Chapter 11.1: Age of Revolutions

Our next areas of study include the arts of Western Europe during the late 19th through the 20th centuries, the rise of two significant political revolutions, and a socio-economic revolution that affects our everyday lives today. While at other times in history, “art” was easily identifiable as having a certain style, subject, and purpose, the 1800s ushered diverse philosophies as to the nature of man, the realities of life, and the ultimate purpose of the artist. The answer to “what is art?” will be contentious and passionate, and different for different people, from then on.

European Art in the 18th and 19th Centuries: Backdrop

The 18th century introduced new perspectives such as cultural relativism that encouraged a more scientific view of culture. The rediscoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum, in 1738 and 1748, initiated a renewed interest in Classical sensibilities and design. Neoclassicism reigned as an artform that met the needs of the people and the aristocracy alike.

It was during the Enlightenment that European art history evolves. Women slowly gained entry into the art world. The National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington D.C. provides a biographical insight into the work of 18th-century artist Elisabeth Vigee-LeBrun. Fortunately, Vigee-Lebrun wrote memories that provide more information about her life and development as an artist than we know about any other female artist prior to her. Read her own account of painting the Portrait of Marie Antoinette and her Children.

The Neoclassical style provided voice for the Revolutionary wars in North America and France, but the seeds of Modernity take root in Romanticism and virtue takes a back seat to emotional expression and mysteries of the mind.

Revolutions

The most important revolution will be the social-cultural one arriving in the early 1800s. The Industrial Revolution will change the face of Europe and the world forever, and our present society is a result of it. Fueled by the philosophical thoughts of the French Enlightenment -which had been the seed of the French and American Revolution- different artists will come together and opposing currents in art will now fight for the right to be seen and appreciated.

Each of these artistic movements was a reaction to the feelings of the time, as well as to the movement which had preceded it. By the time that the Industrial Revolution really took hold, some artists were at differences with the ideals which it espoused, such as those of discipline, temperance, structure, and views of the Enlightenment. These feelings translated into the Romantic movement, which encouraged individualism, freedom, and emotion.