French Masters from the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, November 5-23, 1948
Scope and Contents
An exhibition of artworks by the greatest French artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. No materials remain for this exhibition.
Dates
- Creation: November 5-23, 1948
Conditions Governing Access
At this time, the exhibition records are unavailable to the public and will only be made available to FAMSF staff upon request.
Biographical / Historical
The 19th century was to be a turning point for French art, and for art around the world, especially during the latter part of the century. From the emergence of Delacroix in the early 19th century to the surrealists 100 years later, France was to dominate the art scene. The established art school in France at the beginning of the 19th century was represented by Jacques-Louis David and Jean Ingres and had two main characteristics: great attention to fine detail and exact shading in the art produced and focus on painting 'proper' subjects, such as portraits of the great and good, ruined buildings in idyllic settings, etc. The focus of the middle of the 19th century was in questioning whether this was the correct approach to painting. As it turned out neither of these characteristics would bear close scrutiny, or stand the test of time. Ferdinand Delacroix and Theodore Gericault, leaders of the romantic art movement in France, were among the first to question the priorities of the art being painted at that time, and adopted a style that was more interested in catching the spirit of the subject rather than every fine detail, and more interested in painting 'real' subjects than classical ruins and subjects. The second characteristic–what should or should not be painted–was challenged by Jean Francois Millet, who painted peasants working in the fields rather than nobles sitting by a window. These trends continued with Gustave Courbet, who was adamant that he would paint what he wanted, in the way he wanted. This period of art was a very important step forward. Painting could now represent the spirit of an occasion or event, rather than simply being a 'photographic record', although it was to take a long time for traditional admirers of art to appreciate the leap in progress that had been made.
The next stage in the development of art was to fall to one of Courbet's 'disciples', Edouard Manet, and his colleagues developing Impressionism which came to dominate the art scene in time.
Source: https://www.francethisway.com/culture/nineteenth-century-art-france.php
Extent
0 Linear Feet (No materials remain for this exhibition.)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
An exhibition of artworks by the greatest French artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. No materials remain for this exhibition.
Cultural context
Geographic
Style / Period
Temporal
Repository Details
Part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Archives Repository
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Dr
San Francisco California 94118 USA