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JA7. Learning Journal 7

Statement

Please respond to the following:

  1. Discuss how both Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre (Joy of Life) and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon can be simultaneously seen as inspired by and breaking free of Paul Cézanne’s, The Large Bathers. Describe the three paintings and refer to specific visual references in your discussion as part of your comparison. Use art vocabulary and terminology (such as descriptions of style, color and form) to support your arguments.
  2. Impressionism is often referred to as the beginning of modern art. How are the modern styles you studied this week descended from Impressionism?
  3. Do you think the modern styles are also a reaction against Impressionism? Please explain your answer and support it with sources (citations) and evidence

Answer

Discuss how both Matisse’s Bonheur de Vivre (Joy of Life) and Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon can be simultaneously seen as inspired by and breaking free of Paul Cézanne’s, The Large Bathers

Les Grandes Baigneuses (The Large Bathers) by Paul Cézanne is a painting that depicts a group of female bathers in a landscape setting. Created between 1898 and 1906, and measuring 210.5 x 250.8 cm, the painting is characterized by its use of geometric shapes as Paul reduced the components of the human body to cylinders, spheres, and cones. Through his use of color and form, bathers’ bodies just blend into the landscape. The painting follows the principles of Impressionism, with its emphasis on dark light and cobalt blue color, the use of loose brushwork, and the sense of movement in the objects (King & McGaw, 2022).

The Large Bathers
The Large Bathers by Paul Cézanne (King & McGaw, 2022)

Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) by Pablo Picasso is a painting that depicts five nude female prostitutes with geometric shapes. Created in 1907, measuring 243.9 x 233.7 cm, the painting is characterized by its use of sharp angles, flat planes, and lack of shadow and perspective. The painting is considered the first Cubist painting, a movement that Picasso led, and was a departure from the principles of Impressionism (Artsper Magazine, 2019).

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Les Demoiselles d’Avignon by Pablo Picasso (Artsper Magazine, 2019)

Bonheur de Vivre (Joy of Life) by Henri Matisse is a painting that depicts a group of nude figures in a forest landscape. Created in 1905-1906, measuring 176.5 x 240.7 cm, the painting is characterized by its use of bright colors, rounded shapes, and coloring the nature according to the emotions of the figures rather than real colors (the forest is pink, red, and yellow rather than green). The painting is considered a Fauvist painting, a movement that integrates colors into sensual forms (Harris & Zucker, 2023).

Bonheur de Vivre
Bonheur de Vivre by Henri Matisse (Harris & Zucker, 2023)

Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon can be seen as inspired by Paul Cézanne’s The Large Bathers in the sense that both paintings show the objects well integrated into the landscape, something that Cézanne achieved through his use of color and form. However, they both break out of Cézanne’s style by using formal lines around the figures and brighter colors that express emotions.

Impressionism is often referred to as the beginning of modern art. How are the modern styles you studied this week descended from Impressionism?

Cubism was a movement that is characterized by the simplified representation of the human body as opposed to its natural form; it renders volumes as fragmented planes and subdued pallets (Cubism Movement Overview, 2024). Dada was a movement started in Zurich in response to World War 1, it was characterized by by its mockery of materialistic and nationalistic attitudes (Dada Movement Overview and Key Ideas, 2016). Surrealism was a movement that was characterized by its use of dream-like imagery and the subconscious mind (Surrealism Movement Overview, 2015). Expressionism was a movement that was characterized by its use of strange colors and distorted figures to express emotions (Expressionism Movement Overview, 2024).

All these movements were descended from Impressionism in the sense that they all tried to break free from the traditional forms of art and express emotions and ideas in new ways. Impressionism was the first to revolt against the Salon’s traditions, it was formed by a group of independent artists who learned from each other and had no formal bond other than their seek of innovation and freedom (Samu, 2024).

Do you think the modern styles are also a reaction against Impressionism? Please explain your answer and support it with sources (citations) and evidence

The nature that created Impressionism was the revolution against contemporary styles and the desire to innovate. This also encouraged the artists to revolt against Impressionism itself in their way of expressing emotions and ideas; plus, the contemporary political and social events required new ways of doing things.

References