Category Archives: The Arts

Berthe Morisot 1841 – 1895. The Cradle 1872. French Impressionism.

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The Impressionist movement in art had its origins in Paris, it developed as a reaction against the growing popularity of photography, also artists were no longer content with the restricitions imposed on them by the Ecole des Beaux Arts, who rejected their work and refused to exhibit it, at first the title Impressionism was used to decry these impressionistic paintings, later becoming accepted as these paintings did in fact express impressions of the subject matter rather than exact representations. Painters wished to portray light and its changing qualities and movement with its unusual visual angles, their work was filled with light, shadows were created by the use of complementary colours, yellow laid against violet, red against green, blue against orange and so on. Working outdoors was recommended to capture the play of light, it was an art of immediacy and reflections, small brush strokes achieved this using unmixed colours easy by then to buy in tubes.

Berthe Morisot was the first lady of Impressionism, she first exhibited in the Salon de Refuse in 1864 set up by Napoleon 3 to show work rejected by the Academy. Painters in the movement like Cezanne, Degas and Monet used the studio of the photographer Nadar to show their work in the early days. Berthe and her sister Edma trained together, they visited the Louvre to study, for three years they studied with their tutor Guichard. The young women wore pracical clothes when working, skirts with no hoops and a blouse and jacket. Berthe was to marry Eduard Monet’s brother Eugene, they had a daughter Julia, it was a  happy marriage, her husband supported her wish to paint until his early death in 1892, I think that she was able to combine her work and being a wife and mother in a balanced middle way, managing her time well. Morisot became a popular artist selling three hundred and fifty paintings, she had a famous grandfather, the painter Jean Honore Fragonard who must have been an inspiration.

The Cradle is a portrait of Berthe’s sister Edma with her baby daughter, Blanch,  oils on canvas are used – Edma had given up painting when she married. We see a tender portrayal of motherhood which evokes for me that wonderful time when my children were babies, here the mother gazes at the child with tenderness, her bent arm is echoed by one of the baby’s arms, whose eyes are closed in sleep, the atmosphere is one of calm and quiet, for me this painting is full of meaning, it portrays the close link between mother and baby, we see fewer paintings with father and child, which has failed to note the changed role of male partners in their children’s lives. The basket is draped by a white curtain with golden yellow light flitting across it, being attached from a bracket above, producing a beautiful sweeping wave, no bright colour disturbs the peace, the light diffusing the white cradle is balanced by the mother’s dark dress and the black band around her neck and the background wall, covering a window a curtain is depicted as though it moves gently in a breeze with hints of blue sky. I remember the basket my daughters slept in, lined with pretty material, twin sons needed more space!

Berthe Morisot led a priviledged life, she knew many other artists, Corot was a good friend, she had no desire to be unconventional, her main  restrictions were her class and gender, a problem I did not have to consider when I studied, she painted the world around her avoiding urban scenes, her subjects were mostly the bourgoise, the clothes they wore and their surroundings, her friends and relatives. I particularly like a painting Morisot did of the area on her propertry where washing was hung out to dry, a down to earth image of everyday life. In addition to working with oils she used water colours and made many drawings, her first solo show was in 1892. This painting did not sell and remained in the family until the Louvre purchased it in 1930. Morisot died in 1895 soon after nursing her sick daughter Julia, who had pneumonia which she also contracted. Morisot is a popular painter still and her work is highly prized, luckily for most who wish to own one there are gclee prints to buy.

Pop Art Movement. David Hockney. A Bigger Splash 1967.

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The Pop art movement began in England in the 1950s, it spread to the USA in the 1960s, the era fizzled out in the early 1970s. The work produced was popular with the general public due to its strong visual impact and vibrant colour, the images gave instant meaning as the compositions were simple, the subject matter was more down to earth than the abstract expressionism of the 1950s which the public in general did not appreciate or understand, Abstract expressionism in post WW11 America – which also had been in Germany as early as 1946 – did not have wide public appreciation with its anti-figurative aesthetic found in schools like the Bauhaus and in Futurism, a sense of self denial pervaded the work so unlike Pop art. Pop art was seen as ‘a post war expression of a world totally occupied with the pursuit of materialism.’ The austerity of the war years was coming to an end, artists were making a commentary on contemporary society and culture, it attracted dozens of artists who joined the movement.
Pop artists believed that everything is inter-dependent and therefore sought to make those connections in their art work, did they succeeded in integrating society and its culture in the ‘swinging’ sixties? In addition it was a reaction against the status quo, in many ways its aims were similar to the earlier Dada movement which arose from Surrealism with artists like Magritte and Duchamp. Among British pop artists were Eduado Paolozzi, Patrick Caulfield, Peter Blake and David Hockney, their work was less kitschy, more romantic and nostalgic than that of the American artists, they formed the Independent Group. Some artists were making anti-art statements but most had a positive attitude and wished to create new forms of expression, which they did very successfully by taking images from Westerns, science fiction and comic books which the public enjoyed. Art critics were apt to scorn Pop art as having a ‘low brow focus’, it did shatter the divide between commercial arts and the fine arts, it had returned to representational visual communicaton, mass media printing techniques were employed to great effect in particular by Andy Warhol.

As an example of the work produced at this time I have chosen David Hockney’s ‘A Bigger Splash’ so named because it is a larger canvas than an earlier Splash painting, he used the newly invented acrylic paint having painted previously with oils such as in the painting with oils on board of ‘We 2 Boys Clinging Together’ inspired by a Walt Whitman poem. Hockney was living in California at the time where he was teaching and where he was to spend nearly thirty years on and off, it is one of a series of swimming pool paintings and is probably one of his best known works of the 1960s, painted in 1967. We see a flat realistic style, I think the inspiration for the pool was taken from a photograph, the geometric shapes are vertical and horizontal with the exception of the diagonals of the diving board, does it jar the balance, it would have been on purpose? I am reminded a little of Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’ with the building largely consisting of large plate glass windows. Hockney said in an interview I listened to, recorded at the Royal Academy, that the splash alone had taken him a week to paint with a fine brush, the sky is blue, the pool cool and shimmering, we cannot see the body of the swimmer who has dived deep into the water. The work gives the impression that there is not a thing worrying the painter, not a cloud is on the metaphorical horizon! In fact all was not well for part of the time, one of Hockney’s assistants died of a drug overdose in his studio and Hockney was upset when the relationship with the American artist Peter Schlesinger came to an end although they remained friends, Schlesinger was also one of Hockney’s favourite models. His painting keeps a calm outlook in spite of these setbacks, no extreme of emotion is presented, a middle way found?

David Hockney was born in Bradford, Yorkshire in 1937, he is still painting in 2014 with the same energy. He is a skilled draughtsman, print maker and stage designer, like his father Kenneth he is a conscientious objector, during his time spent doing National Service he was a medical orderly. He trained at the Bradford School of Art and the Royal Academy, he was somewhat of a rebel, he would not write an essay for his graduation on the grounds that his paintings alone should qualify him sufficiently to obtain a degree, the degree was refused at first but later the RCA relented and awarded him a diploma. He exhibited work alongside Peter Blake at the Young Contemporaries. As well as living in California he lived in Paris between 1973 and 1975, he returned to England then moved back to California where he rented a house in Nichol’s Canyon which he later purchased, he still owns property in the USA, also in London and in Yorkshire where he has lived recently, his work is inspired by the Yorkshire landscape. While in America he met other Pop artists such a Andy Warhol, from 1968 onwards he painted friends, relatives, his parents and lovers, he is openly gay, he continues to be constantly interested in the way human vision works. Hockney said ‘the power is with the images’ he is said to regret that conceptual art is now preferred over images and that photography is used more often, saying ‘a camera cannot see what a human can see.’ His views may have been adapted because recent work has been aided by Ipad technology.

Image from wikipedia.

Judith Leyster. 1609 – 1660. Self Portrait 1633.

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Judith Leyster was one of two women to be a member of the Haarlem Guild of St.Luke and the only women who became a Master Painter in the period known as the Dutch Golden Age, she was brought to my attention by Amanda Vickery in a television series called Women in Art. Women painters are far fewer in number than male painters and there are several reasons for this, often the question is posed ‘Why are there no great female painters’ I would like to put forward one or two theories of why this is so and ask if you have others. Firstly in the past young men joined art studios and art schools as apprentices, it was not considered fitting for  women to do so, students learnt the necessary skills over many years, while  most young women were expected to marry and raise a family, needlework such as making samplers or doing embroidery was acceptable and  being skilled at drawing botanical illustrations was a popular pursuit also amateur artists and young people from wealthy backgrounds were able to undertake lessons from a tutor at home. There were a few voices who commented on the place of women such as John Stuart Mill who wrote ‘ The subjection of women to me, being a universal custom, any departure from it quite naturally appears unnatural.’  And so we see artists traditionally trained in the studio system and it was male dominated,  gallery owners also denied women a space to exhibit.

Secondly, a popular view was that a ‘divine creator’ provided the creativity and imagination required in a literal way, I think many considered such inspiration to be a male phenomena, although there are exceptions such as reclusive nuns who often reached heights of the sublime. The artist who was a misfit or social outcast was also seen as special, these reasons may well have been a factor driving the person onward, if we study a Van Gough painting for example, we find an intensity, an energy. Thirdly, without doubt it is very difficult to combine being a mother who provides her children with emotional and physical security with being a dedicated painter or any art form, compromises will need to be made, a middle way sought. Women cannot be equal in all ways, physically is an example, we are not as strong and we bear the offspring, but what women would like is the freedom to make informed choices and we are fortunate to live in a society that is on the whole equal.  I do not know why Judith Leyster painted very little after the birth of their five children, she will have grieved for those who did not survive, perhaps it was a conscious decision or ill health may have been the cause, she died in her fifties.

Lastly there is this idea of the artist as being a  ‘genius’ but few men or women are born geniuses, I know I have been heard to say he/she is a genius when I mean someone extra talented, and there are child prodigies of course.  A certain kind of intelligent curiousity  is required,  it is usually an incremental process,  encouragement from the artist’s family may have an influence also there is a saying ‘it’s in the genes’referring to shared family traits, I do not know what truth there is in the statement, if artistic creativity surrounds the young person it may well leave an impression, some succeed in spite of opposition.

Judith Leyster was the eighth child in the family, her father was a brewer and cloth maker until he ventured into a coffee house business which made him bankrupt, Judith may have sold paintings to help the family finances, The family moved to Utrecht where Judith Leyster set up a studio in 1633 where she employed three male apprentices, unusual for the time, that is when this self portrait was painted, she married a painter, Jan Miense Molenier in 1636. Judith gave up painting after her children were born except for two known works, an illustration for a book about tulips, published in 1643 and a portrait in 1652. The painting above painted in 1633 ensured her reputation, she may have been a student of Hals, her work has certain qualities that he had but she was not an imitator of his work.  A self portrait is revealing, it gives identity as an artist, here we see her holding the paint brush, it is not set aside on a table, we see she is working, she paints in the Dutch tradition, she had no wish to be controversial, her head is turned away from the easle, her subjects were often musicians, she meets our gaze, it is a proud look, not provocative though, she is dressed in the fine clothes of the Dutch middle class to symbolically show us her social and economic status, – a painter would usually wear a smock,  her pose is informal, she is at ease, the arm holding the paint brush rests on the arm of the chair, she seems relaxed, confident.

The use of paint among professional artists is on the decline, that may change, many women and men with time on their hands paint for pleasure, it is not hard to find art classes  in many locations around the country for them to join.

 

The image is from Wikipedia Commons.

William Hogarth. 1697 – 1764. Marriage a la Mode.

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William Hogarth was born in Smithfield London in 1697, his father was originally a Latin teacher but he ventured into a coffee house business which made him bankrupt. Young Hogarth went to drawing classes where he copied from casts and drew from live models. He soon became an apprentice in a silver workshop where he was to reach the level of Master engraver, he opened a print shop which is where he met Sir James Thornhill and became one of his students in his drawing academy, he married Thornhil’s daughter Jane in 1729, it was a happy marriage, with no children. He was fond of going to the theatre and enjoyed satirical plays and also cartoons which made fun of the royal family and politicians.

Hogarth was a painter, print maker, pictorial satirist, social critic and editorial cartoonist, he has been credited with pioneering ‘sequential art’, which is similar to a sophisticated comic strip. He created a series of morality paintings called a ‘Rake’s Progress’ in 1734 using his art to make a social comment on the times and on politics, Hogarth regretted the urbanisation of London and its accompanying crime. Between the years 1743 and 1745 he painted six works which were then engraved called ‘Marriage a la Mode’ now held in the National Gallery London. These works demonstrated how the lives of the wealthy were not without vice, they were a criticism of 18th.century life. It is the first engraving of this series that will be discussed. In 1747 he worked on a series called ‘Industry and Idleness’  in the following year he went to France and returned with an unfavourable impression of the people. Four years later in 1751 he produced ‘Gin Lane’ in which he railed against the Protestant work ethic, the view was that if the people did not find work they deserved to be poor, no matter for what reason, he was critical of the alcoholism, gin was cheap to buy and was called mother’s ruin.  In 1762 he painted ‘The Times’ which greatly upset certain politicians.

Paintings were copied to make prints, an engraver would use a tool called a graver to make incisions or scratches onto a metal plate, that in turn was covered in ink and pressed in a printing press onto paper. Hogarth would make limited editions but because prints were so popular many fraudulent copies were also made.

In the first of the series of six works for Marriage a la Mode we see the main characters, composed in two groups , this series is considered to be one of Hogarth’s best works. On the right we see Earl Squander who is planning to marry his son, the viscount to a wealthy merchant’s daughter, the earl is very miserly and wants more funds to carry on building his new home, which we can glimpse through a window, an architect is looking through this window with plans in his hand, the merchant on the other hand is wealthy and wants to climb the social ladder, hence his wish to marry his daughter to a member of the aristocracy.  The old earl is seen with one leg raised on a cushion, to ease his gout, he holds a scroll on which is drawn his family tree, the merchant holds the marriage contract while on the left of the scene we see the Earl’s son, the Viscount, admiring himself in a mirror, a solicitor called Silvertongue bends over the daughter, probably giving encouragement to her about the benefits of this marriage. Two dogs are seen chained together, a metaphor for this alliance? The room is grand,  we see a classical interior, on one wall there is a portrait in the  French manner, on another an image of Medusa, denoting horror.  In the second of the series we see that the couple have little interest in each other, the marriage is breaking down, a dog pulls out a cap from the young husband’s pocket, a hint that he has been unfaithful to his wife, there is a broken sword, he has been in a fight. The third picture depicts a quack’s consulting room, the husband has syphillis and the young prostitute with him rubs a scab on her lips. The viscount wants the money returned which he spent on the medicine which has not cured him. In the next engraving the old earl dies, the young couple take over the home,  when they entertain guests the wife turns her back on her visitors. In the next piece the husband discovers that his wife has been unfaithfull with the solicitor Silvertongue, who is escaping throught a window, the wife implores her husband to forgive her, the injured husband dies, the wife commits suicide and the solicitor is hung in Tyburn for the murder.

What an unhappy tale. It is hard to discover a middle way in this series of engravings, it shows extremely poor behaviour on each character’s part, it is a comedy of errors, a satire, which entertains the public and perhaps makes them feel somewhat happier about there own lives, perhaps the grass is not greener in the next pasture. It may provide a timely warning also that such behaviour produces unwanted results and it is far more important to tread a middle way.

Society was not stable at the time, the unpopular George 2 ruled, although he spent much of his life back in his much loved home in Hanover, Germany, his son George was at loggerheads with his parents and they had no time for him, the family was dysfunctional and did nothing to calm the unsettled conditions in the country.

Hogarth followed rules when he worked, he produced images that he knew the public would understand and like, he used variety to keep onlookers interested, he made sure that the images he produced were in sync with the main themes in each work, not using too many images which could confuse, he worked in the Rococo style, using loose free lines to create the beauty in the work, his brushstrokes were also free, we see this on the ruffle and frills on the clothing, his colours were warm and rich, restrained by light and dark browns. Hogarth died in 1764.

 

 

William Wyld. 1806 – 1889. Kersal Moor.1852.

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William Wyld came from a wealthy background, his father was a merchant, it was hoped by his family that William would follow in his father’s footsteps, but William found an interest in drawing, an interest shared by an uncle of his on whose death enabled William to use his drawing equipment. William’s father died when William was twenty, he did not become a merchant but a secretary to the British Consulate in Calais, France, then he served Lord Granville and made friends with the water colour painter Francois Louis Thomas Francia and became one of his students. Wyld’s fortunes changed again when his protector Canning died, Wyld became a champagne exporter from Epernay to England between the years 1827 to 1833. William Wyld made many friends during his lifetime and travelled a great deal in France, Italy, Algiers and Egypt. He set out for Algiers with his friend Baron de Vialar in order to paint and draw there, they settled there for six months, soon  after that he met an old friend, Vernet and together they went to Rome where they also stayed six months. Wyld was soon on the move again, he continued on foot to tour  Italy with another friend. Finally he set up  a studio in Paris and was commissioned to paint oriental scenes and Venetian landscapes, his painting ‘Venice at Sunrise’ was exhibited in Paris in 1839 to great acclaim. He spent more time in Algeria and Egypt. In 1845 he lived in Brittany until the 1848 Revolution, an unsuccessful uprising by  workers in Paris over their working conditions. He returned to England and became a member of the New Society of Painters in Water Colours. Queen Victoria commissioned him to paint scenes of Liverpool and Manchester to celebrate her visits there.

A member of the Middle Way Society, Richard Flanagan, chose this painting for discussion by Wyld,  called A View of Manchester from Kersal Moor, painted in 1852, thank you Rich. In this single work, a water colour, we see two different views, one rural and the other a cityscape. Richard comments  on the extremes  ‘it is easy to view them as being wholly opposed but what must arise from the two is a middle way, of course this a Middle Way that we are still, desperately trying to find.’ A small group of people sit on a hillside overlooking a large bowl-shaped area in the middle distance, a few animals graze nearby, stretched across the horizon is a row of chimneys belching out smoke. What is the significance, if any, of the small group of people compared with the vast expanse of space before them?  Richard wonders what they are thinking and doing, maybe they are out for a short break from working in a mill, although it would have been a long walk for them to reach the moor or, are they agricultural workers thinking that their lot may be better by leaving the country side in order to earn more money in a factory. We are left to guess.

Wyld had managed not to paint an idealised view, he was probably well aware after his many journeys across Europe that all was not perfect in the country side. Other Victorian painters such as Myles Birket Foster painted work full of clichés, with skies being always blue, people and animals well fed and the worker’s homes idealised as comfortable thatched cottages, far from the truth more often than not. These works sold well, perhaps to city dwellers who had never lived a rural existence or maybe it was a longing for the past. Ian Hislop in his television series ‘Olden Days’ said that such unrealistic paintings were ‘a green balm for weary souls… a meditation on things past.’ Many of us escape to the country to live or we go for there for holidays, I went to live in rural north Devon for much needed peace and quiet for many years.

This painting of Kersal Moor has become an icon of ‘Cottonopolis’, due to its subject matter, symbols of what was happening in the country. Cotton mills were built, mainly in northern England, in Manchester and in Lancashire towns like Chorley, where my paternal ancestors lived. Industrialisation covered the years from 1750 to 1914, when cities became large and crowded as rural workers moved to find work in mills and factories or on the railways. Kersal Moor was and is still an area for recreation, it covers eight hectares of moorland and is designated a local nature reserve.

Wyld returned to Paris to live and was awarded the Legion d’Honneur by the French Minister of the Arts. He continued painting until he died in 1889.

Image from Wikipedia Commons.