Changes In Form In the Fine Arts
The search for new subject matter reduced emphasis on the object
depicted in the work of art. The move away from the object as the focus of art
led to drastic changes in form. Early changes were relatively subtle. The
Impressionists and Post-Impressionists applied paint and color in new ways to
capture particular visual qualities such as light and atmospheric effects
(Monet, Seurat), or emotional states (Van Gogh or Redon). The way in which
mass and form were composed on the canvas became almost as important as the
actual subject (Courbet, Cezanne). Fauve painters (Matisse, Derain, Vlaminck)
began to distort their subjects to the point where reality was secondary to the
formal issues being explored. In Cubism (Picasso, Braque) reality becomes
submerged in the hyper-rationalism of surface geometry. The actual objects
were distorted or made abstract by this focus on pure
qualities of color and form.
The next step in the process of changing form was to eliminate recognizable
subject matter altogether. Art which concerns itself primarily with the formal
elements and has no evident subject matter apart from these elements can be
referred to as non-objective art. Some of the non-objective artists
whose work might be shown in class are
Mondrian,
Kandinsky,
Pollock,
and
Vasarely.
While in a sense painting has always been "abstract" in the sense that
it attempts to depict the three dimensional world on a two dimensional surface,
many modern artists have more dramatically and intentionally
simplified, modified, and selected from nature. Among the important movements
in art which exemplify these changes in form are the following:
Changes in Form and Color: The Impressionists and Post-Impressionists
Beginning
in the 1870's, this movement introduced a new, bolder, and more tactile way of
painting which suited their content interests. The subject matter of the Impressionist
was, above all, light. Impressionist painters virtually always worked directly
from nature, not in the studio, which was the traditional method. Whether depicting
a human figure, a still life, or a landscape, the concern was not so much with
subject per se but with the transient qualities of light which revealed
or obscured forms. This transient quality resulted in techniques of painting which
were described by a critic as "Impressions" - a term intended to be derogative.
Monet was the most well
known of the impressionists.
Seurat
was the founder of a related style, known as pointillism. The Post Impressionists,
who shared some qualities with this movement, included
Cezanne's explorations of the geometry of form, and the relativistic
qualities of perspective and point of view, were of particular importance
because of their effect on artists in the early modern movements such as
Fauvism
and Cubism.
Changes in Form and Color: The Fauves
The short-lived movement known as Fauvism appeared just after the turn of
the century, and has been described as the first truly abstract style in that
their preoccupation with color and form caused them to depart from the reality
of what they actually saw. These artists were influenced by aspects of the work
of Cezanne ,
Van Gogh, and Gauguin.
For the Fauve painters, color was the primary subject matter, and the forms of
landscape, figure, or portrait were merely a vehicle for their experimentation
with vivid color relationships. "Fauve" is French for "Wild Beast," and was a
term used by a critic to describe a group of paintings displayed at a Paris exhibiton
in 1905. Color was applied to the canvas in ways that had little or no relation
to the actual color of the objects as seen, the purpose being to experiment with
color behavior. Among the artists who participated in this style were
Matisse,
Vlaminck, and
Derain.
Here is a link to additional
Fauve images.
This web site Copyright © 1995 by Charlotte Jirousek
Questions or comments? Let us know at caj7@cornell.edu.