Great Depression Art

The Great Depression affected every facet of life in the 1930s, including art. Unfortunately, this was not always good as art is a luxury that many could not afford during this time. While some art did suffer, the government funded art through Roosevelt’s New Deal programs such as the Works of Art Project. This brought art to everyday Americans. Art during this time seemed to do two things: either show people the struggles of everyday Americans or distract everyday Americans from their struggles.

The most famous photograph to come out of the Great Depression was certainly Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange, photographed in Nipomo, California in 1936. Lange was employed by the Farm Security Administration who wanted to capture the plight of migrant workers. Photos like this showed that the Depression was not only bad in cities, but in rural settings, too. The mother is a symbol for all Americans who struggled during the Depression. Without photos such as this one, the scale of the Depression would be hard to visualize today. It is both a very sad and very beautiful photograph. The children’s faces are all hidden so our focus is shifted to the mother, whose face shows both the struggle she is going through and her strength.

The Great Depression shows us that art can come from previously unexpected places, such as the government. Government sponsored programs such as the Works of Art Project or the Section of Fine Arts  payed artists to paint murals in public places. This brought art to the public in a way unlike before.This one was painted at the post office of Mount Ayr, Iowa and not completed until 1941. It is entitled Corn Parade and is by Orr C. Fisher. The fantasy nature of it perhaps reflects the desire to forget the economic hardships of the Depression and get away for a while. Also, the focus on corn promises that Iowans will be able to make money of their crop. The post office murals all have similar art styles, as this is what the administration wanted, and were not Abstract or Cubist. The ensuing paintings seem very flat, idealized, and boring to me.

 

Jazz took a hit at the beginning of the Depression as people did not have money for  dancing anymore. This changed midway through the decade, and a type of music known as “swing”  developed as a fun distraction from everyday life. Swing music is a lively form of jazz, meant for dancing. Benny Goodman was the most famous swing musician and his work 1937 song Sing Sing Sing is a good example of the genre. I was surprised to find it because I have heard this song in so many places and now I have a name for it! I really enjoy it, it is simple but lively and I feel as if I could dance to it. I love the way it starts out with the drums and builds up to the main melody.

Art during the Great Depression, in America at least, was a bit boring thanks to the crisis and more reluctant to embrace the Abstract, Cubist and other styles that came out of Europe. Most art was either government sponsored or a fun distraction. That is not to say it is unimportant. Swing music lead into the music we listen to today and many works from the Great Depression are still famous.

 

“Migrant Mother, Nipomo, California.” Museum of Modern Art. Accessed 26 Oct. 2016. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/dorothea-lange-migrant-mother-nipomo-california-1936

Peretti, Burton W. Jazz in American Culture. Rowman and Littlefield, 1998.

Raynor, Patricia. "New Deal Post Office Murals." Enroute, October-December 1997.
http://postalmuseum.si.edu/research/articles-from-enroute/off-the-wall.html

Impressionism

Not everyone knows about Baroque art or Cubism but most know about Impressionism. Love it or hate it, it is a very well-known style. I, personally, have always loved the style of Impressionism as well as the idea of an art movement going against the conventions of the time and shocking some people. The reason I love the style is the loose brushstrokes and the way the colors blend together seems so carefree. The subject matter is nice too, just people doing ordinary things, not engaging in battles or biblical scenes.

People in Motion

Here is a Impressionist painting that I love, The Star by Edgar Degas, completed in Paris in 1876. The loose brushstrokes convey a sense of movement, and the impression that this a moment caught in time and in the next second her position will be different. The light also helps with the impression of movement. The subject does not look posed, but rather spontaneous. Interestingly, Degas despised the label “Impressionist” and thought of himself as more of a realist. However, when we compare this painting to a Realist painting you can see why he was an Impressionist and also why I prefer Impressionism more.

Here we have The Stone Breakers Gustave Courbet, a Realist painting completed circa 1850 in France. The brushstrokes are not visible giving the scene a, well, realistic quality. This also makes the scene look frozen in place, even though the stone breakers are in the middle of their tasks. The colors blend into each other less. It just does not seem as exciting as Impressionist paintings. The subject itself is more grim, the clothing of the stone breakers is tattered and they are not like the middle class subjects of Impressionism.

Landscapes

One tradition that Impressionists continued was the landscape painting. In fact, Impressionists loved nature. We can see differences in the landscapes of the Impressionist movement and the Rococo era below. Just because Impressionist paintings were not part of the Realist movement does not mean they could not be realistic.

To the left we have the Rococo painting “Idyllic Landscape With Woman Fishing” painted by the French artist Francois Boucher in 1761. Although beautiful, the trees do not look real but rather like fantasy. The painting is also rather busy, with the clouds competing with the trees competing with the people. On the other hand, on the right is Claude Monet’s Banks of the Seine, Vetheuil, completed 1880 in France. The focus is more on the simple serenity of nature. The way the colors blend together in the water and flowers looks more natural. While not as dramatic, it is still quietly impressive.

Parting Thoughts

I love Impressionism because of the way it conveys movement and the transitory way of real life. It manages to still be realistic but also beautiful. It does not rely, unlike art like Baroque art,  on subject matter to be dramatic but rather on light and movement.

"Important Art and Artists of Realism." The Art Story, The Art Story Foundation, 2016. Accessed 18

Oct. 2016. http://www.theartstory.org/movement-realism-artworks.htm

"The Evolution of Rococo." Indianapolis Museum of Art, 5 Apr. 2014. Accessed 18 Oct. 2016.

 http://www.imamuseum.org/blog/2014/04/05/the-evolution-of-rococo/

Walton, Kimberley. "Contrasting the Work of Cézanne and Monet: Two Unique Paths To Modernism."

     Empty Easel. Accessed 18 Oct. 2016. http://emptyeasel.com/2007/11/08/contrasting-the-work-of-cezanne-and-monet-two-unique-paths-to-modernism/

Revolution and Art

Societal goings-on influence the subject matter and style of art, and this is (often violently) obvious in the art of the late 1700s when the topic of revolution took over many paintings. France and America were going through major changes that were immortalized by the artists of the day. Revolution is a serious topic, and this is reflected by the shift from the fanciful Rococo style to the Classical style. The straight lines and austerity of  art stood in direct opposition to the ornateness and light colors of the aristocracy. The art of this period was  meant to provoke patriotism and promote the revolutionary cause.

One of the reasons for revolution in France was the excess of the aristocracy and royals. This can be seen in paintings such as this one, Marie Antoinette and her Children by  Élisabeth Lousie Vigée Le Brun, set in the opulent palace of Versailles during 1787. Here we still have a Rococo painting, that is softly lit, with doll-like people. The queen is dressed in a fur lined, rich dress, which did not help her image with people in France who were poor and hungry. The whole purpose for this painting was to combat the unpopularity of the monarchs that would eventually lead to revolution. The queen is posed with her children in an attempt to make her seem likable and benevolent. This did not help, as this was the last ever portrait of her before she was guillotined. Revolution signaled an end to the Rococo style in France which was associated with frivolous paintings and ushered in the Classical style.

Here we have The Death of Merat painted in 1793 by the French artist Jacques-Louis David. Merat was a leader of the French Revolution who was killed by rivals. Here we see him made into a martyr for the cause of freedom. He is surrounded by white cloth, symbolizing his purity. He is a portrayed as a hardworking man, holding his quill even though he is in the bath. This also indicates his vulnerability and unfair death, he had no time to fight back. The austerity of the painting emphasizes his figure, and the lights reflects on him dramatically. His face is realistic, not doll-like, which only brings the viewer more sadness and makes the scene more realistic and emotional.

Of course, France was not the only place to have a revolution. America was first and this inspired painting such as the descriptively titled The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker’s Hill, 17 June, 1775 completed by John Trumbull in 1786. Warren was a patriot who was killed on Bunker Hill. Here the revolutionaries are depicted sympathetically, while the British are aggressively rushing them, stepping on the bodies of their dead comrades. The body of Warren is lit by a soft light, turning him into another martyr for the cause of revolution. Portraits such as this made the revolutionaries heroic and immortalized their legacy for generations to come.

“Jacques-Louis David: The Death of Marat.” Boston College. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/his/CoreArt/art/neocl_dav_marat.html

Stauble, Katherine. "Marie Antoinette and her Children: An Icon of French Painting." National 

     Gallery of Canada Magazine, 19 Apr. 2016. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016.http://www.ngcmagazine.ca/features/marie-antoinette-and-her-children-an-icon-of-french-painting

"The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, 17 June, 1775." Museum of Fine Arts 

     Boston. Accessed 4 Oct. 2016. http://www.mfa.org/collections/object/the-death-of-general-warren-at-the-battle-of-bunkers-hill-17-june-1775-34260