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Docent Association Handbook

Pensacola Museum of Art 407 South Jefferson Street

Pensacola, FL 32502 850.432.6247

www.pensacolamuseum.org

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February 2016 Edition

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Table of Contents

History of the Pensacola Museum of Art 3 General Museum Policies 7 What is a Docent? 9 Getting Started: Basic Tour Guidelines 11 Tour Suggestions for different types of tour groups 14 General Art Analysis 101 19 American and European Art History Timeline:

• 1600-1900 29

• 20th Century 36 Museum Staff Contact List 43

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A Brief History of the Pensacola Museum of Art

In 1954, a group of determined women combined their efforts to create an art center for the City of Pensacola. Members of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) wanted a place to exhibit traveling shows, offer art classes for both children and adults, provide meeting space for members of the community as well as have a forum for lectures, films and other cultural presentations. They joined forces with others in the community who shared this same vision and formed the Pensacola Art Association (PAA). When the City of Pensacola decided to replace the Old City Jail in 1954, the Pensacola Art Association made a bid for the building. The Spanish Revival structure was a perfect location for an Arts Center. The Jail was already fireproof, secure and centrally located in Pensacola’s Historic Downtown District. When the City allowed the group to lease the old jail for $1 per year, the PAA’s Board members pulled together to turn the jail cells into exhibition spaces. Initially the City leased the building to the PAA which became the Pensacola Museum in1982 and in 1988 the Museum purchased the building that is known to this day as the Pensacola Museum of Art. Over the course of the past 62 years, the PMA has presented hundreds of exhibitions and thousands of educational opportunities, becoming the foundation for the visual arts here in our community. As we as a community move towards a new, revitalized culture, the PMA continues to play an integral role in the development and fostering of quality arts experiences and is a significant contributing element in our community’s diverse culture as it serves over 100,000 visitors annually within our region. With this as a foundation for development, the PMA has put together a stimulating 2016 exhibition schedule as well as a host of quality educational programs, all of which amplify the mission of the Museum - bridging the diverse populations of Pensacola and the surrounding communities through the visual arts.

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Pensacola Museum of Art General Information

Museum Hours:

Tuesday through Friday, 10 AM – 5 PM Saturday, 11 AM – 4 PM

Monday closed

Admission:

PMA Member: Free Adults: $7.00

Military with ID and Seniors: $5 Children (7-17): $5

Children (6 and under): Free

Last Tuesday of Every Month: Free

Address:

407 South Jefferson Street Pensacola, FL 32502

850.432.6247

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Tours Tours of the Museum are conducted by Museum Docents (trained volunteer guides) under the supervision of the Education and Curatorial Departments. Forty-five minute tours highlight exhibitions and are presented on a year-round basis to schools, school extracurricular groups and community organizations. Escambia County school groups may visit free of charge; other schools as well as other groups are offered group rates of $3 per person. To receive discounted admission, tours must consist of a minimum of 10 people. Tours should be limited at approximately 60 people, must include one chaperone for every 10 to 15 people, and must be scheduled at least 2 weeks in advance to ensure availability. Art Exploration Trunks Share the art of another culture with this special hands-on learning experience. The Trunks offer the unique opportunity to combine art, history, music, geography, foreign languages, and language arts lessons. A resource guide is included. Teachers may borrow a Trunk from the Museum for one week (Saturday to Saturday). Trunk loans are free of charge to all educators in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Walton Counties. Trunk Themes Latin American China Seven Wonders

Japanese Greek Australian

African Native American

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General Museum Policies

Access to Building Because the Museum must operate under a high level of security, volunteers are allowed access only through the main entrance of the building. Excluding special events, all food must be eaten in the kitchen. Carrying Objects and Checkroom Museum visitors are requested to check cameras, parcels, briefcases, knapsacks and umbrellas at the information desk. No Ink Pens are allowed in the Galleries Chewing Gum Visitors must remove chewing gum at the beginning of a tour. The Museum has a NO CHEWING GUM policy. Closed Galleries There are several reasons for closing Galleries to the public: taking down, preparation and re-installation of exhibits, photography, conservation, or other curatorial concerns. In these instances, no entry will be allowed when a Gallery is marked closed. Be polite, but be firm when questioned. Sketching Drawing in pencil on a portable sketchpad is permissible in the Galleries. Disabled Visitors The Museum is wheelchair accessible and a wheelchair is available upon request. Disabled visitors may enter at the side entrance of the Museum for use of a ramp. There is a buzzer at this handicapped entrance that is audible from the Information Desk. Kitchen Volunteers are permitted to bring food into the Museum and store it in the refrigerator located in the kitchen. Library Shelves in the library contain general visual arts reference books and reference books pertaining to the collections. Docents are welcome to make use of this room during the time the Museum is open to the public. Books are not currently available to check out however the Museum photocopier is available to docents if needed. Please inquire with staff for assistance.

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Lost and Found All found articles should be left with the receptionist at the Information Desk. Articles will be discarded after 30 days. No Touching Policy The policy of not touching works of art must be made clear to the tour group before going into the Galleries. Photography Depending on the exhibit (please check for each show), sometimes the Museum permits casual photography of the exhibits with the following restrictions: Hand-held cameras only: Tripods, large format cameras and video cameras are prohibited. Absolutely no flash: Flash and/or cameras with built in or automatic flash are prohibited. Flash photography will damage artworks. Photography is limited to educational or personal use: Photography for any other purpose must be approved by the PMA staff. Smoking Smoking is not permitted in the Museum. Soliciting or Vending No soliciting or vending in the Museum or on the grounds is permitted without authorization from the Executive Director.

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What is a Docent?

The term “docent” is derived from the Latin verb docere, meaning “to lead or teach.” A docent at the PMA is a volunteer who conducts tours, presents Art Exploration Trunks, and assists with outreach programs and workshops with the public, school and local groups, out-of-state visitors, senior citizens, etc. Due to his or her high visibility while performing their duties docents are considered representatives of the Museum. Docents are often motivated by a love of people, a desire to be involved in public service or an interest in the study of art. Being a docent requires the willingness and ability to engage in an ongoing learning process about the PMA exhibitions and to impart to groups what has been learned about these exhibitions. Volunteer service to the Education Department offers creative and rewarding teaching experiences for those interested in museum education. Museum Education can be challenging and a docent’s role in it is critical. He or she should take a serious and professional view of all responsibilities. A docent is expected to participate in all training sessions throughout the year, prepare for all programs, and carry out all scheduled tours.

Docent Goals

To represent the PMA to the public. To educate visitors about PMA exhibitions, art technique and history through tours, outreach and Art Exploration Trunks. To present the Museum’s exhibitions to visitors in an informative, stimulating and appropriate way in order to:

• Increase understanding and sensitivity to the formal elements of art and related historical and thematic concepts

• Increase public awareness of the Museum’s mission and its vital importance in studying, preserving, and interpreting the visual arts

• Encourage life-long learning in a Museum setting and to stimulate participants to become active Museum supporters.

To present tours suited to the needs and purposes of specialized groups.

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Docent Benefits

The PMA’s commitment to its volunteers is a deeply felt one. The Board of Trustees and staff are keenly aware of the very substantial contributions volunteers make in terms of time, knowledge and energy. The volunteer’s role in making the Docent Program an effective part of the overall operation of the PMA is gratefully acknowledged. In return for a docent’s time and talents, he or she will receive educational opportunities such as

• Educational lectures by the curators, local university faculty, artists and visiting specialists in order to learn more about the permanent collections, special exhibitions, and techniques for touring diverse audiences.

• Organized trips to local and state-wide museums, galleries and artists’ studios • Use of art-related resource materials and books • Private docent group walkthroughs of new exhibitions with the curator • Docent tour packets provided by the curator for each exhibition (available in print

and electronic format) • Free exhibition catalogs (when available)

Docents continually enhance their own knowledge base through volunteerism and are able to share their appreciation of art while meeting others with similar interests.

Docent Requirements

Touring Requirements: The tour coordinator (Christa Ramirez) is responsible for ensuring that each scheduled tour is matched with a docent(s). The tour coordinator will place docents by one of three ways: passing around a sign-up sheet during monthly docent meetings, phoning the docent directory, and by email. It is your responsibility to contact the tour coordinator in advance if you are unable to attend your scheduled tour. This will enable a substitute to be placed for you. Meetings: Docents meet the second Thursday of each month at 1:00 p.m. Regular attendance is encouraged but not required. Exhibition walkthroughs are conducted at the close of each meeting, as needed.

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Getting Started Basic Tour Guidelines

No Touching Policy The policy of not touching works of art must be established with a tour group before going into the galleries. With older children, a few words should serve as a reminder; younger and more active groups should be seated on the floor to gain their attention and to reinforce the policy. Ways of Saying “Please Don’t Touch” Works of art in the Museum’s collections need to be taken care of so they can be seen and enjoyed by all visitors now and in the future. Touching the art may damage it, even if you can’t see the damage. The following are examples of different approaches to be used primarily with groups of children.

• Why do you think you are asked not to touch the art? Is it ok to touch it carefully? If you can’t see any change from touching it, does that mean it wasn’t harmed? (Objects can be broken, or dirtied and worn by people handling them too much. If you touch the object, then someone else will, and someone else and so on.)

• Feel your fingertips. Do you know what it is that keeps our skin soft? (All of us have oil and moisture in our skin)

• Have you ever seen fingerprints? Have you seen fingerprints made by clean fingers? (Oily marks on a drinking glass, tabletop, or mirror)

• What things have you seen that are badly worn from many people touching or using them? (Carpeting that’s worn where a lot of people have walked over time—such as in doorways and corridors…a favorite blanket, an old chair’s armrests, a path through the grass)

• Some of the works of art in the Museum’s collection are quite old and we need to take care of them. We want people for years to come to be able to see and enjoy this art in the same condition as you are enjoying it now. What do you think some good precautions are to protect the art? (temperature and humidity control, no touching, sometimes camera flashes can cause paint to fade, vitrines- glass covers on pedestals)

General Procedures Always double-check tour routes to ensure that no last minute changes have been made within the Galleries. Remember to coordinate the route with the other participating docents scheduled for the tour.

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Meeting the Tour Group If the group is meeting in the Lobby prior to the tour, please make sure the doors are unlocked and the lights are on in all the Galleries. Take your group to a predetermined starting point and go over introductory comments such as: • Introduce yourself and welcome them in a relaxed and smiling manner. • Give a brief introduction to the Pensacola Museum of Art (history, building, etc.)

if they are first-time visitors and this introduction is appropriate to the type of group you are touring. Kids enjoy being told this was the old city jail from 1906 until the 1950s.

• Outline the no-touching policy as it applies to them. Test the group’s knowledge first by asking them if they know any Museum rules.

• If you are touring a group of children, go over any other items or points you would like your group to do, i.e., raise their hands if they have a questions or wish to answer a question, always stay with their group, have young children on a buddy system, etc.

• State the theme of the tour with a good introductory statement that will spark the group’s interest

• Help the group feel relaxed by using open-ended dialogue questions with no right or wrong answers.

• Help the group make connections between objects and what they know or might have experienced. Refer to previously discussed works.

• Be a good and patient listener. Wait for and encourage the group’s responses. • Face the group members, not the work about which you are speaking. • Maintain eye contact. • Be friendly, enthusiastic, and flexible about what you are doing. • Speak clearly, distinctly, and slowly; at a volume that can be heard but not so loud

as to disturb other groups. • Use different tones of voice to enliven the tour. • Tailor your vocabulary to the level of your group. Use appropriate

language/vocabulary. Define your terms or omit them. Simplicity is the key. • Keep gestures at a safe distance from the works (at least 8 inches). Do not touch

the works. Do not point with a pen or pencil. • Make sure everyone has a chance to see the work. • Do not be too eager to tell all you know about an exhibition or object you are

looking at as you may inadvertently stifle an exciting thought. Always avoid lecturing.

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• Do not be too quick to give the “right” answer. What may be “right” to you may not appear logically “right” to the visitor. With many questions under discussion, your comment is only one interpretation of the issue. Visitors’ responses can be surprising, and it’s best to have your approach follow rather than doggedly pursue a predetermined line of reasoning.

• Do not ask questions that require factual answers (unless it is a matter of common knowledge you are using as a springboard for a personal response)

• Do not be afraid to say, “I don’t know,” offer to find out and follow-up on the question. If someone is knowledgeable about a certain area, let him/her add constructively to the tour.

• Be tactful, but forceful, in dealing with discipline problems, i.e. group members that want to monopolize the tour; visitors that offer incorrect information; visitors that persist in sharing personal anecdotes irrelevant to the tour subject.

• Do not, under any circumstances, make negative comments or personal opinions about the Museum exhibition. Do not discuss the prices of works or the identity of anonymous donors.

• At the conclusion of the tour, summarize what has been seen and learned, or help the group conduct their own summary.

• Ask visitors to speak a little regarding what they liked and didn’t like. What would they tell others about the visit? How did their experience compare with what they expected?

• Praise the group for their thoughtful questions, their interest and their participation.

• Tell the group you enjoyed showing them the Museum! • Encourage them to come back, and if they are older, to pick up a newsletter or

membership information brochure!

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Tour Suggestions for Different Types of Tour Groups

Tour Introduction A positive way to begin with any group is to introduce the theme of your tour. Relate what you say to the experience of the visitors. Be prepared to learn from the visitors. If they ask questions not directly related to your tour theme, that’s okay, follow their interests. Young Children (ages 3-6) Children between the ages of 3 and 6 may talk excessively or loudly, interrupt frequently, and ask many questions. They have intense curiosity and thirst for knowledge. They can understand the Museum’s rules. Tours need to be flexible and sometimes shorter than initially planned. Bear in mind that children tire easily and have short attention spans. A tired child learns little of value. Some of the following suggestions may be helpful: • Explain the rule about not touching objects; set a good example by keeping your

own distance from them. • Allow the teacher or chaperone to deal with an individual child’s problems. • Seat children whenever possible; bench or floor is suitable. • Maintain eye contact with the group. • Talk with the children, rather than lecture down to them. Be careful with which

words you choose, if you use a complex word, explain it. For example “The medium the artist chose was watercolor. A medium is the type of material the work of art is made out of.”

• Asking good questions is a helpful technique to encourage group participation. • Show appreciation when a child asks or answers a question or makes an

observation. • Begin by asking the children what colors they see and which shapes they

recognize. • Encourage them to use their imaginations by questions such as “let’s do a

scavenger hunt for i.e. birds, flowers, castles…or any reoccurring object in different pieces in the exhibition”

• Stimulate as many senses as possible: “If you were there (in the painting/drawing/print/photograph), what sounds would you hear? What would you smell? How would you feel?”

• If it is a painting, ask the children to use pretend brushes to paint lines and shapes in the air to imitate how they feel the artist may have painted.

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• As soon as you see children losing interest, move to the next object. Let their interest help determine the time spent on each work. Attention spans will vary greatly with each group.

Let each child know how very pleased we are to have them in the Museum! Encourage them to return soon, and to bring their family and friends so that they can share with them all that they have learned. It is so important for each child to feel completely welcome during this initial visit. Elementary School Children (ages 6-12) The years between first and sixth grade span ages when children are changing rapidly. Teaching methods for the early primary grade child are different from those effective with fifth and sixth graders. The following suggestions are generally applicable for all. Additionally, your own suggestions for itineraries and activities appropriate for the various age or grade levels are earnestly sought. • Tell the group from the beginning that you want to hear what they have to say.

You won’t be the only one doing the talking. You will be asking lots of questions and want to hear their thoughts. Always involve the children in your presentation.

• Enthusiasm is infectious with all ages and keeps the children’s attention • Watch your vocabulary. Be certain they understand what you mean. Avoid

talking “down” to them. • Keep the group together. Once you allow wandering, you lose control of the

group. • Establish the rules of behavior and expectations of the children. For example, tell

them to raise their hands for questions or comments. Children need to know limits; it saves them from testing you to see what they can and cannot do in the Museum.

• Through questions you can easily initiate a discussion. • Listen carefully to their comments for clues to their interests. • Occasionally, stand back and be a viewer with them. • Be cautious about spending too much time on one work of art. Fidgeting is a

good indicator that it’s time to move to another object. Teenagers Teenagers tend to worry about being embarrassed in front of their peers by saying the “wrong thing.” Often this insecurity may cause them to act in a blasé, uncooperative manner. By treating the students as respected individuals, and distinguishing them from children, you will put them and ease and encourage positive participation. • Treat teenagers as adults as long as they are behaving relatively appropriately,

even if they act disinterested.

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• Be good-humored with the group. Never use sarcasm, sharp comments, or too personal remarks that single out students.

• Try not to create a classroom “quiz session” atmosphere by asking students for historical facts such as “who fought the Battle of Bunker Hill?” Rather, review any needed information with them, remind them of facts as though you assume they already know them. They may then volunteer further detail, observation or questions that will enhance the group’s understanding of the work being discussed.

• Invite students to make observations and voice opinions. They are usually less hesitant to do so if you have reassured them that such expressions are not being graded as “right” or “wrong.”

• Guide students in developing their powers of observation. For example, note changing styles of clothing, hairdo, jewelry, etc. over the years. Ask them if they can guess the time period. Have them consider the impact of discoveries, inventions, and social changes that brought about the differences. These considerations lead to a greater understanding of the times that produced the works of art.

Adults

• Most adults visiting the museum for the first time appreciate and benefit from having the layout of the Museum and the contents of its various Galleries explained to them in a logical sequence.

• Confirm with the group that the tour will last one hour. • Select one or two highlights from each gallery area for a detailed examination.

Do not assume the level of museum experience a visitor may have. Two common mistakes are (1) flaunting your more detailed or technical knowledge, or (2) talking “down” to the visitor. One way to present basic information that seems elementary but is essential to a good museum experiences is to use phrases like “We were interested to learn that…” or “Research has revealed that…”

• There is always the possibility that the visitor has useful information that you would like to hear. If comments by the visitor are known by you to be misinformation, regain control of the conversation and give the correct information as tactfully as possible; or indicate that more than one opinion exists on the subject.

• As a docent, you must at all costs avoid giving misinformation. If you don’t know, don’t fabricate.

Senior Citizens For certain groups of adults who admit to belonging to this arbitrarily named age group, you may need to make some modifications to the suggestions in the preceding “adults” section. In general, the ideas therein are applicable here, but the following additional suggestions may also be of assistance:

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• Ask first how long the group wishes to remain at the Museum. It may be that they need a shorter or longer time, depending on physical stamina and/or their other activities before or after the Museum visit.

• Determine any physical disabilities or special needs require attention. • Lead the group slowly enough for all to proceed in the gallery before you begin

talking. • Speak slowly, distinctly, and perhaps more loudly than you might with younger

groups. It is doubly tiring for an older visitor to have to strain to hear as well as to see.

• Encourage them to speak by asking questions about their memories, experiences, and travel. Recalling these can help identify them with some of the subject matter of works they see. Their personal associations sometimes lead to discoveries of interesting details for yourself and the tour group to consider.

Visitors with Disabilities

• The most important thing to remember when trying to assist visitors with special needs is that every person is unique—each has their own set of personality characteristics, abilities and needs. They recognize their disability and know how you can help, and IF you can help. Never assume you know best how to help someone; ask what their preferences are.

• The following suggestions will provide you with general information on assisting special needs visitors. From there you can modify your actions to meet an individual’s preferences.

Assisting Hearing-Impaired Individuals

• Keep paper and pencil available, because some people who are deaf prefer to write notes.

• Use facial expressions and gestures to get your message across. • Look directly at them so they can watch your mouth and be able to read your lips.

Try not to move your head a lot while you are talking. • Make your speech clear and slow. Never yell or exaggerate words as this only

makes lip reading more difficult. • Make sure there is light on your face so they can see your mouth clearly. Move to

a well lit area in the Museum before trying to explain something. • If necessary, repeat what you said. Say the same thing in a different way because

some words are easier to lip read than others. Lip reading is very difficult and requires patience from both the speaker and the listener.

• If you do not understand them, ask them to repeat what was said. Never pretend to understand when you do not, as that may cause confusion.

• Face the tour group while speaking. They may not hear you if you call them from behind. Walk up to them or get their attention by lightly tapping them on the arm, and then begin to speak.

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Assisting Visually-Impaired Individuals

• Most visually impaired people have residual sight (the term “blind” is used with people who have none) and can enjoy the Museum on their own without special assistance if there are no serious safety hazards.

Assisting Individuals who are Emotionally or Mentally Disabled

• Ask them if they need help, they will tell you if they do not. • Don’t talk “down” to the person. They are perfectly capable of comprehending

and learning. Keep your speech clear and simplify the complexity of your sentence structure and vocabulary.

• Some individuals may have a physiological problem that impairs their speech, but not their mental capabilities. They can hear and understand what you say.

• Talk directly to them and don’t ask another person what they want as if they were not there. If you can’t understand someone’s speech after trying, say, “I’m sorry, I don’t understand. Let’s get (a group leader) to help us out.”

• If you’re designing a tour, try to make one that is participatory. Some special needs individuals tend to have shortened attention spans and need to participate in activities.

Assisting Mobility Impaired Individuals

• Offer to assist individuals in a wheelchair, never simply grab the back handles of the chair. Wait until they direct you. People who use wheelchairs are “wheelchair users.”

• When assisting individuals in a wheelchair to go up or down a curb, take careful direction from them about how to move the chair.

• If you are assisting anyone using crutches to sit down, ask where they would like the crutches to be placed in relation to their seat.

In general, be sensitive to visitors with special needs and don’t be over solicitous. All PMA visitors want and deserve to be treated with courtesy and understanding.

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General Art Analysis 101 FUNDAMENTALS LINE -The 2-dimensional mark that joins two points on a surface. SHAPE - An area defined by linear, color or value boundaries. COLOR -The quality of a substance or object, reflecting light and creating a visual sensation. VALUE - The lightness or darkness of a color. TINT - The addition of white to a color. SHADE - The addition of black or another dark color to a color. SPACE - The area between objects in 3-dimensional works of art, but can also refer to the illusion that a painter creates between depicted forms. FORM - The 3-dimensional shape of an object that clearly defines its own space. PATTERN - Three or more repeated images that create an organized sequence. MEDIUM - Refers to the material used to make a work of art. For example: Painting (watercolor, oil or acrylic) Sculpture (wood, marble, metal, clay or found objects) Prints (lithography, etching, silkscreen) Photography (black-and-white or color). INTERMEDIATE CONCEPTS HUE - The name of the color ... red, blue, etc. COLOR WHEEL - The arrangement of hues based on color theory. PRIMARY COLORS - Hues that can’t be created by mixing other hues: Red, Yellow, Blue. SECONDARY COLORS - Are created by mixing the primary colors: Red + Yellow = Orange Red + Blue = Violet Blue + Yellow = Green. SILHOUETTE - The shape of an object produced by back lighting. GENRE - A category of artwork having a particular form or content. For example, Landscape depicts the natural outdoor environment. Still Life depicts a group of objects. Portrait depicts a person or other living being. MURALS - Large paintings, often painted directly on a wall. SCALE - The relative size of an object in relationship to others. COLLAGE - Combination of flat materials adhered to a 2-dimensional surface. COMPOSITION - The way in which elements are combined and arranged in a work of art. ASSEMBLAGE - 3-dimensional combination of found objects and materials. ADVANCED UNDERSTANDING ABSTRACT- Art that expresses qualities apart from objects that can be represented visually. EXPRESSION - A visual statement of an artist's thoughts, feelings or creative process. ILLUSIONISM - The technique of using pictorial methods in order to fool the eye. PERSPECTIVE - The impression of distance or space in a work of art. PICTURE PLANE - The actual surface of a painting.

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PRISM -A faceted clear glass object that breaks light into the spectrum. SPECTRUM - Band of colors seen through a prism in the order of their wavelengths. IDENTIFY • What are you looking at? Is it a picture of a painting, a print, a drawing or a sculpture? • What visual clues did you find to help you classify this work of art? • What is the subject of this work of art? • What is happening in this work of art? ANALYZE For example: Identify the colors you see. What kind of patterns can you find in this reproduction? What is the overall expression of this artwork? Does the composition imply movement? INTERPRET • What stories can you develop about this image? • Create your own story about the artist and his or her reasons for making this image. WHY DO WE CALL THIS ART? • Ask your students for their input on what causes an organization of materials to become art. • Make a list of all definitions. Stress that this is a difficult question and let the discussion become an open-ended adventure for the students. • Please keep in mind your age group and direct your language accordingly. SENSORY: QUALITIES THAT APPEAL TO OUR SENSES Color: hue, value, intensity of pigment 1. What color is most often used? 2. How many different colors have been used? 3. Is the general coloring in the painting strong/weak; bold/shy, primary/secondary; warm/cool; fast/slow? 4. How many different shades or tints of one color do you see? 5. Do the colors suggest the time of day or season? 6. Are there more light or more dark colors in the painting? Do the light areas or dark areas stand out most? 7. Point out where colors are repeated within the painting. 8. Does the artist use color to indicate distance? 9. Did the artist use color to make something in particular stand out? How? (Point out and ask why they think the artist did this.)

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10. Does the color used on a particular shape or surface make that surface look flat, rounded, or appear three-dimensional? 11. How do the colors affect the mood of the painting? Line: a series of connected points that are or appear to be continuous 1. What kinds of lines do you see in the painting? Are the lines straight or curved? 2. Where do you see straight lines? Curved lines? Do you see any other kinds of lines? 3. Are most of the lines in the painting vertical, horizontal, or diagonal? Point these out. 4. Do you see thick or thin lines? Long or short lines? 5. Are the lines deep/bold or shallow/light; jagged/smooth; continuous/broken; moving/still? 6. What kind of line stands out the most in the painting? 7. Do you see repeated lines? (Repetition of thick, thin, horizontal, curvy, any kind of line.) 8. Sometimes artists create imaginary line directions (lines not actually drawn) in the direction a person is staring, talking, pointing, etc., or by the formation of imaginary lines created by shape. Does this painting have any imaginary lines? Shape: area enclosed by outline, either organic (curved) or geometric (angled) 1. Are most of the shapes organic (natural or curved) or geometric (angular or straight)? 2. Are most of the shapes large or small? Round, square, triangular, open, closed? 3. What other shapes do you find in the painting? (Ovals, circles, squares, triangles, others?) 4. What shape is repeated most often throughout the painting? 5. Do any shapes overlap? Formal: Structure or organizational properties of a work of art 1. Is this image/scene well balanced? 2. Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical? 3. Does one side appear heavier than the other? 4. Which side contains the most detail? Does this make the painting look unbalanced? Why? What is the very center of the painting? 5. How did the artist balance the painting? Repetition: ordered, regular recurrence of an element(s) Rhythm: look or feel of movement achieved by repetition of elements 1. What elements do you see repeated in this painting? (Color, line, shape, texture). Name and point out each. 2. Choose a color and count how many times it has been repeated throughout the painting.

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3. What shapes are repeated? Which are repeated more often, the dark shapes or the light shapes? 4. Do you see a pattern? 5. Do you see any repetition of lines? 6. Obviously the figures, flowers, fruits, trees, or other objects (relate to the painting you are talking about) have been repeated in this painting. 7. Does the repetition create movement in the painting? Regular/irregular; flowing/halting; random/exact; rising/falling; coming/going. Theme and Variation: motif or subject matter, recurring elements 1. What is the subject (main idea) of the painting? 2. Does the title of this painting relate to it? If so, what did the artist do to show this? 3. If an artist of today painted this painting, would it look the same? If not, how might it be different? 4. Did the artist use a particular color for a theme? 5. Have you seen this theme in other works? (Example: Patriotism) Expressive feeling, meanings, values in a work of art People should locate expressiveness in the work of art itself, not in how it affects them. In other words, people should be asked if the painting looks sad, not does it make them feel sad. Mood, Emotional States: general feeling or atmosphere 1. Is this painting serious/lighthearted; friendly/unfriendly; calm/angry; fearful/confident; young/old; shy/bold; eager/hesitant; real/imaginary? 2. How did the artist show these emotions? Character States: distinguishing quality, attribute, trait, ethical quality 1. Does this painting appear: pompous/meek; stately/lowly; good/evil, proud/humiliating; dignified/undignified; brave/cowardly; greedy/generous; charitable/stingy? 2. If there are people in the painting, describe their character state also. Explain your opinion.

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Additional Art Terms

PRINTS An “original print” is the image on paper or similar material made by one or more of the processes described here. Each medium has a special, identifiable quality, but because more than one impression of each image is possible, “original” does not mean “unique.”

The artist’s intention and level of participation throughout the process to create an original print is the key to the “originality” of the finished work. For example, if he or she first conceives of a watercolor, then has the result copied by woodcut, the result is not “original” but merely a reproduction. The total number of prints made of one image is an “edition.” The number may appear on the print with the individual print number as a fraction such as 5/25 meaning “edition was 25 examples with this example numbered 5.” If intended for use with a written text, original prints will not likely be numbered (or hand-signed) and may be produced in very large editions.

Color: Blocks, plates, screens or two or more stones may be used, one for each color, printed on top of each other to produce the final print. Restrikes and Canceled Plate Proofs: Both are original prints but from unlimited editions usually printed after an artist’s death.

Woodcut: Made by cutting into the broad face of a plank of wood, usually with a knife. (The linocut is made by the same method, except that linoleum is substituted for wood.) In working the block, the artist cuts away areas not meant to print. These cut away areas appear in the finished print as the white parts of the design, while the ink adheres to the raised parts.

Wood-Engraving: Made by engraving a block made up of pieces of end-grain extremely hard wood. The block, being naturally much harder, enables the artist to engrave (rather than cut) a much finer line than is possible on the softer plank surface used for woodcuts.

Collagraph: Printing surface is built up on the plate or block by applying various materials which may also be incised.

Etching: A metal plate is coated by a material which resists acid, called the ground. The artist then draws the design on the ground with a sharp needle which removes the ground where the needle touches it and, when the plate is put in an acid bath, these exposed parts will be etched (or eaten away). This produces the sunken line which will receive the ink. In printing, the ink settles in the sunken areas, and the plate is wiped clean. The plate in contact with damp paper is passed through a roller press, and the paper is forced into the sunken

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area to receive the ink. The artist etches on the plate those parts which will appear in the finished print as black or colored areas. White areas are left untouched. Depth of tone is controlled by depth of etch.

Engraving: The design is cut into the plate by driving furrows with a burin; then the plate is printed as in an etching.

Drypoint: The sunken lines are produced directly by diamond-hard tools pulled across the plate. The depth of line is controlled by the artist’s muscle and experience. The method of cutting produces a ridge along the incisions, called a burr. This gives the dry-point line the characteristically soft, velvety appearance absent in the clean-edged lines of an engraving or etching.

Aquatint: A copper plate is protected by a porous ground which is semi-acid resistant. The white (non-printing) areas, however, are painted with a wholly acid-resistant varnish. The plate is then repeatedly put into acid baths where it is etched to differing depths. The final effect is an image on a fine pebbled background (imparted by the porous ground). Aquatint is usually used in combination with line etching.

Lithography: The artist draws directly on a flat stone or specially prepared metal plate (usually using greasy crayon). The stone is dampened with water, then inked. The ink clings to the greasy crayon marks but not to the dampened areas. When a piece of paper is pressed against the stone, the ink on the greasy parts is transferred to it.

Serigraphy: The artist prepares a tightly-stretched screen, usually of silk, and blocks out areas not to be printed by filling up the mesh of the screen with a varnish-like substance. Paper is placed under the screen and ink forced through the still-open mesh onto the paper.

RAW MATERIALS OF PAINTING AND GRAPHICS

PAINTING Technical names for Media

Oil Composition = dry pigments + oil such as linseed; soluble in turpentine, alcohol, etc. Advantages: flexible, easily manipulated, wide range of varied effects, permanence, rich color and depth, great range of textural possibilities. Disadvantages: yellowing, disintegration of paint film, long drying time.

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Acrylic Composition = pigments + synthetic resins; soluble in water (relatively recently developed) Advantages: permanence, wide range of varied effects, quick drying Disadvantages: inflexible, value changes when drying

Watercolor Composition = pigments + gum arabic + water Advantages: brilliance and luminosity of color, wash effects Disadvantages: fading, easily affected by environmental conditions, not as permanent as other media

Tempera Composition = pigments + water; soluble in water Advantages: quick drying, cheap Disadvantages: flaking, non-permanent, easily affected by environment

Egg Tempera Composition = pigments + egg yolks Advantages: quick drying, semi-gloss finish which can be buffed, permanence Disadvantages: insoluble, yellowing, storage of media

Fresco Composition = pigments + water + egg white (plaster: wet = fresco; dry = secco) Advantages: permanence, quick drying, flexible Disadvantages: easily affected or damaged, fading of colors, lack of luminosity

Encaustic Composition = pigments + wax (heat) Advantages: permanence, capable of buffing surface Disadvantages: insoluble, inflexible, loss of control, heat

SURFACES

Supports Untreated object which is prepared to receive the paint. Cloth, canvas, wood, cardboard, paper products, walls, etc.

Ground A surface specially prepared for painting. The support on which a painting or drawing is executed (canvas, paper).

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TOOLS Brushes, palette knives and palettes.

Graphic Processes: making of plates or screens and from them the print of pictures (hand and gravure).

Relief--rubber stamps, wood cuts and linocuts Intaglio--drypoints, etchings, aquatints Planographic--lithography Stencil--Serigraphs (silk screens) Collagraphs—both intaglio and relief

OTHER GENERAL TERMS

Bas Relief: In low or bas relief sculpture, the figures project only slightly, and no part is entirely detached from the background (as in medals and coins).

Cast: To reproduce an object such as a piece of sculpture by means of a mold; also, a copy so produced. The original piece is usually of a less durable material than the cast.

Collage: The technique of creating a pictorial composition in two dimensions or very low relief by gluing paper, fabrics or any natural or manufactured material to a canvas or panel. Collage evolved our of papiers colles ( a French term for pieces of paper glued together). It was a 19th century “art recreation” in which decorative designs were made with pasted pieces of colored paper and adapted to the fine arts about 1912-1913 when Picasso and Braque began to incorporate into their Cubist paintings a wide variety of prosaic materials.

Hatching: Shading or modeling with fine, closely set parallel lines. When a second series of lines crisscrosses the first set, the technique is called cross- hatching. By varying the size and closeness of the lines, an artist is able to indicate tones and suggest light and shadow in drawing, linear painting, engraving and etching.

Impasto: Paint applied in outstanding heavy layers or strokes; also, any thickness or roughness of paint or deep brush marks, as distinguished from a flat, smooth paint surface.

Medium (pl. Media): The fluid or semi-fluid in which pigments are dissolved, such as water, egg yolk, oil. The term also applies to the technique or material used in the execution of a work of art.

Molding: Ornaments on a building in the shape of long, narrow bands in relief to provide variety to the surface.

Mural: Of the Latin word murus. A huge painting executed directly on a wall (fresco) or separately and affixed to a wall.

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Oil Painting: A painting executed with pigments dissolved in oil; in the beginning on a wood panel prepared with gesso, and since late 15th century on a canvas, stretched and primed with white paint and glue.

Opacity, Transparency: These terms refer to the ability of a substance to transmit light. An opaque paint is one that transmits no light and can readily be made to cover or hide what is under it. A transparent material transmits light freely; when a transparent glaze of oil color, for example, is placed over another color, it produces a clean mixture of the two hues without much loss of clarity.

Panel: A wooden surface used for painting, commonly in tempera, and as a rule prepared with gesso. Panels of masonite and other composite materials are more recently being used as panels.

Paper: Writing material made of various fibrous materials. Invented in China in the 2nd century AD, known in Europe early, but came into general use there, replacing parchment with the emergence of printing in the 15th century.

Parchment: A paper-like writing material made of thin bleached animal hides, invented in the Greek city of Pergamumin Asia Minor in the 2nd century BC. Used in the Middle Ages for manuscripts. A superior quality parchment made of calfskin is called vellum.

Pastel: A painting executed with drawing sticks of pigments, ground with chalk and mixed with gum water, resulting in soft subdued colors. Texture is obtained from the substance it is used on. It is a fragile medium, a fixative must be used to keep it from powdering away.

Pigment: Colored substances, organic, inorganic, or synthetic in origin, mixed with or suspended in a liquid medium before use in painting.

Polychrome: Multi-colored.

Polytych: A work consisting of four or more panels.

Relief: The projection of a design or part of a design from the flat background of an object, sculptured, modeled, or woven (soft sculpture). Also the apparentprojection of forms in a painting or drawing, achieved by the application of shade, light and color.

Rubbing: A reproduction of a relief surface by covering it with paper and rubbing with a chalk, pencil or similar object.

Stucco: Cement or concrete used to cover a wall or a building. Also a type of plaster used for architectural ornamentation such as reliefs, cornices and others.

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Tapestry: Textile fabric in which wool is supplied with spindle instead of shuttle, with design formed by stitches across the warp. Used for covering walls, furniture, etc.

Terra cotta: Italian word for cooked earth. An earthen ware of natural reddish color, used in pottery, sculpture or to cover a building.

Wash: A thin layer of translucent color applied in watercolor painting, brush drawing and sometimes in oil painting.

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AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN ART HISTORY OUTLINE

1600 - 1900 The Baroque in Italy

In the 17th century, the city of Rome became the center of Catholic majesty and triumph expressed in all the arts. Baroque architects, artists, and urban planners magnified the classical and ecclesiastical traditions of the city to such an extent, that it became for centuries the acknowledged capital of the European art world. Popes commissioned artists during this period with projects meant to monumentalize and beautify areas all over Rome. Baroque painters strove to create integrated and harmonious environments (un bel composto) meant to heighten religious experience. For example, in three famous paintings illustrating the life of Saint Matthew, Italian painter Caravaggio (1571-1610) made the light represented within each painting consistent with the actual illumination of the chapel where the pictures were to hang to create this overall religious experience in the space. In the 1640s and 1650s, Pietro da Cortona (1596-1669) adorned the vaults of Santa Maria in Vallicella with spectacular portrayals of the Trinity in Glory and the Assumption of the Virgin, in which monumental groups of figures seen from below enact heavenly events as though occurring in the viewer's own experience. France, 1600s

France emerged during this period as a major world power and a cultural center to rival Rome, becoming the fountainhead of the Baroque style. This is largely due to the absolutist aims of the French monarchs, particularly Louis XIV who, with a retinue of architects, painters, and sculptors, fashioned a court of peerless splendor. France, late 1600s & early 1700s

The late 17th and early 18th centuries in France were marked by the Rococo style. Rococo painters used delicate colors and curving forms, decorating their paintings with cherubs and mythical love scenes. Some works displayed sexual innuendo or a risqué style and in the behavior of their subjects. This was a significant departure from the Baroque style’s church/state orientation. Landscapes were pastoral and often depicted the leisurely outings of aristocratic couples. Jean Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) is generally considered the first great Rococo painter. He had a huge influence on later painters, including Francois Boucher (1703–1770) and Jean-Honore Fragonard (1732–1806), two masters of the later Rococo period.

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France, mid- to late-1700s During the second half of the 18th century, France became the seat of the

Enlightenment, a major intellectual movement that asserted the power of reason and showed a widespread dissatisfaction with contemporary social and political problems that resulted later in the century in revolution. The light and airy style of the Rococo period came to a sudden end under the revolution. Enlightenment brought about a new respect and interest in the art and culture of antiquity (ancient Rome and Greece), resulting in a Neoclassical movement in the arts. This movement was characterized by a renewed interest in harmony, simplicity, and proportion. This renewed fascination with antiquity was in large a results of the new and popular science of archaeology. In southern Europe, towns and cities of ancient Greece and Rome were being unearthed, along with art, artifacts, and architecture. New and fascinating archeological discoveries at Pompeii and Herculaneum added fuel to this artistic fire. The artist most commonly associated with this movement in art history is Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825). His 1793 painting, The Death of Marat, evokes the stylistic essence of Raphael and Caravagio and is a prime example of the Neoclassical style.

The end of the century would take a dramatic turn, however, going from the reason and proportion of the Neoclassical to a new movement known as Romanticism. The Low Countries, 1600s

The 17th century was referred to as a Golden Age of Dutch art. Schools of painting arose in cities such as Amsterdam and Utrecht. Civic bodies and wealthy citizens, such as merchants who made their fortunes in Holland's vast overseas trade empire, were important patrons to the arts. The two greatest Flemish masters of the age were Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) and Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). Rubens, whose professional life extended beyond visual artistry to political diplomacy, played a vital role in the spread of the Baroque style from its origin in Rome. Francisco de Goya (1746–1828) and the Spanish Enlightenment

Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828) was regarded as the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Goya was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of historic Spanish events, from the wealth of the Spanish aristocracy to revolt and revolution. His celebrated Los Caprichos prints were important commentaries on the social and political ills of contemporary Spanish society.

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Great Britain, 1800s

The economic, social, and artistic developments of the 19th century were heavily shaped by the Industrial Revolution: the period of transition from manual to mechanical labor. The Romantic Movement in the arts and literature responded to these dramatic changes and the rationalism fostered during the Enlightenment by rejecting reason in favor of emotion- exalting the supreme power of nature in an aesthetic known as the Sublime. The sublime meant to create a connection between the world of nature and the world of the spirit, where the soul could transcend and become part of something far greater than itself. Central Europe and Germany, 1800s

At the turn of the 19th century, Central Europe was the center of a broadly sweeping cultural movement known as Romanticism. This movement asserted the power and importance of feeling over reason. Mysticism and a fascination with the supernatural and the sublime captured the artistic imagination. In the visual arts, this resulted in a flowering of landscape painting and influenced a nationalist revival of medieval culture in literature, art, and architecture. France, 1800s: Departing from Neoclassicism and Romanticism into Realism

At the turn of the 19th century Napoleon Bonaparte governed France. As emperor of the French Republic, Napoleon sanctioned the neoclassical style and its focus on realism and bold historic themes that contained clear messages on bravery and patriotism. Nowhere was this style more recognizable during the period than in the art of celebrated Frenchman and Neoclassical painter, Jacques-Louis David. Meanwhile, the seeds of Romanticism taking root in Germany and central Europe were giving rise to a very different aesthetic that celebrated emotion, nature, and the sublime over rationalism and classicism. Romanticism gained momentum as an artistic movement in France and Britain in the early decades of the 19th century and flourished until mid-century. With its emphasis on the imagination and emotion, Romanticism emerged as a response to the disillusionment with the Enlightenment values of reason and order in the aftermath of the French Revolution of 1789. Around mid-century, in the midst of class struggles and the wake of civil uprisings against an oppressive government, Romanticism was replaced by Realism in the arts. Realism focused on modern subjects and the lives of the lower classes. The Realist movement in French art flourished from about 1840 until the late 19th century, and sought to convey a truthful and objective vision of contemporary life. Realism emerged in the aftermath of the Revolution of 1848 that overturned the monarchy of Louis-Philippe of France. French society fought for democratic reform and the rights of the common people. The Realists democratized art by depicting modern subjects drawn from the everyday lives of the working class. Rejecting the idealized classicism of academic

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art and the exotic themes of Romanticism, Realism was based on direct observation of the modern world. The urbanization of Paris and the industrial revolution of this time shaped emerging artists. A modern world complete with easier modes of transportation led the way for artist's to travel more frequently, a change easily noticed in landscape paintings of the time.

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The Barbizon School: French Painters of Nature In early 19th century France, landscape painting was restricted and even frowned upon by the conservative French Academy of Art. Painters and sculptors were rigorously trained in the conservative Neoclassical tradition, forced to copy only the artists of the Renaissance and classical antiquity. Landscape painting was not practiced in the art schools, and at best, artists could hope to paint a heavily idealized depiction of nature inspired perhaps by ancient poetry. Those artists eager to get away from the restrictive and overly exclusive art scene of France and wishing to paint from nature went to Italy. There, among ancient monuments drenched in Mediterranean sunlight, they gathered to paint and draw directly in the landscape. Even if in the beginning their open-air sketches tended to keep some of the Neoclassical formal lines, it nevertheless freed artists to leave the studio to fully experience nature, to look rather than copy, to feel rather than analyze. The exhibition of English painter John Constable (1776-1837) at the Paris Salon of 1824 was one of the first formal introductions of landscape painting in the French salons. Now artists felt that they could go out in warm weather, artists now ventured just outside Paris to paint from nature. It was during this time that a group of artists formed that became known as the Barbizon School. Now landscape painting was no longer subservient to history painting. The original Barbizon artists glorified nature and peasant life. Dedicating themselves to painting outdoors and capturing the effects of sunlight on the trees, sky and fields they transferred these artistic ideals and obsessions to another generation of upcoming artists, the Impressionists. Impressionism & Post-Impressionism

Two major artistic movements dominated the second half of the 19th century. In the 1870s, a group of painters known as the Impressionists also took up themes from modern life, often created in the outdoors and not in studios as their Barbizon predecessors had done. Impressionist painters depicted the new urban landscape of the industrial period and intimate scenes of everyday middle-class life using natural light and rapid brushwork.

In response, a group of artists known as the Post-Impressionists developed independent styles of painting that rejected the objective naturalism of the Impressionists. Also known as Neo-Impressionism, these artists were in favor of a measured painting technique grounded in science and the study of optics, and encouraged by contemporary writing on color theory. Americans in Paris, 1860s-1900

Paris was the art capital of the 19th century. The city's art schools, museums, and exhibition spaces, along with the new popular attitude that the arts were an integral part of everyday life, attracted painters, sculptors, and architects from around the world. In the decades following the Civil War, hundreds of Americans joined the throngs headed to Paris. Needing to compete with French artists, especially the academics whose works were being snatched up by wealthy American collectors, they enrolled in the prestigious government-sponsored École des Beaux-Arts and in thriving private art schools and

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studios. They studied the masterpieces hanging in the Louvre and the modern works on display at the Paris Worlds Fair, and other exhibitions, including the eight shows of the Impressionists during the 1870s.

The Americans established their own artistic credibility by presenting their paintings and sculpture in these forums. Notable artists displaying their works alongside those by Europeans included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) and Mary Cassatt (1845-1926). Cassatt notably being one of only four female artists actively involved in Impressionist exhibitions in Paris during the 1870s and 1880s. American Impressionism (19th Century post-Civil War) Americans were late bloomers to Impressionism. After the end of the Civil War in 1865, the United States gained unprecedented international political and economic status. American art patrons, notably Northerners who had made fortunes from the war, traveled abroad and took on European culture. During the mid-1880s, as French Impressionism lost its radical edge, American collectors began to value the style, and more American artists began to experiment with it. William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) became the first major American painter to create Impressionist canvases in the United States. At about the same time, Americans began to visit artists' colonies that centered on outdoor painting, most notably Giverny, where Monet had settled in 1883. Those who sought inspiration there included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), Willard Metcalf, and Theodore Robinson. Their works, like those of their French counterparts, appear to be infused not only with light and color but with meanings inherent in the subjects they depicted. Some were captivated by the energy of urban life, and scenes from domestic life also engaged the American Impressionists. Mary Cassatt, Edmund Tarbell, Frank W. Benson, and others often depicted women and children in tranquil interiors and gardens. Many American artists worked in the Impressionist style into the 1920s. The Hudson River School The Hudson River School was America's first true artistic fraternity/brotherhood, so to speak. Its name was coined to identify a group of New York City-based landscape painters that emerged about 1850. The founder of this collective of artists was Thomas Cole (1801-48), an artist primarily self-taught who thought nature to be his true teacher. The wilderness theme had earlier gained importance in American literature, especially in the novels of James Fenimore Cooper (Last of the Mohicans, Leatherstocking Tales), which were set in the upstate New York areas that became Cole's earliest subjects, including several pictures illustrating scenes from the novels.

Several of these artists toured Europe and came back inspired by the Italian landscape, choosing to paint an idealized view of the American frontier. The desire to attract attention to what seemed uniquely American within the subject matter became a focus in their paintings. The leader of these great American landscape painters, following the death of Thomas Cole, was Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886). Durand's 1849 painting Kindred Spirits memorializes Cole, who had died a year previous, and is a tribute to 19th century

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Hudson River School style of painting. It pays homage to the American wilderness, symbolism and beauty in nature that Cole so loved in his own work.

The Arts and Crafts Movement in England and America, late 1800s

The Arts and Crafts movement emerged during the late Victorian period in England, the most industrialized country in the world at that time. Anxieties about industrial life fueled a renaissance of handcraftsmanship and pre-capitalist forms of culture and society.

Arts and Crafts designers sought to improve standards of decorative design, which they believed to have been debased by the age of the machine and factory, and to create environments in which beautiful and fine workmanship could flourish. Arts and Crafts supporters called for an end to the division of labor and advanced the designer as craftsman. A leading figure in late Victorian decorative arts was William Morris (1834-1896). Morris sought to reclaim a return to medieval life and that of the guild workshop system. His legacy is remembered in the stained glass, textile and wallpaper designs (still popular in interior design today), furniture and bookmaking he helped to create. Art Nouveau in Europe and America

From the 1880s until the First World War, Western Europe and the United States witnessed the development of Art Nouveau ("New Art" in French). Taking inspiration from the wild and organic aspects of the natural world, Art Nouveau influenced art and architecture, especially in the applied arts, graphic work, and illustration.

Sinuous lines and "whiplash" curves were derived, in part, from botanical studies and illustrations of deep-sea organisms such as those by German biologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel (1834–1919). Other popular publications advocated nature as the primary source of inspiration for a generation of artists seeking to break away from past styles. Although international in scope, Art Nouveau was a short-lived movement that reached its peak in the 1890s, its brief popularity was a precursor of modernism. Its influence can be seen in later Art Deco styles.

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AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN ART HISTORY OUTLINE

20th Century

Early 20th Century American Art

By the 1890s New York had gone from being recognized as a seaport to that of the core of banking and communication in the United States. Early subway systems developed underground while on land skyscrapers began to dot the horizon. Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) is considered one of the most significant American artists working at the end of the 19th century, in part because he broke from the strict conservatism and insular nature that defined American art up until that point. He began teaching at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1876 and was attacked for his radical ideas, particularly his insistence on working from nude models. In 1886 he was forced to resign after allowing a mixed class to draw from a completely nude male model. Eakins’ quest for realism led him to study anatomy to pursue honesty and depth of characterization. The most famous of his paintings is The Gross Clinic (Jefferson Medical Collage, Philadelphia, 1875), which aroused controversy because of its liberal depiction of surgery.

At the beginning of the 20th century, his desire to “peer deeper into the heart of American life” was reflected in the work of the Ash-can School and other Realist painters. The Ash-Can School and the Realist Movement

The Ash-can School was a small group of artists who sought to document everyday life in turn-of-the-century New York City, capturing it in realistic and un-glamorized paintings and etchings of urban street scenes. Immigration at this time was creating a clash of culture and classes as an influx of poorer citizens made their way into the U.S, changing the character of the old city. The urban realists of this movement heralded this change as uniquely American and captured it in their works. The Ash-can School largely consisted of Robert Henri (1865-1929) and a group of artists known as “The Eight.” Henri, an influential teacher for other artists in the movement, was an admirer of the unpretentious and masculine realism of Thomas Eakins. American Scene Painting

American Scene painting was a Depression-era effort to isolate and validate that which was particularly unique to the United States. Edward Hopper (1882-1967) is an artist frequently associated with this school of painting. Hopper was trained under Robert Henri (one of the founding painters of the Ash-can School), and exhibited at the Armory Show in 1913. However, he gained widespread recognition as a key figure of the American Scene painting movement.

Edward Hopper painted American landscapes and cityscapes with a disturbing truth, expressing the world around him as a chilling and alienating place. Hopper soon

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gained a widespread reputation as the artist who gave visual form to the loneliness and boredom of life in the big city.

For example, in the painting Cape Cod Evening (1939), a first glance reveals an idyllic scene. The couple enjoys the evening outside their home, yet they are a couple only technically, and upon further observation their enjoyment appears passive; both are isolated and introspective. Their house is closed to intimacy, the door firmly shut and the windows covered. The dog is the only alert creature, but even it turns away from the house. In a way these tones captured the sense of human hopelessness and disillusionment that characterized the Great Depression of the 1930s. Fauvism

Between 1901 and 1906, several exhibitions were held in Paris, making the work of Vincent van Gogh and Paul Gauguin widely accessible for the first time. For the painters who saw the achievements of these great artists, the effect was one of liberation and they began to experiment with radical new styles. Fauvism was the first movement of this modern period.

The advent of Modernism if often dated by the appearance of the Fauves in Paris at the Salon d'Automne in 1905. Their style of painting, using non-naturalistic colors, was one of the first avant-garde developments in European art. They greatly admired van Gogh, who said of his own work: “Instead of trying to render what I see before me, I use color in a completely arbitrary way to express myself powerfully.” The Fauvists carried this idea further, translating their feelings into color with a rough, almost clumsy style of violent colors and untamed brushstrokes. Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a dominant figure and central force in the movement. However, the Fauves did not form a cohesive group and by 1908 a number of painters had moved into Cubism.

The Fauvists believed in color as an emotional force. With Matisse and his friends, Maurice de Vlaminck (1876-1958) and André Derain (1880-1954), color lost its descriptive qualities and became luminous, creating light rather than imitating it. They astonished viewers at the 1905 Salon d'Automne: the art critic Louis Vauxcelles saw their bold paintings surrounding a conventional sculpture of a young boy, and remarked that it was like a Donatello “parmi les fauves” (among the wild beasts). The freedom of the Fauves’ form and their expressive use of color seemed brasher than anything seen before. Expressionism

Expressionism was a movement that developed around 1905. Characterized by heightened, symbolic colors and exaggerated imagery, it was German Expressionism in particular that focused on the darker, sinister aspects of the human psyche. The term “Expressionism” is used to describe any art that raises subjective feelings above objective observations. The Expressionist paintings aimed to reflect the artist’s state of mind rather than the reality of the external world. The German Expressionist movement began in 1905 with artists such as Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938) and Emile Nolde (1867-1956), who favored the Fauvist style of bright colors but also added stronger linear effects and harsher outlines.

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Die Brücke (The Bridge) was the first of two Expressionist movements that

emerged in Germany in the early decades of the 20th century and was intended as a "bridge" to the future of art. In 1905 a group of German Expressionist artists came together in Dresden and took the name The Bridge to indicate their faith in the art of the future, towards which their work would serve as a bridge. Their art became an angst-ridden type of Expressionism. The achievement that had the most lasting value was their revival of graphic arts, in particular, the woodcut using bold and simplified forms.

The artists of Die Brücke drew inspiration from Vincent Van Gogh and primitive art. Ernst Ludwig Kirchner (1880-1938), the leading spirit of Die Brücke, insisted that the group express their inner beliefs honestly and spontaneously. They used images of the modern city to convey a hostile, alienating world, with distorted figures and a garish and oftentimes brutal color palette. Kirchner does just this in Berlin Street Scene, where the shrill colors and jagged hysteria of his own vision flash forth uneasily. There is a sense of violence in much of their art. Emil Nolde, briefly associated with Die Brücke, was interested in primitive art and sensual color, which led him to paint some remarkable pictures with energy, simple rhythms, and visual tension.

Another celebrated German artist working during this period was Max Beckmann (1884-1950). Like other Expressionists, he served in World War I and suffered unbearable depression and hallucinations. His work reflected his stress through its sheer intensity: cruel, brutal images with solid colors and flat, heavy shapes. Cubism The art of painting original arrangements composed of elements taken from conceived rather than perceived reality.” -- Guillaume Apollinaire, The Beginnings of Cubism, 1912.

The two leading figures in Cubism were Spanish artist Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) and the Frenchman Georges Braque (1882-1963). Both “splintered” the visual world, providing every aspect of the whole three-dimensional subject or figure so that it could be seen simultaneously in a single dimension.

The Cubist movement in painting was developed by Picasso and Braque around 1907. The artists chose to break down the subjects they were painting into a number of facets, showing several different aspects of one object simultaneously. The work up to 1912 is known as Analytical Cubism, concentrating on geometrical forms using subdued colors. The second phase, known as Synthetic Cubism, used more decorative shapes, collage, newspaper cuttings and brighter colors.

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Futurism and the Age of Machinery

Futurism was an early 20th-century artistic movement that centered in Italy and emphasized the speed, energy, and power of the machine and the vitality, change, and restlessness of modern life in general. Appropriating parts of cubism Futurism was an Expressionist response to art history.

Futurism was first announced on Feb. 20, 1909, when the Paris newspaper Le Figaro published a manifesto by the Italian poet Filippo Tommaso Marinetti. The name Futurism, coined by Marinetti, meant discarding the static and irrelevant art of the past and celebrating change and innovation in culture and society. Marinetti's manifesto glorified the new technology of the automobile and the beauty of its speed, power, and movement. He exalted the destruction of such cultural institutions as museums and libraries. The manifesto's rhetoric was passionately bombastic; its tone was aggressive and inflammatory.

The Italian Futurists, like the members of Die Brücke in Germany, aimed to free art from all its historical restraints and celebrate the new beauty of the modern age. The artists Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), Gino Severini (1883-1966), and Giacomo Balla (1871-1958) wanted to express the onrush of events in the world with pictures of motion, dynamism, and power. The movement lasted from 1909 to 1916, primarily in Milan. Bauhaus School

The German Bauhaus School is considered today as one of the most influential schools of avant-garde art. Founded in 1919 and shut down by the Nazis in 1933, the Bauhaus brought together artists, architects, and designers in a conversation about the nature of art in the age of technology and modernity. Aiming to rethink the form of modern life, the Bauhaus became the site of an array of experiments in the visual arts that profoundly shaped the visual world today. The Bauhaus displayed a commitment to the idea of "functionalism" and sought to break down barriers that separated visual artists, architects and craftspeople. Abstraction and Wassily Kandinsky

Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) was formed in 1911 and succeeded the first Expressionist movement, Die Brücke. The group included Franz Marc (1880-1916), Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), and August Macke (1887-1914). It celebrated the art of children and primitive cultures. The most active proponent of this essentially romantic and rather spiritual view of art was Franz Marc, a young artist who was killed in World War I. Marc saw animals as the guardians of what was left of innocence and un-spoilt nature.

Marc chose to express these feelings with emphatic, symbolic colors. He painted animals with a profoundly moving love for what animals represented and could still experience, unlike humanity. Deer in the Forest II, for example, is made up of a dense network of shapes and lines, creating a forest through which one can see, as if emerging

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from the undergrowth, the small forms of the deer. It is a stylized and luminous vision of a species that can live without the anxieties of the human ego.

August Macke, who was also killed in the World War I, was another artist with a gentle, poetic view of nature. Of the group, he was the most sensitive to form and color and strove to create sensuous depictions of light. Paul Klee

Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a Swiss-born painter and graphic artist whose art had references to dreams, music, and poetry. Primitive art, surrealism, cubism and children's art blended into his small-scale, delicate paintings, watercolors, and drawings. Klee later toured Italy (1901-02) and was highly influenced by Early Christian and Byzantine art. Pure Abstraction

For abstract art, the distinction is most often given to Kandinsky. Immersing himself in the German avant-garde movement Kandinsky's late style was heavily geometrical, as is the work of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian (1872-1944). Mondrian’s greatest desire was to attain personal purity in his art by reaching by painting the “divine” simplicities. In order to achieve his goals, Mondrian imposed rigorous constraints on himself, using only primary colors, black and white, and straight-sided forms. Dada and Surrealism

Between the two World Wars, painting lost some of the excited energy with modernity and industry that began with the century and became dominated by two philosophical-type movements: Dada and Surrealism, which arose partly as a reaction to the senseless atrocities of World War I. Artists were also becoming increasingly introspective, concerned especially with their own subconscious dreams: Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytical theories were well known by this time, and painters explored their own irrationalities and fantasies in search of a new artistic freedom. Dada

Dadaism was a Western Europe artistic and literary movement (1916-23) that sought the discovery of an authentic reality by abolishing traditional culture and aesthetic forms. The members of this movement rejected reason, logic and Futurism as they felt these ideas had caused the war.

The word Dada was seized upon by the group as appropriate for their anti-aesthetic creations and protest activities against the bourgeois values and despair over World War I. A precursor of the Dada movement, and ultimately its leading member, was Marcel Duchamp (1887-1968), who in 1913 created his first “ready-made;” the Bicycle Wheel, consisting simply of a wheel mounted on the seat of a stool. The movement had lost its following by 1921 and by the 1922 Dada exhibition had ended.

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Surrealism

Surrealism was a movement that flourished in Europe between the two World Wars. A rebellion against Dada, the movement represented a reaction against the destruction created by the rationalism that had guided European culture and politics in the past and that had culminated in the horrors of World War I. According to the major spokesman of the movement, the poet and critic André Breton, who published "The Surrealist Manifesto" in 1924, Surrealism was a means of reuniting conscious and unconscious realms of experience so completely that the world of dream and fantasy would be joined to the everyday rational world. Drawing heavily on theories adapted from Sigmund Freud, Breton saw the unconscious as the wellspring of the imagination. He defined genius in terms of accessibility to this normally untapped realm.

The major Surrealist painters were Jean Arp, Max Ernst, André Masson, René Magritte, Salvador Dali and Joan Miró. Surrealism provided a major alternative to the contemporary Cubist movement. Surrealist artists would come to influence later American Abstract Expressionists when, with the Nazi invasion of Paris in 1940, artists such as Dali and Breton sought refuge from the war by fleeing to the U.S. American Art: The Inter-War Years

During the 1920s and '30s, Edward Hopper and Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986) emerged as the inspirational new painters of American traditions. Hopper's work was strongly realist, his still images of isolated individuals reflecting the social mood of the times.

O'Keeffe's art was more abstract, often based on enlarged plants and flowers, and filled with a kind of Surrealism which she referred to as “magical realism.” Abstract Expressionism

During WWII artists like Piet Mondrian and Max Ernst escaped Europe for the safety of the United States. In the 1940s and '50s, for the first time, American artists became internationally important with their new vision and new artistic vocabulary, known as Abstract Expressionism.

The first public exhibitions of work by the “New York School” of artists-- who were to become known as Abstract Expressionists-- were held in the mid '40s. What these artists had in common were morally loaded themes, often heavyweight and tragic. In contrast to the themes of social realism and regional life that characterized American art of previous decades, these artists valued, above all, individuality and spontaneity. The Abstract Expressionists shared an outlook characterized by a spirit of revolt and a belief in freedom of expression. The major artists included Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, and Mark Rothko.

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Color Field Painting Color Field paintings are identifiable by their canvases marked with broad and unarticulated bands of color. These bands are often stacked or adjacent to one another and often give the illusion of extending off the edge of the canvas. Mark Rothko (1903-1970) created simplified color fields that evoke a mythic and spiritual feeling that resonate within the viewer. The movement, initially connected to Abstract Expressionism, strove to remove evidence of the artist's hand leaving behind only the paint. They believed the process of the painting to be unimportant. Barnett Newman and Helen Frankenthaler are also major artists of this period. Pop Art

Pop Art was a reaction against Abstract Expressionism. Artists in the Pop Art movement thought the Abstract Expressionists’ aversion to any sort of representation was pretentious and impossible to relate to. Pop Art brought art back to the material realities of everyday life, to popular culture, in a world where ordinary people derived most of their visual pleasure from television, magazines, or comics. Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) monumentalized comic strips as a source of his artwork. During the early 1960s he became famous for his silkscreened enlargements and cropped comic strip images. Pop Art emerged in the mid-1950s in England, but realized its fullest potential in New York in the '60s where it shared the greatest attentions of the art world. In Pop Art, the epic was replaced with the everyday, and the mass-produced awarded the same significance as the unique. The gulf between “high art” and “low art” was eroding away. Abstract Expressionists, who evaded mass media commercialism, suddenly found themselves surprisingly out of touch. The media and advertising were favorite subjects for Pop Art's often tongue-in-cheek celebrations of consumer society. Perhaps the greatest and most easily recognizable Pop artist is that of Andy Warhol (1928-87), an artist famous for producing art that defies all previously held concepts of "art."

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Museum Staff & Contact Information

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Pensacola Museum of Art

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