Period 3,Team 8
Victoria Carlos
Taci Chin-Robinson
Grace Giberson
Joshua Roquemore
Katie Whitworth
The Modern Era was a time period which focused on the darkness of humanity, and the pain inflicted on upon one human being by another. There is a subtle yet telling contrast between the work of Rembrandt (an earlier artist) and Picasso (a modern era artist). The differences between the two artists and their styles speak volumes about the era in which they lived.
Rembrandt lived in the Renaissance-Enlightenment Era and so had many paintings depicting realistic people. His work brought out deep emotion in his characters. Although Rembrandt’s work shifted to much more melancholy and dark forms as he grew older, this was largely due to personal trouble and inner conflict. Rembrandt used art as a way to convey his impression or emotion. He painted for the individual.
At first glance, there are many similarities between the work of Rembrandt and Picasso. Both are remembered for their ability to capture emotion. However, they differ in this: Picasso painted for his entire class while Rembrandt painted for himself. One of Picasso’s most famous paintings is titled Guernica, in which he depicts the sufferings of people in a war-torn town. Viewing the piece, one is ravaged by the injustice of the event. He used distorted images and shapes to present the horror of war and human evil. Picasso united everyone viewing his art in order to make a statement about war. He painted for his fellow human beings, and conveyed their emotions through art.
This contrast in art perfectly reflects the general themes of the Modern Era. The time for focusing on the individual was past (Rembrandt), and the time for class justice had come (Picasso). With happenings such as Martin Luther King Jr.’s civil rights movement, people began to realize that they are a part of a collective group of humans. This movement is also reflected in the United States war effort during WWII, and the unity shown by Americans nationwide. The Modern Era was a time for justice and unity, and for a realistic depiction of the evil plaguing cultures worldwide. Satisfaction with where things stood was no longer acceptable. Change was inevitable, and change would come.
Wyl.P1.T4: Edward Tyler, Claire West, Danny Shapiro, Ivy Arbolado, Helena Cassilly
ReplyDeleteYour response thoroughly answers the prompt, comparing the thrust of Rembrandt’s expression of the human experience in the 1600s with Picasso's artistic statement (as in Guernica ) in the 1900s. Your extension, drawing the conclusion that the 17th Century artists’ expression of individuality has evolved to cover a broader social awareness for the 20th Century was well taken. That emergence of social consciousness along with activism that demanded rights for people of color and women, raising the Civil Rights movement and feminism, identifies important artistic and social movements as the 1900s passed the middle mark.
Rembrandt, of the Dutch Golden Age, bridging the Renaissance into the Enlightenment Era mastered techniques like chiaroscuro and broad brush strokes possibly as a precursor to Impressionistic approach. The depth of emotion and psychological insight with which he imbued his paintings of spiritual subjects such as Biblical stories and portraiture including a collection of about 40 self-portraits makes him an individualist possibly as a harbinger of the Romantic period. Picasso also broke the mold of realism and isolated feeling and psychology as disparate symbols running freely through his abstract expressions.
Though separated by 300 years, it's interesting that the exalted personal lives of two bold, famous artists were similarly complicated in romance and with business financial fiascoes from large profits due to their popularity and success in their lifetimes. Picasso proclaimed himself a Communist but never aligned for the fight against the Fascism in Franco's government in Spain. As well, he stayed in France during Hitler’s occupation lying under the anti-artistic radar. While his theme in Guernica was embraced by anti-war and anti-Fascist supporters he accepted the acclaim but also compared himself to a shoemaker who does not have to produce shoes that speak about social issues.
One of the perplexing things about mid-1900 culture is after two World Wars had threatened civilization there is not a world of united anti-Fascists and committed social reformers. The paradoxical thrust is baby-boom prosperity, easy suburban-sprawling Consumerism, Cooperate growth and greed, and American as the other world power, and the new TV screen to spread 50’s correctness, glamor, and connectedness into every living room. Desire for acquisitions and a simple happy normalcy contrasted with fears of the Cold War making for Disneyland, Elvis, conservative times, along with bomb shelters and the horror of McCarthyism. The Modern Era sheds light on current times with contrasts becoming more recognizable as the road signs that you note advised of the changes to come.