Post #10- Lecture- Industrial Revolution

This week marked our transition from the Renaissance era to the Industrial Revolution, a period in which artists once again defied convention and broke free from the artistic norms that had prevailed during the Renaissance. These creative minds rejected the established treatises and embraced the pursuit of innovative, avant-garde styles and modes of self-expression. The first of these groundbreaking movements was Impressionism, which notably departed from the precise realism and perfection that characterized earlier art, both in style and subject matter. Impressionist artists adopted a more relaxed approach to their subjects, employing a less refined painting style characterized by visible brushstrokes. Remarkably, during its time, this style faced widespread disdain from the mainstream art world, who even used the term "Impressionism" as a derogatory label due to its perceived unfinished quality. Personally, I find this irony in that Impressionist paintings were among the first I encountered as a child, and they continue to hold a special place in my heart. Subsequently, artists delved into experimenting with geometric forms and infusing more emotions and sentiments into their work, marking the advent of the Symbolist movement. As this era progressed, artists ventured into manipulating the scenes in their pieces, imbuing them with an air of mystique and dreamlike quality. Their objective was to convey the feelings and ambiance of a scene, rather than fixating on achieving absolute realism. In a sense, this aligns with my own artwork, as my style veers far from realism, leaning towards stylized and slightly cartoonish depictions, often exploring the realms of the imagination. Continuing this trajectory, the Fauvist movement pushed the boundaries even further by experimenting with non-traditional colors and simplifying backgrounds. This simplification, initially explored by Symbolists and Fauvists, was then expanded upon by artists like Picasso, leading to the Cubist and Abstract eras. Cubism aimed to depict a subject in a way that seemingly allowed viewers to perceive it from multiple angles simultaneously, creating a sensation akin to glimpsing the subject from a higher-dimensional perspective. Finally, the Abstract Expressionists made the most radical departure from the Renaissance style, opting not to represent any specific subjects in their work. Their art was about aesthetics and visual appeal, devoid of concrete meanings or subjects. Their creations were designed to be beautiful in and of themselves, not tied to any particular subject matter. Throughout these artistic movements, genre painting remained a consistent trend, portraying everyday people engaged in simple, everyday activities.