (D7) were shown at the 1870 Salon to great praise. (website a) Calm Sea (D8) A sky full of fluffy white clouds fills about three quarters of the image. The sea and the beach are at the very bottom of the image. In the foreground, the beach is tan color, and two boats are on it with water left behind from the last high tide. From the middle ground to the background is the ocean. Ships are set in the background, barely visible by the horizon line. View of Ornans (D9) In a peaceful valley, beside the Loue sits the village of Ornans. Courbet decided to paint his home town at a distance, placing it in the middle ground. Surrounding the town and the river are the lush greens of the trees and other foliage of the valley. In the background on of two
large hills are rocky outcroppings, and in the foreground is a bridge crossing the Loue with trees flanking it on either side. To the left of the bridge is a small house, that is most obscured by trees. It appears to the viewer’s eyes that the painting was created while standing in the middle of the river, making one wonder if Courbet actually did paint it standing in the river, or if there was a second bridge that he was able to use. Monet Monet’s father paid for him to have art lessons, though he had preferred to sketch out-ofdoors. He was encouraged to do so by Boudin, and is invited to paint with him. (Guffey) He also studied in Paris, at the Academie Suisse, and became part of the studio of Gleyre in Paris, where he met Renior, Sisley, and Bazille (website B). They would be the core of his Impressionist group, and they would exhibit together in a building owned by Nadar. Of the group of artists that he was associated with, Monet was the only one to paint finished pieces out-of-doors. It was not common practice to work in this fashion, and while some artists would sketch studies on location, they would take their studies back to their studios to make the final product. Monet would also work on pre-made canvases, which was a new product in the nineteenth century, and he would paint either directly onto the canvas or slightly tint it in pastel colors (Guffey). The Cliff Walk (D10) On a cliff filled with different colored foliage, two women look out at the ocean. The ocean extends from the foreground to the back ground, and is dotted with the white caps of the waves and small ships that are off in the distance. The sky is a bright blue and is spotted with
white fluffy clouds. In the foreground, the cliff overlooking the ocean looks almost like coral, and the women look like flowers in bloom. The Manneporte near Étretat (D11) In the center of the canvas is the manneporte, it is surrounded by sea and sky. The sea is calm and the sky is full of white clouds with some blue peeking through. Contrasting the blue greens of the water is the reddish browns of the cliff face. The erosion of the cliff side created a window for the water to go through and a framing device that the artist took advantage of. The image is closely cropped to have the manneporte fill over half of the canvas, and for the sea and sky to almost entirely frame it. Pissarro Early in Pissarro’s career he took lessons and eventually went to the Academie Suisse, where he would meet Monet. He was also given advice by Corot throughout his career, and is also shown in the Salon at one point as the pupil of Corot (Champa). He has several of his works accepted by the Salon, but is also rejected and shows his art in the Salon des Refuses as well as all eight of the Impressionists exhibitions. He was known to paint very rapidly; his color palette and composition were influenced by Monet, though he would experiment with his style in the duration of his career. Pissarro was also known to take younger artists under his wing and give them advice. He was credited as influencing Cezanne, van Gogh, and Gaugin, though Cezanne is the artist who is most visible influenced by him. Hoarfrost (D12)
A lone figure is seen from behind walking down a path in a field. The field is full of autumn colors. The trees in the painting have all lost their leaves, and there are long shadows raking across the image, suggesting that there were trees behind the viewer that are back lit by the sun. The sky is a light blue, with clouds on the horizon line, and there are roof tops just beneath the horizon line peeking out as though on the other side of a hill. Sunset, the Port of Rouen (Steamboats) (D13) A wide ribbon of water separates two sections of land in this horizontally orientated painting. There are few verticals, the masts of the ships in the foreground and the steam coming from them, as well from ships on the opposite side of the water in the middle ground of the painting. Further behind the ships are buildings, but apart from a couple of buildings, they all appear to have the same height forming one long roof line. Above the buildings are the sky and the setting sun. Clouds lightly cover the sun like a hazy cloth, and turn from white to shades of red, orange, and yellow. van Gogh This artist was not French by birth, but he spent most of his working life in France. According to what sources you go to, he either sold nothing in his lifetime, or at most one painting or one drawing. He was completely dependent upon his brother for support. When he began to paint, he was in the Netherlands at age 30, and his palette was in a traditional tonal browns of lowbrow Dutch art. He painted in thick layers, which was something that he would do throughout his career. He went to France to live with his brother, and studied the work of the Impressionists. However, that was not quite his style. His art was denser than the light and airy
Impressionist work, his paint thicker. His work feels as though the colors were stone, and he was sculpting the color into a composition. When he moved to the South of France, he had wanted to start a commune for artists, though only Gauguin ended up joining him. (Because Theo van Gogh paid for his room, board, and supplies.) The summer before Gauguin joined him was the most prolific of his career. When Gauguin joined him, there was a friendly competition, and they would debate their theories on art. Gauguin seems to have envied how much van Gogh would paint, at least one painting a day, if not more. (PoA) After Gauguin left, he voluntarily placed himself into a mental hospital. In between attacks, he would paint. At this point in his career, it no longer mattered to him if his art sold. He painted to try and keep the attacks at bay, and after he left the hospital, his brother had him live with Dr. Gachet, where he would live until he allegedly committed suicide two months later. (Website c) His art, like Cezanne, is seen as the bridge to the twentieth century, inspiring movements throughout Europe. (Guffey) Starry Night (D14) The curvilinear lines of the landscape contrast with the rectilinear lines and forms of the village. The stars and moon shine brightly in the sky, as the clouds and the night sky itself swirls about them. The bottom cloud forms to the landscape beneath it like a tight fitting piece of clothing colored yellow and blue. The hillside itself is in varying shades of blue, with the foliage in shades of blue and green. The buildings of the village are mostly in the middle ground, and while some windows are still dark, others are lit with small figures in the windows. The two strong vertical lines are the steeple in the village and the olive tree in the foreground. The olive tree breaks
through the horizontals of the land and provocatively through the night sky, stars dancing about its upper branches. Crows in a Wheat Field (D15) Crows fly above the wheat and the path that goes through the field. The path through the middle and to the sides in the foreground are warped and distorted, they are a reddish brown with stripes of green framing them. The fields of wheat are golden yellow with some orange and brown. The crows are black, and the sky above is a rich shade of blue with a couple of clouds. The painting is almost entirely horizontally orientated, save for the path in the middle of the field and the crows flying up into the sky. Cezanne Early in Cezanne’s career, he met the artist Pissarro. It was he that inspired the early part of Cezanne’s career, becoming one of the artists that would make up the School of Pontoise after the Impressionists went their separate ways. Cezanne had more of a tendency to sequester himself in his home town, and would travel to Paris to exhibit with the Impressionists. When he had gotten some bad reviews at the exhibitions in 1874 and 1877, he reacted by spending most of the 1880’s in isolation in Aix. (Schaefer) He went through several phases in his career, but what he is most famous for is the style he developed by working in patches and broke objects down into basic shapes. Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (D16)
A handful of tall trees dominate the foreground. Beneath them, are shrubs and smaller pine Beyond the trees in the middle ground and extending into the background is a patchwork of a pasture, with a river cutting through it. In the distance, there are houses that are broken down into simple block and triangle shapes. Before the mountain range is a bridge supported by arches. The trees in the foreground block the view of parts of the mountain range, though the highest peak of the mountain range can still be seen. It is a tan color, a color that is intertwined into the rest of the painting with shades of green and brown. The sky white and light blue, as clouds dominate most of the sky, as though a storm could start at any moment. The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque (D17) Shades of blue account for over half of the canvas, as the bay and the sky make up most of the painting. In the background, there is a mountain range, in greys and blues, with grey green and tan by the water. In the foreground, there is a small town by the water; it is lively full of yellows, reddish oranges, and greens. Complimentary colors balance against one another and the rectilinear shapes of the buildings do the same with the natural forms of the landscape around it. Evolution of Landscape painting The rise to the nineteenth century appreciation of landscape painting was a slow one. Lorraine and Poussin briefly elevated the status of landscape, but even in their own time it was diminished in the eyes of officials. It wasn’t until 1665 that there were any landscapes in the royal collection. (Wintermute) In the eighteenth century, landscape painting was seen as the lowest form of painting, akin to commercial painting. It wasn’t seen to be as serious as other
genres of painting and critics of artists, including Vernet was that it was not serious enough and had demanded more serious and grander paintings from the artist. (Wintermute) Though, toward the end of the century artists like Valenciennes would help change the perception of landscape, inspiring artists like Corot at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century, artists began to break away from the Academy and go to other schools that were not as formal as the Academy. Even within the Academy, there had been some changes, pushed for by Valenciennes. By 1817, there was a Rome prize for landscape painting, and by 1820 the number of treatise on landscape painting increased dramatically. (Champa) Stylistically, in the seventeenth century, there was not much to go on for inspiration before Lorraine and Poussin in terms of landscape painting in France itself. Paintings, like ones by the Le Nains’ had more of a Dutch or Flemish feel than they did French. Though this is the time period were France was breaking away from the influence of other nations and formed their own official style. It was a classical style, looking back at the classical past, though it was through sculpture and not classical painting that most artists drew their inspiration. Lorraine was the first to draw inspiration from actually observing nature and using it as a base to set up his classical compositions. Vernet could be said to have brought Lorraine up to date in his time, when he painted his landscape and seascapes. Watteau and Fragonard, on the other hand, only referenced antiquity in their paintings, by placing classical sculpture in their art. They are both labeled Rococo, but they do not quite fit that mold. Their loose brushwork and impressionistic handling of landscape is part of what inspires Impressionist painters in the nineteenth century. There was an explosion of styles in the nineteenth century; however, there was also a move away from landscape as a backdrop for a story that took place in it. Corot and Courbet painted
landscapes just to paint landscapes. For Courbet, it was paying homage to the land in which he grew up in. The amount of landscape artists in the nineteenth century was also a lot more condensed than in previous times. Artists knew each other and that helped inform their work. Monet influences Pissarro’s color palette. Pissarro helped younger artists like Cezanne and van Gogh in their careers. And Cezanne and van Gogh are considered the bridges to the twentieth century, because their styles were more forward thinking than anything that had come before.
Image List:
B1 Landscape with Peasants and a Chapel Le Nain
B2 Landscape with Peasants Le Nain, c. 1640
B3 Ashes of Phocion Poussin, 1648
B4 Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun Poussin, 1658
B5 The Mill Lorraine, 1631
B6 The Roman Campagna Lorraine, c. 1639
C1 A Pilgrimage to Cythera Watteau, 1717
C2 The View Watteau, 1714-16
C3 The Progress of Love: Love Letters Fragonard
C4 Landscape with a Passing Shower Fragonard, 1765/1775
C5 La Rochelle harbour Vernet, 1762
C6 Entrance to the Port of Palermo in the Moonlight Vernet, 1769
D1 Homer and the Shepherds Corot 1845
D2 Fontainebleau: Oak Trees at Bas-Bréau Corot, c.1832-33
D3 Waterfall at Terni Corot, 1826
D4 The Artist’s Studio Gustave Courbet 1854-55
D5 Source of the Loue Gustave Courbet 1864
D6 Stormy Sea (Also called The Wave) Gustave Courbet 1870
D7 The Etretat Cliffs after the Storm Gustave Courbet, 1870
D8 Calm Sea Gustave Courbet 1869
D9 View of Ornans Gustave Courbet c. mid-1850
D10 The Cliff Walk Monet, 1882
D11 The Manneporte near Étretat Monet, 1886
D12 Hoarfrost Pissarro, 1873
D13 Sunset, the Port of Rouen (Steamboats) Pissarro, 1898
D14 Starry Night van Gogh, 1889
D15 Crows in a Wheat Field van Gogh, 1890
D13 Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley Cézanne, c. 1882
The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque Paul Cézanne, ca. 1885
Bibliography Allen, Christopher. French Painting in the Golden Age. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc., 2003. Blunt, Anthony. Art and Architecture in France 1500-1700. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1999. Levey, Michael. Painting and Sculpture in France 1700-1789. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993.Janson, H.W. 19th Century Art. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc., 2005. Morton, Mary. Courbet and the Modern Landscape. Los Angeles: Getty Publications, 2006. McClellan, Andrew. "Watteau's Dealer: Gersaint and the Marketing of Art in Eighteenth-Century Paris". The Art Bullitin, Vol 78. No. 3. Conisbee, Philip. "Salvator Rosa and Claude-Joseph Vernet". The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 115 No. 849. Hubert, Renee Riese. "The Fleeting World of Humor from Watteau to Fragonard". Yale french Studies No. 23. 1959 Boulot, Catherine. "Light and Ruins: Fragonard and Hubert Robert in Rome". Master Drawings, Vol. 29, No. 4. Greenberg, Susan D. "Teaching with Corot". Yale University Gallery Bulletin. Levine, Steven Z. "Seascape of the Sublime: Vernet, Monet, and the Oceanic Feeling". New Literary History, Vol. 16, No. 2. Rex, Walter E. "The Landscape Demythologized: From Poussin's Serpents to Fenelon's "Shades," and Diderot's Ghost. Eighteenth-Century Studies 30.4. “Gustave Courbet (1819-1877): A Biography”, http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/courbetdossier/biography.html “Monet, Claude”, http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/ “Vincent van Gogh: Biography”, http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/bio.html “Claude-Joseph Vernet”, http://www.gegoux.com/JosephVernet/VernetBio(page3).htm Gustave Courbet . Romain Goupil.DVD. 2007. Power of Art: Vincent van Gogh. Simon Schama. DVD. 2006.
Lorraine to Cezanne
Diane Marks
Introduction Landscape painting was an underappriciated genre for most of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in France. It was looked down upon by the elites in the Academy, and seen as being lower than all other forms of painting. Despite that, artists like Lorraine and Poussin in the seventeenth century were able to elevate the status of landscape painting, even if only briefly. The nineteenth century was when landscape painting was taken more seriously by the Academy, creating an award for it in the beginning of the century. Treatises were being written about landscape, and there were more landscape painters in France then there ever had been before. It had become a golden age of landscape painting. 17th Century While landscape was highly thought of in countries such as the Netherlands and England around this time, it was looked down upon in France. It was considered a lesser genre at best, and was not even represented in the royal collection until the 1660’s. (Wintermute) Though that is not to say that it was not collected at all before then, landscape has been previously purchased by the nobility to decorate their homes, but it was not seen as a serious genre. Landscape before Lorraine had raised its status was rarely done, and when it was it was because of influence from other countries. (Wintermute) Le Nain Much of the careers of the Brothers Le Nain are unclear, and it still unknown which of the brothers painted what, because all three of them signed with just their last name. Guesses have been made as to who created what based on materials used, and the subjects of the works.
None of the art currently known about is dated past 1648, the year that Antoine and Louis had died. Mattieu was known to have painted after the deaths of his brothers, but either he did not sign them, or they were lost with most of the paintings that he and his brothers created. (Kromm) Landscape with Peasants and a Chapel (B1) It is a landscape with figures that has no clear narrative. The buildings are set in the middle ground and background, and do not have as much dimensional realism to them that the figures do. The primary grouping of figures is in the foreground, what looks like a family of peasants sitting out in the field by the chapel. There are other figures in the setting, but they are set in the middle ground. Le Nain seems to have set up the composition to focus on one family in a landscape setting. The landscape has an overall tonal feel to it, and there is localized color, in the clothing of the peasants. The sky is light and full of soft clouds, and the landscape appears to be tilted up slightly. There is a path that winds from the foreground, past the chapel and into the background. It helps draw the viewer’s eye from the front to the back of the painting. Landscape with Peasants (B2) A small group of peasants are set into a moody tonal landscape. The sky is full of dark, and the land beneath them is vast and pastoral. There are small hills in the background, at the horizon line, and the space feels vast and open. There are four figures in the foreground, three children and an old woman. The reddish tone of the children’s clothing is in contrast to the tonal greens and browns of the painting. Behind the old woman is a building, the only one in the foreground. There are more in the background, in the pasture and on the hills.
Poussin Early in Poussin’s career, he did not yet have a set style; his patrons would push and pull his style depending on what they wanted. (Kromm) When he did develop his style more, it was very methodically set, and he would research the subject and did multiple studies on how to compose the painting. When he would compose his paintings, he would use a box with wax figures placed into it and artificial lighting. He paid attention to the landscape in his landscape scenes; however, it wasn’t until later in his career that he would become more concerned about nature in his landscapes. (Allen) Ashes of Phocion (B3) Part of a series, this painting depicts the widow of Phocion collecting his ashes. Unlike most of Poussin’s work, the figures are a small part of the work. The landscape is the main attraction of the art. It is an imaginary landscape, carefully calculated by Poussin. There is a mathematical precision to every detail of the painting, giving it a very un-natural feeling. The clouds look like cotton hanging in his sky, instead of gaseous clouds. The ancient buildings in the background look as though they were painted from a miniature. This very well may be possible, as Poussin was known to have a box in which he would set wax models to figure out his composition, using artificial light to set up his lights and shadows. The foliage looks as though he painted every leaf in great detail. Poussin had a great attention to detail, and would make many studies and do research before he would create the final composition on canvas. Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun (B4)
It is a lighter, more whimsical painting than most of Poussin’s paintings over his career. It almost has a more decorative feel to it, a precursor to so-called Rococo art. The giant Orion is being led away from the viewer, by smaller figures while Diana looks on from a cloud. The foliage in the landscape is all in a muted tone, and the cloud that Diana is on is dark and foreboding. The cloud looks tactical, as though it were made of cotton, as do the clouds in the background of the painting. There are no sharp contrasts in the piece; it has an overall muted, tonal quality about it. Lorraine Claude Lorraine spent most of his working life in and around Rome, Italy. His patrons were his friends, and he did not try to win the approval of the French Government, or to be patronized by the French. He was also the first major landscape artist of French origin, as well as one of the first artists to be known to work out-of-doors. His work in landscape temporarily elevated the status of landscape painting from barely suitable to be considered more than craft to that of fine art. In his earlier work, he was inspired by mannerism, and incorporated the landscape formulas of Paul Bril and Adam Elsheimer. (Allen) However, as his career progressed, he developed his own formula, and moved to more of a classical style. In his work, the landscape was the major feature of the work, there would be figures in his art, but they were small and there was generally no clear narrative. In other paintings with a landscape setting, the figures were the important part of the painting, and the landscape was merely a backdrop. Lorraine was also the first artist who, through observation, incorporated atmosphere and lighting effects, and only worked at sunrise or sunset to get the effects he desired. (Kromm)
The Mill (B5) It is a painting from early in Lorraine’s career, before he developed his signature formulaic composition style, though signs of its beginnings can be seen in this painting. The trees are backlit, giving the entire composition a moody feel. There are small figures in the foreground, but they are mostly in the shadow of the trees. It feels as though Lorraine put them there because he felt like he had to. The landscape is the star of the painting. The figures are in the foreground, by a body of water, and in the middle ground are a cluster of trees to one side of the water and on the other side is a mill. In the background is a forest area, with hills faded by atmospheric mist. Great attention is paid to the lighting and the atmosphere, more so than most other artists of his time. The Roman Campagna (B6) Painted a few years after The Mill, Lorraine has further developed his signature style. The foreground is flanked by groupings of trees. In the shadows, between the trees are livestock and a Shepard. Behind the Shepard is a winding river that draws the viewer’s eye to the horizon line. In the river, at about the middle ground is a boat with figures on it. At the same level is a castle or a fortification and a path that leads back to the foreground, and the Shepard. In the background, there are rolling hills that are faded and blue-ish in tone. The sky makes up for a large part of the composition in the middle ground and background. This was a new concept in French painting, and other artists would tip up the landscape to have less empty space in the composition. 18th Century
There was a disdain for landscape painting by the French Academy, giving it the lowest ranking of all the genres, below even genre painting and portraiture. (Wintermute) Landscape was seen as just being there as a backdrop, it was the figures that mattered the most to the Academy. However, despite the Academy, there were several artists during this time that worked purely in landscape painting. (Wintermute) During the Neoclassical revival, there was a demand to go back to the standards of Poussin, including for landscape, and his name would be invoked to emphasize their point. (Wintermute) Watteau Watteau’s landscapes were largely made up; he preferred to set his comedians in gardens while his first teacher had them on a stage. He did also do landscapes from observation, and was known to have made at least one open air oil painting on paper. (Wintermute) He was an outsider in the Academic circle, though he tried to be a part of it. Watteau submitted The Pilgrimage to Cythera for his reception piece, it was accepted by The Academy however, he was not accepted as a history painter. Instead they created a new category for him, the Fete Gallante. (Kromm) He unfortunately could not have a Salon career, as they were not a regularly scheduled event until after his death to tuberculosis. He like other artists of his time had a private circle which he sold to, and he flirted with censure for having painted a sign for an art dealer. (McClellan) The Pilgrimage to Cythera (C1) Watteau’s attempt at a history painting is moody and evocative. The figures dressed in garments of his time, instead of ancient garb. The landscape is dreamy, and in muted tones.
The foreground is in tonal browns and greens, and the middle ground and background are in more whimsical shades of green, as well as muted blues, pinks, and purples. The river in the middle grounds seems to lazily drift off into the background, as mist creates a romantic atmosphere, the clouds in the background as light and fluffy, contrasting with the browns of the foreground. The figures in the foreground are coupled up and are off to an island famed for romance, and couples are in different stages of romance in the painting. Putti are in the background, flying in a circle to add a key as to what the main theme of the painting is. The View (C2) Figures are set in a small clearing in the way to a stately manor seen in the background beyond the trees. The figures are paired off, and are courting while resting. There are architectural and sculptural elements behind the figures as well as a couple of groups of trees. The landscape is in muted tones, and the leaves on the trees look as though there are more feather like than leaf like. The sky peeking through the trees and around the manor is cloudy, and helps to give a moody feeling to the painting. The figures are in fancy dress, and the fabrics of their clothing are brilliantly rendered in great detail.
Fragonard As an artist, Fragonard is a rarity in the history of art. He never actively sought a public career; all of his patrons were friends. When he went to Rome, as the winner of the first prize in painting in 1757, he spent three years at a school for gifted young artists; however, instead of
looking toward antiquity for his inspiration, he looked at landscapes. Fragonard used figures to establish a narrative in his art, where most artists in his time would have made them their focal point. During his first trip to Italy, he spent much of the time painting with a fellow French artist named Hubert Robert, and they had a mutual influence in one another’s work as well as a playful competition. (Hubert) Upon his return to France, he did not try to enter into the French Academy, and never made a reception piece for them. He worked in paintings, as well as took commissions for decorative pieces. Fragonard was as talented a draftsman as he was a painter, and his drawings were often as worked up and detailed as his paintings. The Progress of Love: Love Letters (C3) Love Letters is part of a series that was meant to be decorative. It shows a pair of lovers sitting together, reading love letters to one another. They rest on a large circular piece of architecture in the center of the painting. To the right of them, is a sculpture of Venus and Cupid on a tall base. Beneath the sculpture is flowers and the lady’s umbrella. In the foreground by their feet are flowers, and right by the place they sit is a dog. Dogs are often used as a symbol for loyalty and faithfulness; it could be that Fragonard placed the dog there to symbolize the faithfulness of the couples love for one another. In the background behind the couple are trees and a cloudy sky. The trees are in placed so that the clearing behind them is shaped roughly into a heart. Landscape with a Passing Shower (C4) The sky in this painting fills over half of the canvas with clouds and atmosphere, as Fragonard shows a landscape during a rain shower. The foreground of the image is rendered in great
detail, while the middle ground and background are in less defined due to the atmospheric effects of the storm on the landscape. The figures are set in the foreground and are tiny compared to everything else. The tones of the foliage and the overall composition are reminiscent of Dutch landscape painting.
Vernet Claude-Joseph Vernet was part of a family of artists. His father, son, and grandson were all artists as well. In his time, Vernet was both praised and criticized for his art work. The name Poussin was brandied about as a way to either praise or shame an artist and his work, and Vernet’s contemporaries used the deceased artist’s name in both manners when describing his art. He was praised by Diderot, who thought him the equal of Chardin (Levey); however, his critics would demand that his landscapes were approached in a more serious manner with a greater grandeur. During his career, he went to Italy for long stretches of time. He also worked in several different manners during his career, from topographical to picturesque landscapes and seascapes, drawing inspiration from several artists including Lorraine and Rosa. (Conisbee) He was commissioned in 1746 to paint a series of eight paintings for the Marquis de Villet, two of which were to be in the style of Rosa. (Conisbee) Vernet was also commissioned to paint the ports of France, and though he did not complete it, Vernet produced 15 pieces, which were exhibited in the Salons between the years of 1755-1765. (Website d) La Rochelle Harbour (C5)
The harbour is bathed in the golden yellow of the sun; its tranquil waters are surrounded by buildings. There are a few figures in the foreground, but it is a quiet gathering and not the crowded port that one would think of when thinking of a port scene. There are trees to one side of the painting, mingled in with the buildings, and across the harbor there is nothing but buildings, some appear to have been built right on the water and some were set back behind docks. In the background, there are two large buildings at the entrance to the harbour. The sky takes up over half of the image. It is laden with bright yellow and white clouds, kissed by the light of the sun in this Italianate composition. Entrance to the Port of Palermo in the Moonlight (C6) A full moon lights the image in this nocturne, the only other source of light comes from a red fire in the foreground that contrasts with the overall tone of the image. Most of the figures huddle around the fire in the foreground, though there are some that stray to the water side. Buildings are in the middle ground, though they are only seen as silhouettes in the image, hidden by the dark of the night. Surrounding the moon are clouds that fade are lit by its light and fade into shadow as they get closer to the foreground. Ships are in the harbour, under the light of the moon, in the middle ground and background, and the water is calm, but there is a gentle ripple that distorts the reflection of the moon in it. Off in the distance is a tower, perhaps a light house, its light not easily distinguishable from the light of the full moon. 19th Century At the turn of the century, the artist Valenciennces published a treatise on landscape painting. He pushed and succeeded in getting a special Prix de Rome prize started with the Academy in
1817, and was an inspiration to artists that were involved in the Barbizon School and Impressionism. (Wintermute) It was in this time that the status of landscape painting rose, despite what the Academy had to say, and the number of treatise on landscape painting multiplied in France. Artists were starting to paint whatever they wanted, and the Academy had less of a presence in the world of art as the century progressed. Corot Corot began to study art by taking night classes in drawing at the Academie Suisse, between the years of 1812-14, and his parents sent him to Rome to study art there. However he did not study ancient art and ruins as other artists did. Instead, he was more interested in the city and landscapes, as well as light and shadow. (Guffey) When he would paint landscapes, he would make sketches in situ and paint them elsewhere, altering them so that he could get them into the Salon. For example, he would add figures, change the coloring, and add additional objects into the scene. Some of his landscapes would become history paintings because of the figures he added and the titles he would give them; one of which was Homer and the Shepherds (D1), which quoted figures in a David painting. (Guffey) As a result of his changing his composition to suit the tastes of the Salon, he became an awarded and accomplished artist, receiving the two Salon Medals, one each in 1833 and 1838, the Legion of Honor in 1846 and first place at the Universal Exposition in 1855. (Champa) He did also paint landscapes that were true to life, painting exactly what he saw in the places that he had sketched, and as a result they looked more natural than the paintings he made alterations to. Fontainebleau: Oak Trees at Bas-Bréau (D2)
The earth and sky both look as though they were very quickly rendered in this painting. The dirt and rocks look as though they were done with a palette knife instead of a brush, and while the sky looks more finished than the ground, it too looks like it may have been done the same way in part. The clouds look realistically, and the trees are in greater detail, highlighting their importance in the painting. The trees are in crisp detail compared to the rest of the painting. It is as though Corot zoomed in on the trees and left everything else out of focus. Waterfall at Terni (D3) Nothing in the painting looks as though it were rendered in crisp detail. Even the ledge on which the viewer sits has the presence of the artist’s rapid brush strokes. The rocks that the waterfall flows off of look to have been done in several quick brush strokes loaded with paint. The waterfall itself looks to be so rapid and thick that it is as white as milk. It is unusual, the water being surrounded by browns and greens for it to barely have any of the color reflected in it. The trees and brush in the middle ground blocks most of the background, save for the hills and sky that peek out from behind them. Courbet In his painting, Studio of a Painter (D4), Gustave Courbet surrounds himself with symbols of his career to that point, but he is not painting any of them. Instead, in the center of the painting, he shows himself painting a landscape, identifying himself as a landscape painter. (Morton) Moreover, his technique was forward thinking, in that he skipped all the prep work and composed directly onto his canvases, either on site or in his studio. Not only did he refuse to paint what he could not see, he also has been quoted that one must “paint the land you know”,
that you could not just paint anywhere, but you had to have a connection to the land to be able to paint in properly. (Morton) In his most prolific years of work, he had gone back to his hometown and painted landscapes there, including the Source of the Loue series (D5). Courbet was fortunate enough to have a private patron, Alfred Bruyas, who shared his ideals and was willing to fund Courbet in his ambitions, because unfortunately, Courbet’s work was not well received by the French Academy or the Salon jury, and in response to the Salon not selecting Studio of a Painter, Courbet organized his own exhibitions to show all of his work, which was an innovation in his time because most artists relied on the Salon to be seen and to sell art. (website a) He called it "The Pavilion of Realism". Despite ill will toward him by the establishment, his seascapes garnered him great attention due to their “visual power and pictorial innovation” (Morton) Two of his seascapes The Stormy Sea (D6), and The cliff at Etretat after the storm (D7) were shown at the 1870 Salon to great praise. (website a) Calm Sea (D8) A sky full of fluffy white clouds fills about three quarters of the image. The sea and the beach are at the very bottom of the image. In the foreground, the beach is tan color, and two boats are on it with water left behind from the last high tide. From the middle ground to the background is the ocean. Ships are set in the background, barely visible by the horizon line. View of Ornans (D9) In a peaceful valley, beside the Loue sits the village of Ornans. Courbet decided to paint his home town at a distance, placing it in the middle ground. Surrounding the town and the river are the lush greens of the trees and other foliage of the valley. In the background on of two
large hills are rocky outcroppings, and in the foreground is a bridge crossing the Loue with trees flanking it on either side. To the left of the bridge is a small house, that is most obscured by trees. It appears to the viewer’s eyes that the painting was created while standing in the middle of the river, making one wonder if Courbet actually did paint it standing in the river, or if there was a second bridge that he was able to use. Monet Monet’s father paid for him to have art lessons, though he had preferred to sketch out-ofdoors. He was encouraged to do so by Boudin, and is invited to paint with him. (Guffey) He also studied in Paris, at the Academie Suisse, and became part of the studio of Gleyre in Paris, where he met Renior, Sisley, and Bazille (website B). They would be the core of his Impressionist group, and they would exhibit together in a building owned by Nadar. Of the group of artists that he was associated with, Monet was the only one to paint finished pieces out-of-doors. It was not common practice to work in this fashion, and while some artists would sketch studies on location, they would take their studies back to their studios to make the final product. Monet would also work on pre-made canvases, which was a new product in the nineteenth century, and he would paint either directly onto the canvas or slightly tint it in pastel colors (Guffey). The Cliff Walk (D10) On a cliff filled with different colored foliage, two women look out at the ocean. The ocean extends from the foreground to the back ground, and is dotted with the white caps of the waves and small ships that are off in the distance. The sky is a bright blue and is spotted with
white fluffy clouds. In the foreground, the cliff overlooking the ocean looks almost like coral, and the women look like flowers in bloom. The Manneporte near Étretat (D11) In the center of the canvas is the manneporte, it is surrounded by sea and sky. The sea is calm and the sky is full of white clouds with some blue peeking through. Contrasting the blue greens of the water is the reddish browns of the cliff face. The erosion of the cliff side created a window for the water to go through and a framing device that the artist took advantage of. The image is closely cropped to have the manneporte fill over half of the canvas, and for the sea and sky to almost entirely frame it. Pissarro Early in Pissarro’s career he took lessons and eventually went to the Academie Suisse, where he would meet Monet. He was also given advice by Corot throughout his career, and is also shown in the Salon at one point as the pupil of Corot (Champa). He has several of his works accepted by the Salon, but is also rejected and shows his art in the Salon des Refuses as well as all eight of the Impressionists exhibitions. He was known to paint very rapidly; his color palette and composition were influenced by Monet, though he would experiment with his style in the duration of his career. Pissarro was also known to take younger artists under his wing and give them advice. He was credited as influencing Cezanne, van Gogh, and Gaugin, though Cezanne is the artist who is most visible influenced by him. Hoarfrost (D12)
A lone figure is seen from behind walking down a path in a field. The field is full of autumn colors. The trees in the painting have all lost their leaves, and there are long shadows raking across the image, suggesting that there were trees behind the viewer that are back lit by the sun. The sky is a light blue, with clouds on the horizon line, and there are roof tops just beneath the horizon line peeking out as though on the other side of a hill. Sunset, the Port of Rouen (Steamboats) (D13) A wide ribbon of water separates two sections of land in this horizontally orientated painting. There are few verticals, the masts of the ships in the foreground and the steam coming from them, as well from ships on the opposite side of the water in the middle ground of the painting. Further behind the ships are buildings, but apart from a couple of buildings, they all appear to have the same height forming one long roof line. Above the buildings are the sky and the setting sun. Clouds lightly cover the sun like a hazy cloth, and turn from white to shades of red, orange, and yellow. van Gogh This artist was not French by birth, but he spent most of his working life in France. According to what sources you go to, he either sold nothing in his lifetime, or at most one painting or one drawing. He was completely dependent upon his brother for support. When he began to paint, he was in the Netherlands at age 30, and his palette was in a traditional tonal browns of lowbrow Dutch art. He painted in thick layers, which was something that he would do throughout his career. He went to France to live with his brother, and studied the work of the Impressionists. However, that was not quite his style. His art was denser than the light and airy
Impressionist work, his paint thicker. His work feels as though the colors were stone, and he was sculpting the color into a composition. When he moved to the South of France, he had wanted to start a commune for artists, though only Gauguin ended up joining him. (Because Theo van Gogh paid for his room, board, and supplies.) The summer before Gauguin joined him was the most prolific of his career. When Gauguin joined him, there was a friendly competition, and they would debate their theories on art. Gauguin seems to have envied how much van Gogh would paint, at least one painting a day, if not more. (PoA) After Gauguin left, he voluntarily placed himself into a mental hospital. In between attacks, he would paint. At this point in his career, it no longer mattered to him if his art sold. He painted to try and keep the attacks at bay, and after he left the hospital, his brother had him live with Dr. Gachet, where he would live until he allegedly committed suicide two months later. (Website c) His art, like Cezanne, is seen as the bridge to the twentieth century, inspiring movements throughout Europe. (Guffey) Starry Night (D14) The curvilinear lines of the landscape contrast with the rectilinear lines and forms of the village. The stars and moon shine brightly in the sky, as the clouds and the night sky itself swirls about them. The bottom cloud forms to the landscape beneath it like a tight fitting piece of clothing colored yellow and blue. The hillside itself is in varying shades of blue, with the foliage in shades of blue and green. The buildings of the village are mostly in the middle ground, and while some windows are still dark, others are lit with small figures in the windows. The two strong vertical lines are the steeple in the village and the olive tree in the foreground. The olive tree breaks
through the horizontals of the land and provocatively through the night sky, stars dancing about its upper branches. Crows in a Wheat Field (D15) Crows fly above the wheat and the path that goes through the field. The path through the middle and to the sides in the foreground are warped and distorted, they are a reddish brown with stripes of green framing them. The fields of wheat are golden yellow with some orange and brown. The crows are black, and the sky above is a rich shade of blue with a couple of clouds. The painting is almost entirely horizontally orientated, save for the path in the middle of the field and the crows flying up into the sky. Cezanne Early in Cezanne’s career, he met the artist Pissarro. It was he that inspired the early part of Cezanne’s career, becoming one of the artists that would make up the School of Pontoise after the Impressionists went their separate ways. Cezanne had more of a tendency to sequester himself in his home town, and would travel to Paris to exhibit with the Impressionists. When he had gotten some bad reviews at the exhibitions in 1874 and 1877, he reacted by spending most of the 1880’s in isolation in Aix. (Schaefer) He went through several phases in his career, but what he is most famous for is the style he developed by working in patches and broke objects down into basic shapes. Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley (D16)
A handful of tall trees dominate the foreground. Beneath them, are shrubs and smaller pine Beyond the trees in the middle ground and extending into the background is a patchwork of a pasture, with a river cutting through it. In the distance, there are houses that are broken down into simple block and triangle shapes. Before the mountain range is a bridge supported by arches. The trees in the foreground block the view of parts of the mountain range, though the highest peak of the mountain range can still be seen. It is a tan color, a color that is intertwined into the rest of the painting with shades of green and brown. The sky white and light blue, as clouds dominate most of the sky, as though a storm could start at any moment. The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque (D17) Shades of blue account for over half of the canvas, as the bay and the sky make up most of the painting. In the background, there is a mountain range, in greys and blues, with grey green and tan by the water. In the foreground, there is a small town by the water; it is lively full of yellows, reddish oranges, and greens. Complimentary colors balance against one another and the rectilinear shapes of the buildings do the same with the natural forms of the landscape around it. Evolution of Landscape painting The rise to the nineteenth century appreciation of landscape painting was a slow one. Lorraine and Poussin briefly elevated the status of landscape, but even in their own time it was diminished in the eyes of officials. It wasn’t until 1665 that there were any landscapes in the royal collection. (Wintermute) In the eighteenth century, landscape painting was seen as the lowest form of painting, akin to commercial painting. It wasn’t seen to be as serious as other
genres of painting and critics of artists, including Vernet was that it was not serious enough and had demanded more serious and grander paintings from the artist. (Wintermute) Though, toward the end of the century artists like Valenciennes would help change the perception of landscape, inspiring artists like Corot at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In the nineteenth century, artists began to break away from the Academy and go to other schools that were not as formal as the Academy. Even within the Academy, there had been some changes, pushed for by Valenciennes. By 1817, there was a Rome prize for landscape painting, and by 1820 the number of treatise on landscape painting increased dramatically. (Champa) Stylistically, in the seventeenth century, there was not much to go on for inspiration before Lorraine and Poussin in terms of landscape painting in France itself. Paintings, like ones by the Le Nains’ had more of a Dutch or Flemish feel than they did French. Though this is the time period were France was breaking away from the influence of other nations and formed their own official style. It was a classical style, looking back at the classical past, though it was through sculpture and not classical painting that most artists drew their inspiration. Lorraine was the first to draw inspiration from actually observing nature and using it as a base to set up his classical compositions. Vernet could be said to have brought Lorraine up to date in his time, when he painted his landscape and seascapes. Watteau and Fragonard, on the other hand, only referenced antiquity in their paintings, by placing classical sculpture in their art. They are both labeled Rococo, but they do not quite fit that mold. Their loose brushwork and impressionistic handling of landscape is part of what inspires Impressionist painters in the nineteenth century. There was an explosion of styles in the nineteenth century; however, there was also a move away from landscape as a backdrop for a story that took place in it. Corot and Courbet painted
landscapes just to paint landscapes. For Courbet, it was paying homage to the land in which he grew up in. The amount of landscape artists in the nineteenth century was also a lot more condensed than in previous times. Artists knew each other and that helped inform their work. Monet influences Pissarro’s color palette. Pissarro helped younger artists like Cezanne and van Gogh in their careers. And Cezanne and van Gogh are considered the bridges to the twentieth century, because their styles were more forward thinking than anything that had come before.
Image List:
B1 Landscape with Peasants and a Chapel Le Nain
B2 Landscape with Peasants Le Nain, c. 1640
B3 Ashes of Phocion Poussin, 1648
B4 Blind Orion Searching for the Rising Sun Poussin, 1658
B5 The Mill Lorraine, 1631
B6 The Roman Campagna Lorraine, c. 1639
C1 A Pilgrimage to Cythera Watteau, 1717
C2 The View Watteau, 1714-16
C3 The Progress of Love: Love Letters Fragonard
C4 Landscape with a Passing Shower Fragonard, 1765/1775
C5 La Rochelle harbour Vernet, 1762
C6 Entrance to the Port of Palermo in the Moonlight Vernet, 1769
D1 Homer and the Shepherds Corot 1845
D2 Fontainebleau: Oak Trees at Bas-Bréau Corot, c.1832-33
D3 Waterfall at Terni Corot, 1826
D4 The Artist’s Studio Gustave Courbet 1854-55
D5 Source of the Loue Gustave Courbet 1864
D6 Stormy Sea (Also called The Wave) Gustave Courbet 1870
D7 The Etretat Cliffs after the Storm Gustave Courbet, 1870
D8 Calm Sea Gustave Courbet 1869
D9 View of Ornans Gustave Courbet c. mid-1850
D10 The Cliff Walk Monet, 1882
D11 The Manneporte near Étretat Monet, 1886
D12 Hoarfrost Pissarro, 1873
D13 Sunset, the Port of Rouen (Steamboats) Pissarro, 1898
D14 Starry Night van Gogh, 1889
D15 Crows in a Wheat Field van Gogh, 1890
D13 Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley Cézanne, c. 1882
The Gulf of Marseilles Seen from L'Estaque Paul Cézanne, ca. 1885
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