Impressionism and society
pre-class prep: re-read Chu pp. 389-409 and 417-25 concentrating on issues of subject matter (PDF)
read Smarthistory essay Impressionism: Painting Modern Life
read selection from Robert Herbert, Impressionism (PDF)
discussion questions: Those named for the questions below should come prepared to present a short (3-5 minute) response to that question.
1. (Michael H.) What is 'modern' about Impressionist subject matter? Choose and analyze four (4) Impressionist paintings that show different subject matter dealing with specifically modern conditions (technologies, environments, lifestyles, etc). Email your choices of works (artist, title, date, along with a jpeg) by noon on Tuesday April 16th so I can project them while you analyze them.
2. (Karis H.) What is a 'flâneur'? How do the Impressionists' views of 19th-century Paris resemble those of a flâneur, journalist, or investigator, according to the Robert Herbert reading? Analyze Manet's Street Singer and Degas's Women on a Café Terrace, Evening as examples. Do you think Manet and Degas intend any moral judgment or social criticism in these works, or are they just neutrally reporting interesting social facts?
people, terms, and concepts: bourgeoisie, flâneur, Baron Haussmann, café-concert, absinthe
key points:
• What kinds of subject matter did the Impressionists tend to paint? How is much of that subject matter characteristically 'modern,' that is, reflective of the new technologies, environments, and lifestyles that resulted from rapid industrialization and urban growth during the nineteenth century?
• What is a 'flâneur,' and how do the Impressionist's views of 19th-century Paris resemble those of a flâneur?
• Which Impressionists seem to be celebrating modern middle-class Parisian social life? Which seem to be criticizing the sordid underside of bourgeois leisure? Which seem to be more neutral and journalistic?
Degas, Absinthe, Impressionism, 1876
Manet, Café Père Lathuille, Impressionism, 1879
Toulouse-Lautrec, In the Salon de la Rue des Moulins, Impressionism, 1894
Caillebotte, Paris Street: Rainy Day, Impressionism, 1877
Monet, La Gare St-Lazare, Impressionism, 1877
Degas, Dancer in her Dressing Room, Impressionism, 1880