Naturalism (Art)
In Painting: Definition, Characteristics,
History.
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Naturalism (Art) |
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EVOLUTION OF ART |
Naturalism in Painting (c.1800-1900)What is Naturalism? (Characteristics) In fine art, "naturalism" describes a true-to-life style which involves the representation or depiction of nature with the least possible distortion or interpretation. Modern naturalism dates from the affluence of the early 19th century, and was much influenced by the literary fashion for authenticity - the term was first coined by the French writer Emile Zola. It emerged first in Paris and then in other parts of Europe. Like all comparable styles, naturalism is influenced to a degree by the predominant culture and by the unavoidable subjectivism of the artist. But it tries to be as neutral as possible. It's a question of degree - after all, no painting can be wholly naturalist: the artist is bound to make tiny distortions to create his idea of a perfect picture. Nevertheless if an artist sets out with the clear aim of replicating nature, then a naturalist painting is the most likely outcome. |
| EVOLUTION
OF VISUAL ART For details of art movements and styles, see: History of Art. For a chronological guide to key events in the development of visual arts around the globe see: History of Art Timeline. |
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What Types of Painting Are Naturalist? Naturalism implies a normal setting "in nature". Thus the most usual genre for naturalism is landscape painting. Even so, a landscape picture may not be naturalist, if there is too much interpretation. Witness these examples, for instance. The visionary religious artist John Martin (1789-1854) created his visionary apocalyptic landscapes to illustrate the power of God. The Romantic German painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) filled his scenic views with symbolism and emotional Romanticism. Turner's landscapes are often no more than expressionist experiments in the depiction of light, while Paul Cezanne painted dozens of views of Montagne Sainte-Victoire, sacrificing naturalist accuracy for the sake of his beloved pictorial balance. None of these artists belong to the school of Naturalism, because they are less concerned with representing nature and more concerned with self-expression. Naturalist Art Movements, Schools The modern Naturalist tradition of view painting stems from artist groups whose members sought to depict nature with the least distortion or interpretation. Such groups or colonies include the Norwich School (active 1803-33); the Hudson River School (active 1825-75); the Barbizon School (active 1830-1875); the Russian Wanderers (c.1863-90); the Pont-Aven artist colony (active c.1880-1900); the Newlyn School (active 1884-1914); the Bande Noire in Brittany (1890-1910); and the Glasgow Boys (c.1880-1900). But the greatest naturalist movement was undoubtedly Impressionism, as exemplified in particular by Claude Monet (1840-1926), Alfred Sisley (1839-99) and Camille Pissarro (1830-1903). Naturalist Artists Among the other great exponents of naturalism are the English artists John Crome (1768-1821), John Constable (1776-1837), and the watercolourist John Sell Cotman (1782-1842); the Barbizon painters Camille Corot (1796-1875), Theodore Rousseau (1812-1867) and Charles Daubigny (1817-78); the great Russian plein air painters like Ivan Shishkin (1832-98), Isaac Levitan (1860-1900), and Vasily Polenov (1844-1927); as well as the American artists Thomas Cole (1801-1848), George Inness (1825–1894), and Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900). In Australia, the most important naturalist painters - all of whom combined naturalism with Impressionism, included Tom Roberts (1856-1931), Arthur Streeton (1867-1943), Charles Conder (1868-1909), and Fred McCubbin (1855-1917). Specializing in plein-air oil paintings, these landscape artists formed the Heidelberg School which was the first indigenous painting movement in Australia - a sort of "Aussie Barbizon School". In Ireland, important Irish artists specializing in outdoor painting directly from nature, at colonies like Pont-Aven in Brittany or Newlyn in Cornwall, included: Augustus Nicholas Burke (1838-91), Norman Garstin (1847-1926), Aloysius O'Kelly (1853-1941), Joseph Malachy Kavanagh (1856-1918), John Lavery (1856-1941) and Paul Henry (1876-1958). Few if any of the above artists painted exclusively naturalist works. Occasionally their pictures were excessively interpretive (eg. idyllic) or too expressionistic. However, in general, the majority of their painting is neutral enough to be classified as Naturalism. History of Naturalism (c. 500 BCE - 1900) Arguably, naturalist sculpture predates naturalist painting by several centuries. Ever since Greek sculptors succeeded in replicating the human body, they laid a claim to achieving the first form of naturalism in art. After all, Egyptian, Etruscan and much Greek painting observed non-naturalist conventions. Following the stagnation of the Dark Ages, Italian Renaissance art featured significant advances in linear perspective and figurative modelling, which added greatly to naturalist possibilities. Unfortunately, most patrons - notably the religious authorities - preferred didactic/idealistic to naturalistic art. Besides, Biblical themes like the Assumption hardly lent themselves to naturalist representation. (But see Caravaggio (1571-1610), whose use of street models introduced a revolutionary naturalism into late 16th century art.) In fact, it wasn't until the Dutch Baroque era (c.1600-80) that naturalism was genuinely appreciated, when Dutch Realist artists like Jan Davidsz de Heem (1606-83), Willem Kalf (1619-93), Aelbert Cuyp (1620-91), Samuel Van Hoogstraten (1627-78), Jacob Van Ruisdael (1628-82) and Jan Vermeer (1632-1675) sought to satisfy the demand for true-to-life secular pictures of interiors, still life and local landscapes. But the appreciation was short-lived: the Europeanwide Counter-Reformation led to a further century of artistic idealism (c.1680-1780), which led into Romanticism - a new form of idealism. During the early 19th century, in response to Romanticism, there appeared two differing true-to-life styles: Naturalism and Realism. If Romanticism encapsulated a strong belief in the senses and emotions, and perpetuated a stylized and idealized depiction of subject matter, Realism and Naturalism appealed more to the intellect and reason, and tried to portray things as they truly were. However, Realism and Naturalism are not the same. What's the Difference Between Naturalism and Realism? Naturalism is often confused with "realism", a true-life style of art which focuses on social realities and observable facts, rather than the ideals and aesthetics. The difference between Realism and Naturalism in (say) painting, is twofold. First, realism tends to be concerned with people - at work, or play - who are usually depicted in urban settings. (Note: The gritty rural genre painting of Jean-Francois Millet (1814-75) is an obvious exception to this.) Second, Realism is typically associated with the promotion of social or political awareness. Its images frequently support a particular set of social or political policies, as in movements like American Scene Painting (c.1925-45), the Ashcan School (c.1900-1915), Precisionism (flourished 1920s), Social Realism (1930s) and Socialist Realism (1930s onwards). Works reflecting the naturalist style of painting can be seen in some of the best art museums in the world. |
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• For information about painting from nature, see: Art Encyclopedia.
Art
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