Dr. Jeanne S. M. Willette – 3/12/19
Dr. Jeanne Willette unfortunately passed away in early 2019. She supported thousands of students in their exploration of art history during her career and was a valued colleague. This site, Art History Unstuffed, was one of her major contributions to those studying this field. Without Dr. Willette this site is not being updated with new content. While her web master, with support from her two sons, continues to maintain the site for the time being, a new generation of Art Historians is needed to carry the site into the future. If you are interested in participating or have other suggestions for this site, please click here to leave a note.
On line. At your convenience. In your own time. On your own terms.
For too long art history has been held hostage by scholars speaking to scholars and not to people. The purpose of this site is to educate and to inform and to do so with respect to the intelligence of the readers. Designed as a site for serious students of art history in need of solid substantive material, Art History Unstuffed is written for Twenty-First-century learners who prefer reading “text-bytes” and “sound-bytes” of targeted information.
Written by Dr. Jeanne S. M. Willette, a published scholar who has researched and consolidated both well-respected classical sources and vetted the latest research, this site creates a middle ground between arcane scholarly jargon and informed discourse and presents a detailed account of Modern, Postmodern, Philosophy and Theory that is accessible to all readers interested in the history of the modern and contemporary periods.
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Episode 28: Gustave Courbet, Part Two
THE RISE AND FALL OF GUSTAVE COURBET
Part Two
The early career of Gustave Courbet is discussed within the historical context of class struggles during the middle of the nineteenth century. The Realism in Courbet’s paintings of the 1850s manifested itself not only in politically controversial content but also in aesthetic decisions, which challenged Salon conventions. However, through canny self-promotion and his ability to take advantage of opportunity, Courbet rose to prominence in the Salon system. Never popular with the Academicians, Courbet acquired important critical support and had devoted patrons. But in the 1860s his politically active art changed and he seemed to be in the thrall of wealthy collectors, until the Commune of 1871. After the Franco-Prussian War, Courbet seemed to remember his political passions, but this renewed dedication to causes would bring him down.
Episode 27: Gustave Courbet, Part One
THE RURAL REALISM OF GUSTAVE COURBET
Part One
As a self-proclaimed “Realist” in a highly charged political atmosphere, Gustave Courbet challenged the conventions of the French Salon system. For ten years, Courbet had waited his chance to break through in the Parisian Salons but his provincial outsider status made him an “outsider” artist. However, the Revolution of 1848 gave the artist an opportunity and his subject matter changed to life in the small towns of France. During the 1850s, Courbet confronted the indignant bourgeoisie audience of Paris with the realities of small town French life on large scale canvases. These huge paintings elevated peasant life to the status of history paintings and the lower classes to the level of heroes. This podcast follows the construction of the career of Gustave Courbet during the critical decade of the 1850s.
Also listen to “Gustave Courtbet, Part Two” and “Sincerity and Artifice in French Realism” and “European Realism, Part One” and “European Realism, Part Two”
Read “Gustave Courbet”
Episode 26: Sincerity and Artifice in Realism
SINCERITY AND ARTIFICE IN REALISM
England and France
By the middle of the nineteenth century, Realism was an international movement. In England, the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood were the rebellious Realists, challenging the classicism of the Academy. The English artists worked in natural light and celebrated the narrative in visual art. The PRB quickly found support though the art critic John Ruskin and began to focus on modern problems in the modern world. It is this penchant for the literary and this British interest in urban contemporary life that separates the Pre-Raphaelite Movement from the Realism across the Channel.
Realism in France was a fragmented movement. On one hand there were the so-called “official Realists,” or those who pleased the government, and on the other hand there were the avant-garde Realists. However within the group of artist who challenged the Academy standards, there was a philosophical split–is art a reflection of reality and therefore capable of being “sincere,” or is art in and of itself “artificial” and therefore is a cynical artifice? Within this aesthetic question is the differing political stances, with sincerity as being more politically active and artifice as being more of a social commentary. In France, “realism” divided along two poles, “sincerity,” as with Millet and Courbet, or “artifice,” as with Manet.
Also listen to “Realism in Europe, Part Two” and “Realism in Europe, Part One” and read “Avant-Garde Realism inFrance” and “Realism and the Role of the Realist Artist” and “Realism and Naturalism in Art” and “Salon Realism in France” and “Realism and Naturalism in Art” and “Avant-Garde Realism in England” and “The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood”
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The Construction of a Discourse, 1910-1914
Creating a Culture of Cyber Criticism
Volume One: Blindness (Volume 1)
Dr. Willette is currently completing an entirely new kind of book on design, a book that is multi-modal. Offering multiple modes of output, this book offers the readers several ways of receiving information, slide shows, podcasts, texts and images. The interactive book, Design and the Avant-Garde, 1920-1940, will be divided into several volumes. Volume One will focus on the interconnections between art and design at the fine-de-siècle period, leading up to the creation of “modern” design.