Spanish Impresionism
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| Sorolla. Chicos en la playa 1909 |
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The last painting that goya completed during his life was the Milkmaid of Budeos. He was in his eighties, and the portrait also reveals the most mature facet of the artist. It maintains the vitality of his first rococo paintings, but the lines' short brush strokes and expressivity bring this painting to the next era. This portrait was believed to be the precursor of the impressionists, who saw a starting point for their movement. It is not considered like such, but I wanted to discuss what the Spanish impressionist were working with when they started. Sorolla was not born until four decades after the milkmaid was painted. However, he made his way into the art scene little by little and got a fabulous reputation after a trip to the states; many of his paintings are in American museums, and a significant portion of them are kept in his house, which is now a museum.
He approached the new century with optimism and energy. On the Naked Boys at the Beach, we can observe; or I should say; not observe, the line of the horizon. It represents a very close-up scene where the sky is not even present, a composition very unusual to what the Spanish paintings used to reproduce. Photography played a significant role in his paintings since he used them as references and a base to decide the frame for the scene. This is why we get such a dynamic angle; it looks like somebody took a snippet of the kids playing, putting little effort into getting a perfectly composed scene- just to capture an ephemeral memory.
Goya did something similar to taking a picture too. The milkmaid is not posing gracefully like the royals or pretends to be an aristocrat dressed up as a commoner for fun. She might not know she was being portrayed, since she's so absorb with her thoughts. Her expression hitns a little spark of happines, maybe she remembered a good memory. Goya was a genious when it came to represent the personality of his models, and the milkmaid is not an exception.
Sorolla had it more manageable with photography, but he was also interested in capturing the movement of the waves (much like other impressionists where fascinate by steam). Light plays a significant role here: it reflects on their bodies, the sea, and the shadows cast by the kids on the water and themselves. No black is found on the canvas; a beautufull arranged of pastel colors takes the job instead.
Since impressionism was still too much for the liking of the Spanish taste, he chose to represent the human figures as vividly and realistic as he could withing his style limits. However, real expressionism is found on his studies of the water. The Kids on the beach is one of the best examples. If one looks close to it, you can see that the water seems more like oil, and that it creates an amazing ilusion of movement even tough he did not represent eny kind of wave or foam.
These loose and straightforward brush strokes are similar to the ones we find on th Milkmaid. The late ones are smaller and have a couple more tones, but the illusion of detail that is not really there still pervails. Her shal seems to be vaporeous, like if the wind blowed it would flow along with it. My favourite part is how the ligh lands softle on the back of her head. The atmostfera around her more pesimistic than in Sorolla's sceenes, and it seems amazing to me how life and society can change as quickly as it did in less than the eighty years that separated this paintings.
Art Nouveau jewelry
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| Masrierra, Femenine figure, Arround 1901-1913 |
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Lalique, Dragonfly woman 1896 |
The dragonfly woman made by Lalique represents a female bust whose arms have transformed into beautiful wings. We can see two claws that remind me of dragons. The illusion of the Dragonfly is pushed by the clever headpiece that the woman wears that mimics the eyes of the bug. On the other brooch, we have a nymph, represented by Masrierra, surrounded by nature and what I believe are grapes. All the lines on these pieces are very curved, especially on the Dragonfly wings and the vine behind the nymph. Something very characteristic of Art nouveau.
Another characteristic that they share is their colors. Gold predominates in the Nymph, while it is the base metal of the dragonfly. Golden was very used in Art nouveau architecture and posters. It has a warm and welcoming feel to it. In this case, the gold elevates the jewelry, but it does not eclipse the beauty of the brooches; more like an elegant companion of their fluid shape. Another material heavily used in the art nouveau was glass. We can see how Gaudiy loved to cover its building with beautiful mosaics, and the jewelers are not short of enamel either. It wasn't the only new material introduced to high jewelry; ivory, semi-precious stones, and mosaics were also introduced in this era. Much like on the prevoius painting, The light is part of the protagonist cast as it shines and creates colorfull shadows when it reflects the enamels.
Both of the pieces represent a romanticization of mythology and classical motives. The Womans are depicted naked, something reserved for deities and myths. Lalique was inspired by Japanese art and prints, and with the renovated interest in archeology, ancient styles were revived from past civilizations. We can find lots of oriental and Egyptian themes in this era. Masierra opted for something more local; his nymphs seem to be working with some vids. It makes sense since Catalonia has a decent amount of wineries and wine culture as a Mediterranean region. It is possible that the nymph represented would have been part of Bacco's muses.
References:
“Fermall Amb Figura Femenina.” Museu Nacional D'Art De Catalunya, 30 Mar. 2023, https://www.museunacional.cat/ca/colleccio/fermall-amb-figura-femenina/llus-masriera/254658-000.
“La Lechera De Burdeos - Colección.” Colección - Museo Nacional Del Prado, https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/la-lechera-de-burdeos/b531f836-85c4-4cf3-b76a-70f3106d9e41.
Goya, Francisco de. “La Lechera De Burdeos - Francisco De Goya.” HA!, 29 Nov. 2020, https://historia-arte.com/obras/la-lechera-de-burdeos.
https://www.museodelprado.es/coleccion/obra-de-arte/chicos-en-la-playa/edd7a202-c069-49f1-a3f4-eacf9b4022c2
“Masriera Heritage: Jewels Made Art - Art Nouveau Jewelry.” Masriera, 18 July 2022, http://www.masriera.com/es/masriera-heritage/.
“Musee Lalique.” Musée Lalique, https://www.musee-lalique.com/en.
Marina,
ReplyDeleteUnlike Sorolla, I would prefer the impressionist style compared to the non-impressionist style, since the impressionist style didn't put too much emphasis on the detail of the work. Whereas, the post-impressionist were more concerned color and detail in their artwork. The post-impressionist intended to use color and shape to attract to the viewer's mind on what they were trying to accomplish. Unlike the post-impressionists, the impressionists approach to work was much more relaxed, was centered around the present, and focused on pleasant aspects of life. The impressionist works of art help open people's minds to all sorts of observations and imagination in examining and cherish the beauty behind this style of art.
Abdurahman
Hi Marina, I really enjoyed reading your post! What I found most interesting was your decision to use jewelry to showcase the Nouveau style. The jewelry you selected along with your discussion truly highlighted the artistic elements of that style. Out of the four artworks you chose, Dragonfly Woman was my favorite. The delicateness and placement on the wings is just beautiful! Thank you for sharing!
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