Modern Art: Lecture 4 (2/19/2012)Manet Nymph Surprised, 1861Allusion to bible’s Susanna: surprised while bathing by eldersManet takes out the elders, so the audience = the perpetratorsRole of vision in paintingGaze looks back at the viewer- breaks storytelling functionBreaking of space to bring it into the space of the realManet The Balcony, 1868-69Contradiction of gazesGaze breaking space to break the space itselfPrioritizing sightInconsistenciesQuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.^^Manet Luncheon on the Grass^^Gazes in contradictionCites history of art in new wayColor as opposed to line; color answers to light- can’t touch it, only for the eyesAbout every genre; summed up in a new gesture while also breaking them downMoment of vision, about visionPainting now more about painting than history and storytelling- about the mediumitselfMedium specific, self-criticalityBody/figure normally tells stories- central language of artRefused from Salon due to the reality that this wouldn’t ever happen in the space of the realVictorine’s body doesn’t cohere; refuses to cohere with formNo nipples; elbow very much exaggeratedGesture doesn’t interact with the figures in the paintingBody’s representation- inconsistent for Manet’s workBody holds extremes of both finish and unfinishQuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.^^Manet Olympia, 1863^^Various genres: nude, still life, narrative…Cited art history: break with and bring into the presentTitian’s Venus de Urbano, 1538Pose, drapery, compositionDog sleeping—crazy cat; cat (pussy) slang for genitals in FrenchAnswering to the genre of the nudeScandal: why?Challenge of expectationsContradictions/inconsistenciesIntersected with nude genre and exceeded itCategory no longer metaphorical or classicalBrought into the present senseBreaks space with vision- her gaze is real, no fictive; confrontationalIndustrial form of desire- prostitutionNot just a nude, a prostituteNot just looking- in middle of commercial transactionArt of the real, no fictiveHer pillow seems to rise into surface itself- space is hollowed out and shallowMovement in modernism to the surfaceFlowers are more paint strokes than an actual representationBow in hair: pink, less cloth than just paintNot a nude: she’s wearing a bow, necklace, bracelet, slippers- move toward us, about to be flicked off at any moment (illusion)Less illusionistic—materialistic; flatteningBody: breasts with no nipples, or shapeFlatness of the experience of modern prostitutionHer hair actually flows down, you can barely see itLanguage of opacity, difficulty (modernist condition)Contradiction: her hand is extenuated, covering genitals/crotch, awkward gestureIn Venus, it appears she’s pleasuring herselfDeeply modeled, shaped – illusion of 3D Excess- gives us a body in pieces Cabanel The Birth of Venus, 1863Eroticism, red fleshy hair, desire, curvy body for displayLanguage of myth/pastAcceptable nudeMale visual pleasureBouguereau Nymphs and Satyr, 1873Erotic, women dragging down the maleAubert Maximilian’s Shirt, June 1867Breakdown of history paintingPolitics of French nation; answer to great events of current societyPhotograph of emperor’s shirt after his execution1860 Mexico: debt to foreign powers in Europedebt taken over by Napoleon III; meddling in Mexico’s politicsRepublic with elected President – French holding onto imperialambitions in imperialismUS ambitions in imperialism—Civil War; so French knew US wouldn’t do anything; too busyFrench sent emperor for Mexico- MX rejects- massacre of French soldiers (Cinco de Mayo)Maximilian in MX and needed soldiers to enforce rule, but was abandoned, captured, and executedQuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.^^Manet The Execution of Maximilian, 1867^^Tries to paint the story of the executionDidn’t agree with France’s actionsJournalism- story kept changing; not all details were knownSketchy painting- no clearly defined formsTrying to create a composition of the moment of execution; a moment which could be extendedOpenness of formBaudelaire’s version of history painting- language of fugitive, contingentManet tries to paint this over and over again, differently as the event was changing before his eyesManet The Execution of Maximilian, 1867-68Damaged, cut and sold on art marketNow we see the 3rd generalSoldiers: like one multi-limbed body, no more sombreros, military outfits like the French- French caused his deathOne soldier behind: red hat, not black- noncommissioned, shot in head/heart after the firing squad’s attemptMoment of chaosOne general died, other and Maximilian did not; Maximilian was on fire, screaming- rifle reloaded and finally, it endsQuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.^^Goya The Third of May, 1808, 1814^^one side against the othermechanical idea of the event- chronologymodern deatharms thrown upQuickTime™ and a decompressorare needed to see this picture.Manet The Execution of Maximilian, 1868-69Final version of Manet’s execution paintingRelates to Goya’s paintingRight to left reading- contradiction of cause/effectShot already happened, but they haven’t yet been hitMore than one moment in this paintingAudience in painting: sleeping, kinda sad? No, we don’t know what they’re communicating Poussin The Israelites Gathering Manna 1637-39History painting- logicVisual leaned upon textual- painting to be read as we read books: left to rightThe language of modernism is the language of inconsistency.UncertaintyBreakdown of certainty of history paintingNothing is eternalThe world can be remade and