Victorian art consisted generally of portraits of stuffy-looking aristocrats and moralistic genre scenes. But with the growth of industrialism, society was rapidly evolving, and groups of radical young innovators promoted new styles that would turn the British art world on its head.
JMW Turner turned from the classical standards of the Royal Academy to depict his world in a new way, painting vast expanses of light and color in a free and expressive manner. The Pre-Raphaelites scorned the soft, idealized images of their mentors and took their canvases outside to paint nature in highly realistic detail. Unlike Turner, they and their followers detested the negative impact of industrialization and sought inspiration in the art and stories of medieval and early Renaissance (pre-Raphael) times. The Aesthetes, led by Whistler, ignored narrative altogether, believing that a painting should be a thing of beauty, without any deeper meaning. Their motto was ‘Art for Art’s sake.’
William Morris led the Arts & Crafts Movement, reasserting the artistic and functional superiority of handmade objects. Returning to the standards of the medieval craft guilds, artist-designers produced decorative home furnishings that stood out in quality from factory-produced commodities. Toward the end of the 19th century, a blending of the ideals of the Pre-Raphaelites, the Aesthetes, and the Arts and Crafts Movement evolved into the Modern Style. It incorporated the current interest in the curving, graceful lines of plants into sophisticated and sinuous flowing motifs in both the fine and decorative arts. The popularity of this style—which came to be known as Art Nouveau—spread to the Continent and even to the US.
This course provides an introduction to a number of artists and art trends that, although popular in their time, were later forgotten and even dismissed as new styles emerged. Happily, beginning in the 1970s, they were rediscovered, and enthusiasm for them continues to grow, as is evidenced by a multitude of special exhibits of “the Victorian radicals.”
Classes will be a combination of presentation and discussion. Preparation should be about an hour and a half each week.