There is technically no precise definition of the term modern art thus its remains elastic accommodating different meanings. The rationale behind this assertion is that art and the world as a whole is in constant evolution which means what is considered or perceived as modern art today might not be considered as such in say fifty years’ time. The traditional definition of modern art, however, impresses that modern art refers to the produced in the period between 1870-1970. This modern era as perceived by traditional definition was followed by the renaissance inspired academic art which received favorable backing from the European academies of fine art. Notably, modern European art was not inspired by factors and aspects within Europe alone but by other non-European factors as well. during the 1900s for instance, European artists drew significant inspiration from the aesthetics of traditional African sculpture. Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse blended post-impressionist artistic works of Cezanne with authentic human figures in African sculptures (Shamir et.al, 2010). In a nutshell, non-European art was a source of powerful inspiration for European modernists. This paper will deliberate on the various ways in which European modernists drew inspiration from non-European art.
From the renaissance up to the mid of the nineteenth century, western at had been underpinned by the logic perspective. Further it was underpinned by the attempt to reproduce a visible reality illusion. Other than the European arts, the arts of culture had been very accessible and provide alternative approaches in the description of the artist’s visual experience. There has been frequent disagreement on who should be credited with being the father of modern art the two key artists being Manet and Paul Cezanne. However, in as far as impressionism is concerned there is no doubt that Claude Monet should be crowned the pioneer. Monet painted the first impression painting in 1874 which came to be known as the impression sunrise (Shamir et.al, 2010). Just to mention, the impressionist movement is said to have been inspired by this painting. Before gaining good grounding in artistry, Monet worked closely with Bazille who gave him vast exposure in art. In 1862, he worked with Burdin and Jongkind and later joined the studio of Gleyre in Paris. A key factor to take note of is that Monet’s works are bets classified based on the symbolist perspective. Essentially, the symbolist perspective encompasses works of art which instead of presenting an actual illustration of a particular place or item, they present images within which the actual place or item is disguised. A good example of an impressionist piece of art is Monet sunrise.
Source: (FineArtOne.com, 2018).
Notably, Monet’s impression sunrise illustrates the Le Havre located in northwestern France and is considered to be one of his most poetic impressions. Such an art has over the years been a source of inspiration for many artists and it is certain its influecen will last for years if not decades to come.
Impressionist art is part of modern art but it makes up such a significant contribution to modern art such that impressionist art defines modern art (Preziosi, 2009). The modernist movement debuted in 1912 having been founded by Ezra Pound. a new poetic style characterized this movement and it was blended with imagery, brevity and free verse. Notably, the modernist movement was more like a breakaway group from the conventional way of life at the time. Modernist stood opposed to traditional art, religious beliefs, traditional architecture, social organizations, and sciences as well. the rejection of these social norms was rejected on the premise that they could not fit in the prevailing new social, political and economic environment. In redesigning and redefining art, modernist in Europe drew inspiration from within the region and from other regions such as Asia and Africa. It is no doubt that most of the Impressionists’ art looks completely original. Nonetheless, some artists drew inspiration from Japanese form of art known as Japanese woodblock prints (Marks, 2012).
Japonism is a term that refers to the study of Japanese art and more so the influence that Japanese art had on European artists. The phenomenon of Japonism is incorporated in Art Nouveau and Post-Impressionism but it is mostly associated with artists like Edgar Degas and Claude Monet. the two artists particularly drew inspiration from the perspective, subject matter and the general composition for the Japanese woodblock prints. A good example of the Japanese woodblock prints that significantly inspired most European artists was the Ukiyo-e, ‘pictures of the floating world’ (Museums, 2006).
Source: (Mmam.org, 2014)
The term Japonism is said to have been coined by Philippe Burty, a French collector, and critic, shortly after Monet’s impression, Sunrise painting debuted in 1874. Today, the term refers to all forms of Japanese art but it is often used when referring to the woodblock prints that inspired Impressionism significantly (Brokerhof et.al, 2008). Besides Japan, European modernists sought inspiration from Africa as well. Ernst Ludwig, a German Expressionist, for instance, conflated African aesthetics with emotional intensity. His works entailed dissonant color tones and distortion of figures his intent being to depict the anxieties that characterized modern life. Another modernist who drew much inspiration from Africa was Paul Klee and the inspiration he drew from Africa was expressed in a transcendent symbolic imagery he developed. Notably, the works of Klee and Ludwig are best to analyze from a formalist perspective. This is so considering their key use of color, texture and lines in their works.
The modernist form of art has evolved over the years resulting in different forms of modernist works and a modernist family tree. The top of this family tree is the Impressionism and post-impressionism. The impressionist form of art was pioneered by Monet in 1874. Notably, this form of art dominated until the rise of the Fauvism group (Smith, 2002). This group was led by Henri Matisse and Andre Derain and they sought to challenge the values upheld by the Impressionists. Fauvism started off in the early 20th
century their works being characterized by simplicity, conspicuous color, and uncommon brush strokes. The fauvist style differed from the post-Impressionist style in the sense that fauvist used color in a less expressive manner as compared to post-Impressionist. Cubism and primitivism were other styles of art that made their debut in the 20th century (Galenson and Weinberg, 2001). cubism was cofounded by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Primitivism was a western form of art that had powerful inspiration to modern art and more so Cubism. The last form of art in the modernist family art is surrealism and Dada and they are the reason why some objects and works of art are referred to as sculpture. Some of these objects would not have been termed as such before the advent of surrealism.
In a nutshell, European modernist movement drew much inspiration from non-European Art. Basically, blending different forms of art was a key characteristic of modern art. Notably, the different styles of art are related in some way in the sense that one form of art attempts to make changes or improve on the previous style. The Dadaist style is probably one that can be considered to stand alone. It is because it was focused more on fighting the status quo such as capitalism and colonialism.
References
Brokerhof, A.W., Reuss, M., MacKinnon, F., Ligterink, F., Neevel, H., Fekrsanati, F. and Scott, G., 2008. Optimum access at minimum risk: the dilemma of displaying Japanese woodblock prints. Studies in Conservation, 53(sup1), pp.82-87.
FineArtOne.com, F. (2018). Impression Sunrise - Claude Monet Fine Art Reproduction. [online] FineArtOne.com. Available at: https://www.fineartone.com/shop/collections/most-famous-masterpieces/impression-sunrise/ [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].
Galenson, D.W., and Weinberg, B.A., 2001. Creating modern art: The changing careers of painters in France from impressionism to cubism. American Economic Review, 91(4), pp.1063-1071.
Marks, A., 2012. Japanese Woodblock Prints: Artists, Publishers, and Masterworks: 1680-1900. Tuttle Publishing.
Mmam.org, M. (2014). The Floating World. [online] Mmam.org. Available at: http://www.mmam.org/Visit/Current-Upcoming-Exhibitions/The-Floating-World [Accessed 2 Feb. 2018].
Museums, B., 2006. Japanese woodblock print.
Preziosi, D. ed., 2009. The art of art history: a critical anthology. Oxford History of Art.
Shamir, L., Macura, T., Orlov, N., Eckley, D.M. and Goldberg, I.G., 2010. Impressionism, expressionism, surrealism: Automated recognition of painters and schools of art. ACM Transactions on Applied Perception (TAP), 7(2), p.8.
Smith, A., 2002. Fauvism and Cultural Nationalism. Interventions, 4(1), pp.35-52
