From Real to Surreal

Since the early years of mankind, art had an important role in shaping cultures and societies, effecting all civilization. People who believed in art that was sacred, others who used art as propaganda and there was even rebel artists who courageously, used art to protest and even go against traditions, changing the course of art as we know it.

Edouard Manet, Impression Sunrise, Oil on canvas, 48 cm x 63 cm

Edouard Manet was an artist who was of the early artists “breaking away from tradition”.  You can see that unlike traditional methods, which gave importance to realistic painting and only sacred things, and people or objects of importance, Manet painted common life events and scenes. This style is called impressionism, and it is distinctive by the visible brushstrokes unlike paintings of his time, which gave full attention to detail. This type of painting was considered meaningless but the main aim of impressionist artists was to capture the effect of light, and how a single scene can show different impressions during different times of day.

Henri Matisse, Open Window, Collioure, 1905,
National Gallery of Art, Washington,
Collection of Mr. and Mrs. John Hay Whitney 1998.74.7

Artists had been influenced since then and art had started going through a big change. One of the earliest modern movements, Fauvism, was all about color and much less about detail. As you can see in Matisse’s ‘Open Window’, the colors are somewhat unrealistic. It feels like a dream. The ‘Open Window’ reflects the sunlight of the small Mediterranean fishing port of Collioure, in the south of France, were sunny weather is common. The amount of light in this port amazed Matisse, depicting his paintings in a dream like world bursting with bright colors. This was a completely new approach to painting during this time and opened the doors for modern art.

George Braque, Le Portugais, oil on canvas, 116.8 x 81 cm

            Peoples understanding of art continued to change rapidly in the early 20^th century where we find Cubism, one of the most influential style for innovation of the time. Beauty became less important as you can see in Braque’s ‘Le Portugais’, were there’s no detail at all. Art became more interactive with the audience and interpretation became for the viewer to decide for himself. You can also make out some text in the background. This was very new to art, predicting text as an image.

Paul Saliba, Swing, Chalk Pastels, A3

            I decided to develop an idea from the observational drawing of the ‘Swinging Lady’ below, and took inspiration from both Fauvism and Cubism. It was a good way to experiment with color and how to create balance with it. This is my first development, right, taking the form of the lady’s skirt and made some repetitions, resulting in a Cubist manner. The color scheme is bright and contrasting, balancing on the bright background.

Paul Saliba, Swinging Lady,
Aquarelles, A3

Cubism started to emerge all around the world were in Italy was called Futurism, in England, Vorticism, Constructivism in Russia and Expressionism in Germany. It still shapes art in today’s world. Such example is this drawing by Marcos Andruchak, ‘The Key’ below. A modern painting, reflecting Cubism and also Fauvism. It continues to inspire more and more contemporary artists.

Marcos Andruchak, The Key

It’s a huge change from the traditionally realistic painting, which covered about 400 years of human history. Realists, Impressionists and Cubists transformed art and is still very modern a quite influential on today’s art.

Henri Matisse and the Fauves. 2015. Henri Matisse and the Fauves. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.nga.gov/feature/artnation/fauve/window_1.shtm. [Accessed 05 January 2015].

The Influence of Art History on Modern Design - Cubism - Pixel77. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.pixel77.com/the-influence-of-art-history-on-modern-design-cubism/. [Accessed 05 January 2015].