Part VII the new times

THE PRE-MODERN ERA

Historical Background

Welcome to “History through Art”. The Pre-Modern Era that we’ll be looking at today began about 1865 and was a period of sweeping change. Today, we are used to rapid changes in technology and life-style. For instance, very few of you will live your whole life in the same town in which you were born, but that would have been the exception in the second half of the 19th century when change was still rare and considered threatening.

The impetus for change during the Pre-Modern Era came from the Industrial Revolution that began back in the middle 1700s and was in full swing throughout both Western Europe and the United States by the 1850s. In the United States, for instance, the iron and steel industry was growing by leaps and bounds, making men like Andrew Carnegie multi-millionaires. As the population of the steel-producing cities grew, the necessity of providing more housing and work space brought about a new architectural invention made possible by steel – the sky­scraper. It was first seen in Chicago, Buffalo, and New York City. This was the beginning of a trend in which art and technology combine to re-form the world as we know it.

Changes brought on by the Industrial Revolution were not all positive in either the United Stales or Europe. Slums, poverty, and human degradation were widespread. Realist painters of the Pre-Modem Era portrayed everyday people facing the hardships of daily life in both urban and rural settings. Realism also found its way into literature. In Oliver Twist, author Charles Dickens exposed the dehumanizing side effects of technology in the workhouses of Industrial England during the Pre-Modern era.

Social scientist Charles Darwin and political theorist and father of commu­nism Karl Marx predicted differing results from all these changes. Darwin believed that the fittest – that is the successful upper classes – would survive and flourish, while Marx foretold of the fall of the upper class when the working class would revolt against their oppressors. Neither prediction proved correct, possibly because of developments in the political arena.

The growing concept of “nationhood” inspired Great Britain to grab territory for its empire in India, Africa, and the Middle East. Many ethnic groups set aside their differences in favour of nationalist movements. These movements began to bear fruit when Italy was unified under Victor Emmanuel in 1861 and Germany united under Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1871. By the end of the century – the fin de siecle – the seeds for worldwide political competition had been planted and eventually these conflicts grew into the First World War.

Change also influenced members of the art community. The Realism movement, with its stark depiction of life, could not rival the newly invented camera for true reality. Thus, a new group of artists decided to make a fundamen­tal change in art – to stop trying to depict things as they really are. Instead, they began to examine and express the change in perception brought on by air and light over short periods of time. These painters, known as Impressionists, created their works quickly so as to capture their impression of the moment. Impressionists, such as Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir, and Mary Cassatt, created a rich legacy.

A smaller group of artists followed the Impressionists. Instead of illustrat­ing change, they tried to escape it altogether. These artists focused on the inner self, rather than on the bleak cityscape or the world outside. These Post-Impressionists, as they are called, include Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin. As you can see from this painting by Gauguin, they too left a beautiful legacy of color and shape for us to explore. Studying the Realists, the Impressionists, and Post-Impres­sionists gives us a preview of 20th-century art. It will not only expose us to some of the world’s finest art but will also help us to understand the different ways that people cope with and react to change.