The general understanding of subjects in Impressionist paintings are often linked to a new representation of a newfound modernized society. Beyond modernization in the nineteenth century Impressionist paintings also discloses the newer economic and social state of that time: Capitalism. By the mid-1800s people were divided into various classes, the most popular being the upper class bourgeoisie and the working class proletariat. Industrialization increased the lust for commodities, which in turn overburdened the working class. The division between status and wealth induced strong social effects at the time, which resulted in a new sense of isolation.
Gustave Caillebotte’s Paris Street; Rainy Day begun production in 1876 and was finished early in 1877, showing a flaneur’s-eye view of an ordinary slice of bourgeois life. The painting shared spotlight with Auguste Renoir’s Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, and was first exhibited along with Le Pont de L’Europe and Claude Monet’s series of the Saint-Lazare train station at the third Impressionist exhibition in 1877.
Paris Street; Rainy Day places us upon a rain-soaked sidewalk directly in front the Place de Dublin, an intersection made up of eight streets near the Gare St. Lazare. A fashionably dressed bourgeois couple who are often referred to as ‘Flaneur’s’ are the major figures in the painting as they politely avert their eyes from the viewer, seemingly unaware of what will be a collision of umbrellas with the man entering
The spread of factories from the industrial age left anxiety concerning the loss of independence and masculinity. The middle class population was becoming salaried workers, loosing economic and moral independence. The Progressive Era had created a deep desire to reshape institutions and values as well as faith to reform the people. At the same time, the Arts and Crafts Movement grew in response to the spread of factories. It drew inspiration from John Rustic, an Oxford artist, who believed that machines were robbing people of the creativity and pleasure of work situations.
In late 19th century Paris, cafés-concerts (best described as “glorified beer halls” (Clark 206)) were a very popular destination for the people of Paris. Cafés-concerts became an integral part of Parisian social life, as they were visited by hundreds of people each night, regardless of class. A bar at the Folies Bergère became the topic of Edouard Manet’s last painting, as Manet tried to portray the new, “modern” Paris, and the introduction of mass production during this time. A Marxist art historian, T.J. Clark finds this particular painting important because it revealed a lot about the new, modern Paris, and Manet’s intentions with the painting. Clark focuses more on the emergence of the new social class during this time, and how this affected the role of women in Paris. The painting, A bar at Folies Bergère, has historical significance because of how it depicts modernity in the context of the emergence of a new social class (the petite bourgeoisie), the introduction of mass production, and the changing role of women.
In 1850 a new economic system rose in America, Industrial Capitalism. The rise of Industrial Capitalism brought many Changes to America. Cities and transportation, such as automobiles and railroads, become popular during this time. The three social classes became distinct during this time. The benefits of Industrial Capitalism were increase in production, because the creation of the assembly line. More jobs were created and high salaries for workers. This all created a more controlled economy. Despite the Benefits, there were many problems that came with Industrial Capitalism. The biggest problems were social class inequality and that people were unhappy. There were many groups in the next 100 years that would try to solve these problems; Progressives
Color is highly evident in this painting, and helps to draw the viewer’s eye to certain places in the painting. The café is yellow, and adds a boisterous feeling to that section of the piece. The yellow light spills onto the street and walls of the town, creating bright colors and drawing the eye. The sky and town use dark colors to illustrate nighttime, although the bright spots of the stars cause the viewer to look to the sky.
The Bourgeois society is represented in the top half of the painting; tall office towers line the city sky which is a dominating reminder to Americans of a chance for prosperity. The Statue of Liberty sits in the distance; Frida pushes the ideal of Western strength and freedom to the background, which realizes the possibility of American economic failure. The water is a dark grey, reflective of the dreary years of the depression era. A collection of six industrial smoke-pipes reach high from behind the commericialist towers of the city. They seem to acknowledge the defining role of lower class workers and industrial society in the prosperity of America.
The upper class were the rich and with the advancement of new technology, became richer. Goods could be created and sold for a cheaper price in their factories. With the working class looking for work, were employed by the factory owners. The advantaged social class that had enjoyed wealth and success, had now achieved a new level of luxury.
Society undergoes a major transformation as a result of so many consequences. Firstly the society expanded and the population of the inhabitant increases due to migration and search for jobs from the area of low employment in areas of high employment. Hand work was changed to machine labor and this made women started working in long hours and the rise of child labor, and immigration from the west for greener pasture increased. The rapid growth of factories enables many Americans abandoned farming and went in search for factory jobs which was in demand due to the use of machines. However, this changed the style of living in the society and added a separate class of people known as the
After the rise of Industrialization, there was an emphasis on control of classes in the North and West. Because of the need for laborers in factories, there was an increase in immigration, especially from Europe. As a result
because of the odd position of his body and feet - it looks as if he
Throughout The Communist Manifesto, Marx expresses the political, economic and social turmoil that were present in their society. During this time period, agriculture production was the main occupation. This resulted in a class struggle between the landowners and the serfs who labored the land. A new, manufacturing class emerged from this conflict called the bourgeoisie. Bourgeoisie changed the focus from agriculture to industrialization and commerce. Having “less dexterity and strength [that] is required in manual labor, [helps] modern industry develop” and prosper throughout society (Marx 131). This more proficient way to produce commodities helped the bourgeoisie control global and domestic trade. They eventually reached a point where they were inhibited by the feudal government and could not progress at the original rate they were going. Resulting from this, the French Revolution occurred and the bourgeoisie demolished the aristocracy that was originally present during this primitive time. Unfortunately, this did not resolve the primary
In 1898 Henri Rousseau painted The Eiffel Tower, and during this time the Eiffel Tower had been opened for just about about ten years so it was still fairly new. The painting features the Seine River and the Eiffel tower perfectly aligned to create a beautiful scenery. In this particular painting he was inspired by both the Eiffel Tower and the Seine River, but in reality, these two attractions never align how Rousseau portrays them. This shows how, like in many of his paintings, Rousseau toyed with the
The environment in which people live in demonstrates the societal norms and values of said culture. In Émile Zola’s The Belly of Paris, Florent, a political outcast, returns to Paris only to find that the regime has drastically changed. Napoleon III, a self-elected emperor, has torn down many of the streets of Old Paris to make room for the angular and orderly streets of New Paris as well as the new markets of Les Halles. Throughout the novel, the character’s lives revolve around the various markets in Les Halles and the streets of Paris. Zola uses descriptions of architecture and city planning as well as how people use space within Paris to demonstrate the city’s corruption, signifying that the architecture of a city is a reflection of
Another interesting part of this canvas is the direction of the reflections showing from the water. Van Gogh tries gives us this sense of calm movement with the reflection of the lighting going in a downward course. Also, the artist shows the viewer the grouping from the stars, to the lights from the houses, to the reflection form the water and which again it gives us the sense of the lighting going in a downward motion.
As the bourgeois advanced financially, they also gained political influence. They progressed from a once oppressed class to an independent urban republic. As their political influence increased, certain changes became clear. The bourgeois had “torn away from the family its sentimental veil, and has reduced the family relation to a mere money relation (Marx).” This force eventually grew to the point that it was able to force other nations to conform to its values and methods or suffer extinction. As the bourgeois became richer, the proletarians began to suffer more. The balance of property began to shift even more rapidly than before leaving property “concentrated…in a few hands (Marx).” Eventually, the super-efficient production of the manufacturing economy began to take its toll on the bourgeois as well as the proletarians. More goods were produced due to the cheaper costs and ease of manufacture leading to an over-production of goods (Marxism). Over-production became a serious problem, resulting with widespread unemployment of the proletarians, and threats of a revolution on the horizons.
The subject matter of Rain, Steam and Speed is the Maidenhead railway crossing of the Thames. A golden brown landscape punctuated by the river to the left takes up the bottom portion of the painting. The top half is tinged by a blue sky that is marked by swirls of gold and white,