Impressionistic Art/Romantic Music Period

1820-1920

Background Information

Daily Life

In Britain this time period was called the Victorian Age. People were "high-minded" and their education was dominated by Christian teaching; their life centered on the family and home. Many of the well-off people visited those less fortunate than themselves, feeling it was their duty to do so. Different classes of society were very evident.

Railroads gave people a new mobility. People could hop on a train and be in the countryside in an hour. Many suburbs began to sprout around the larger cities. It was during this period that many began to emigrate with most of them choosing the USA as their destination, while others chose Australia and New Zealand as another favorite. Between 1815-1914, 35 million immigrated to the US. Ireland experienced the Potato Famine (1845-1851) which killed a million people through starvation while another million left Ireland to look for better living conditions.

Government

It was a time of political instability in France. Between 1830 and 1850 the population of Paris doubled. Many areas of Europe (especially Italy and Central Europe) struggled to become free of foreign control over them. 1848 was the year of revolutions. There were revolts in Germany, Italy, Poland and Hungary. The rulers of France and Austria gave up their thrones. A famous German philosopher named Karl Marx inspired worldwide movements of communism, which meant all political power, belonged to the working class. In America the colonists were having a civil war of their own with slavery being the primary focus of the battle. Children as young as five years old worked 12 hour shifts in the mines and factories. Laws were passed banning any children under nine years old from working in factories.

Social Studies Science and Mathematics

The Industrial Revolution brought economic prosperity. Britain led the way in this movement followed by Belgium. They replaced dirty, old medieval city with wide boulevards, park and monuments and they transformed many farming communities into manufacturing ones. Railroad stations and bridges were products of modern engineering. The steam engine, power loom, streetlights, camera, cast iron and steel had changed the lives of ordinary people. Clothes were now made with machines with the design of the blue jean as a work garment.. Other inventions during this time period were carpet sweepers, cash registers, safety pins, condensed milk, slot machines, barbed wire, electric lamps, photographs, linoleum, three-wheeled cars, bicycles, the first telephones, and vaccines against anthrax and rabies. In this climate of discovery, people felt they could do anything. There was a clearer understanding of the world and humanity's place in it, which changed the way people thought of themselves and society.

In the United States the California gold rush, westward expansion and the Indian Wars happened in the west. The country was torn apart by the Civil War from 1861 – 1865. At the beginning of the twentieth century American troops were sent to Europe to fight in WWI.

Music (Romantic period)

More and more art and music was removed from the "functional" role and came to be appreciated for its beauty. The notion of "fine art" was born. During this time music began to tell stories or imply meaning beyond the purely musical. Composers found a way to make their musical ideas represent people, things, and dramatic situations as well as emotional states. There was less focus on nature and more focus on the supernatural texts and stories. Composers took an interest in music of various ethnic groups and incorporated them into their own music. National identity began to be found in music written during this period. No longer were composers dependent for income on steady employment by nobility, but relied instead on support from the public and patronage of individuals. Music was seen less as an occupation and more as a calling. The church and royal courts were no longer the only place music was taught; conservatories began. Women found more opportunities as performers, but social and cultural barriers limited their participation as composers. In the Romantic period, melodies were longer, more dramatic and more emotional. Tempos were more extreme and harmonies are fuller, often more dissonant. There was a larger range of sound in the music of this time period.

Art (Impressionistic)

Impressionism broke every rule of the French Academy of Art, which was the school that had dominated art training and taste in art since 1648. No longer were paintings based on teaching moral lessons, mythology or Biblical themes. No longer were paintings done with smooth paint surfaces, hard outlines and symmetry. Impressionists mixed colors right on the canvas or stroked colors next to each other and let the viewer's eye do the blending. The rough, brilliant paintings were a drastic departure from the slick, highly finished canvases of Academic painters.

Impressionist paintings have the illusion of light and use various colors in their work. Most of these painters worked directly and spontaneously from nature. The subjects were people hurrying through busy streets, enjoying their leisure time, at the racetrack, in restaurants and parks. This was the first group of artists to use photographs to look at in order to complete paintings. Country themes appealed to them also and landscapes were often painted outdoors. A wish to capture nature's fleeting moment led many Impressionists to paint the same scene at different times and in different weather. The women who were Impressionist artists weren't allowed to set up their easels in public so they painted scenes of cuddling babies, playing with children and other domestic scenes.

Impressionism wasn't a well-accepted movement in the art world and many artists lived hand-to-mouth because they couldn't find a market for their work. Because this type of art didn't follow traditions of the time, these artists' works weren't accepted in museums. There were several museums (the most famous being called "The Salon") which refused to show Impressionist work at their exhibits. Eventually, the Impressionist artists held their own exhibit and grew strong as a united group. They were determined to continue their way of painting regardless of what the public and critics thought. It wasn't until the 1890's when Americans started buying these Impressionists' works that the world started to embrace them.