DOCSLIB.ORG

A Contemporary View of Paul Klee As an Artist-Teacher. PUB DATE Apr 76 NOTE 323P.; Ph.D

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Contemporary View of Paul Klee As an Artist-Teacher. PUB DATE Apr 76 NOTE 323P.; Ph.D DOCUMENT RESUME ED 142 479. SO 010 181 AUTHOR Malcolm, Dorothea C. TITLE A Contemporary View of Paul Klee as an Artist-Teacher. PUB DATE Apr 76 NOTE 323p.; Ph.D. Dissertation, Walden.University EDRS PRICE MF-$0.83'HC-$16.73 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Art; Art Appreciation; *Artists; Creativity; Doctoral Theses; *Educational Philosophy; *Educational Theories; Elementary Secondary Education; Humanities; Modernism; Painting; Philosophy; Post_Secondary Education; Teaching; *Teaching Techniques IDENTIFIERS *Klee (Paul) ABSTRACT The thesis explores the development of Paul Klee, a German artist, in terms of his educational and artisticphilosophies. The research was limited to his teaching years at the Bauhaus and the Dusseldorf Academy, 1921 through 1933. Kleels own writings served as primary sources, and other sources included his son, a close friend, and Bauhaus contemporaries.:Most of Kleels own writings were amassed on a class-to-class basis. They are a mixtureof theories, instructions, philosophies, and exercises. He explored ideas on student achievement, the art piocess, artistic creation, and form. The thesis contains seven chapters. Included are a short biography; a review of Klee's art training and artistic development; settings in which he taught at the Bauhaus and the Dusseldorf Academy; his role in those schools and the type of teacher he was; his beliefs as expounded in his writings and expanded with comments byrecognized representatives of other disciplines; his written theories; the manner in which he presented his theories; and his concernfor the development of total vision in his students. (Author/AV) *********************************************************************** Documents acquired by ERIC include many informal unpublished * materials not available from other sources. ERIC makes everyeffort * * to obtain the best copy available. Nevertheless,items of marginal * * reproducibility are often encountered andthis affects the quality * * of the microfiche and hardcopy reproductions ERIC makesavailable * * via the XRIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRSis not * * responsible for the quality of the original document.Reproductions * * supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from theoriginal. *********************************************************************** AUG 8 1977 U S DEPARTMENTOF HEALTH. EDUCATION & WELFARE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRO- DUCE() EXACTLY AS RECEIVE() FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGIN- AT1NG IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED 00 NOT NECESSARILY REPRE- SENT OFFICIAL NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY A CONTEMPORARY VIEW OF PAUL KLEE AS AN ARTIST7TEACHER 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS GORY. RIGHTED MATERIAL HAS RUH GRANTED BY By avOort.4e6._ e tialaclA TO ERIC AND ORGANIZATIONS OpERATINE HP UNDER AGREEMENTS WITH THE NATIONAL IN. STRUTE OF EDUCATION FURTHER REPRO. .DuCTION OUTSIDE THE 'ERIC SYSTEM RE Dorothea C. Malcolm QUIRES PERMISSION OFTHE COPYRIGHI OWNER B.A. William Paterson College, 1963 M.A. Colambia University, 1964 Professional Diploma, Columbia University, 1969 Dr. Sarita R. Rainey, Ed.D., Advisor Art Supervisor, West Hartford Schools West Hartford, Connecticut A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of The Requirements for the Degree of Doctor cf Philosophy 'ez WALDEN UNIVERSITY Copyright &1977 April, 1976 DOROTHEA C.IJALCOLL: ALL RI3HT3RESERVED 66..crk,4611 Paul Klee (1879-1940) achieved international fame as the originator of whimsical and delightful hieroglyphs. Be- hind their creation was an artist possessed with deep insignt into many aspects of being, and the scope of his thinking em- braced the entire universe. He was a philosopher, poet, musician, student of nature and teacher. Klee was an artist-teacher at the Bauhaus and the Dusseldorf Academy. He viewed art education as a difficult undertaking; nevertheless, he was eager to share with others what he believed and what he had discovered. His desire was to reveal and illustrate the life-giving elements in artistic creation and to clarify the laws of art in simple terms. Only now is the world becoming cognizant of Klee as a man of learning endowed with the rare gift of precise conceptualiza- tions and formulations, because his writings have been recently published. These eloquent notes are gradually being recognized for their intrinsic worth, but very few people are aware of Klee's teaching role and the breadth and depth of h,.s pedagogy. This research study revealed that during his forma- tive years, Klee's experiences, coupled wits intrcspection and buoyed by determination, formed the bedrock of his philosophies and theories. His comprehensive writings em- braced ideas on student achievements, the art process, artistic :3 creation and form. There was harmony among these areas and they formed an organic whole operable on many levels. The timelessness and lucidity of his teachings became more appar- ent when his writings were carefully organized in this study. Klee's philosophies and theories impart fresh in- sights into the process and creation of works of art. This research was undertaken to clarify Klee's position as an artist-teacher during the early years of this century, and to enable contemporary society to become more consciously aware of his contributions to art and art education. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Paul Klee: the.Artist-Teacher Klee was a Prolific Writer Klee's Notes Klee's Teachings Klee Viewed His Teachings Reasons for the Research Limitations of the Research Method and Extent of Researth Synopsis of the Research Biography (1879 - 1940) Family Background Creativity in Childhood Adolescent Art Academic Art Training Marriage The Munich Period Recognition Bauhaus and Dusseldorf Academy Switzerland Illnes6 , Paul Klee - Vignette Summary 2 PAUL KLEE AS THE ARTIST 23 Art Background (1898 - 1902) Knirr's Art School - Munich Art Academy - Munich Artistic Milieu in Munich Klee's Self-analysis Italy (1901 - 1902) Klee's Italian Observations Artistic Development (1902 - 1906) Klee's Goals Klee's Etchings Klee's Sous-Verres Parallels Between Art and Music Color Anatomy Studies Nature Studies Beardsley, Blake, Goya Prints Paris (1905) Rodin, Monet, Degas, Renoir- Basel German Art - Berlin Marriage ii Chapter 2 PAUL KLEE AS THE ARTIST (continued) The Munich Per-7:, (1906 - 1921) Residence anfamily Life Efforts to Gain Recognition ChaTt 1: Periodicals-Publishers (1906-1920) Chart 2: Exhibitions (1906-1920) Chart 3: Teaching (1907-1920) Artistic Contacts in Munich Chart 4: Groups Wassily Kandinsky The Blue Rider Paris Revisited (1912) The Long Search Will and Discipline Naturalism Genesis Compositional Anatomy Child Art Line Tonality Color Journey to Tunisia War Success Paul Klee's Style Influences on Klee's Art "Everything shall be KleeII Artistic Influences Seven Categories of Klee's Art Angels in Kleb's Art Grohmann's Divisions of Klee's Art Paul Klee's Writings Stuttgart Academy Bauhaus Appointment Schwabing Summary 3 PAUL KLEE AS THE TEACHER 92 Klee's Views on Education Influences on Klee's Teaching The Bauhaus (1919 -.1933) The Bauhaus At Weimar (1919 - 1925) At Dessau (1925 - 1932) t Steglitz (1932 - 1933) "Staatliches Bauhaus": a State School of Building Purpose of the Bauhaus Orklehre; Vorkurs Werklehre iii 6 Chapter 3 PAUL KLEE AS THE TEACHER (continued) Formlehre Degrees Earned Instructor Titles Students Gropius's Ultimate Goal Restraints on Bauhaus Architects at the Bauhaus . Role of Artists at the Bauhaus Theory Courses Vorkurs Klee and Kandinsky Conservative and Modern Pedagogy Masters "Young Masters" Klee at the BauhauS (1921 - 1930) Assignments Lectures Preparation for the Lectures Work Habits Klee's Retiring Nature Klee's Image at the Bauhaus Klee at the Dusseldorf Academy (1930 - 1933) Application; Reasons for Leaving the Bauhaus Assignments Atmosphere at Dusseldorf Political Dismissal Klee Leaves Germany Political Harrassment His Art Declared "Derrenera+.e" Moves to Bern, Switzerland (1933) Summary 4 PAUL KLEE'S PHILOSOPHIES 114 Klee's Readings Music in Klee's Life Klee's Philosophy of Art Kleels.Philosophy of Intuition Beardsley Croce and Bergson Jung Langer Becoming Intuitive Klee's Philosophy of Symbolism Creative Consciousness Four Basic Modes of Awareness Diagram #4-1: Compass Points of Consciousness 17 Chlter PAUL KLEE'S PHILOSOPHIES (continued) Klee's Philosophy of Artistic Production Excerpts from °Ways of Nature Study" Diagram #4-2: Outward Sight and Inward Vision Klee's Philosophy of the Universe A Spatial Body in Space Diagram #4-3: A Spatial Body in Space The Secret Key Klee's Philosophy of Mankind Klee's Philosophy of Teaching Summary 5 PAUL KLEE'S THEORIES . 155 Sources of Klee's Theories Synthesis of Klee's Categories Klee's Basic Precepts are Interwoven Fields of Inquiry Procreative Mobility Genesis Change is Inevitable Man and Creativity Paired Concepts and Polar Opposites Lightness and Darkness Tonal Scales Diagram #5-1 White, Grey and Black The Symbolic Grey Point The Point Contains Energy Space Centrifugal and Centripetal Movement -Active - Medial - Passive Individual and Dividual Diagram #5-2 Individual and Dividual in Pictorial Representation Motor Structure in Man and Animal Cyclical Movement - the WaterCycle Cyclical Movement - Blood Circulation Rhythm The 'I' Concept Human Orientation in Space The Mirror Image and Pictorial Space Orientation Summary The Pendulum The Circle The Spiral The Arrow The Scales The Tightrope Walker Statics Chapter 5 PAUL KLEE'S THEORIES (continued) The
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Planning Curriculum in Art and Design
    Planning Curriculum in Art and Design Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Planning Curriculum in Art and Design Melvin F. Pontious (retired) Fine Arts Consultant Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Tony Evers, PhD, State Superintendent Madison, Wisconsin This publication is available from: Content and Learning Team Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction 125 South Webster Street Madison, WI 53703 608/261-7494 cal.dpi.wi.gov/files/cal/pdf/art.design.guide.pdf © December 2013 Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, creed, age, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, marital status or parental status, sexual orientation, or disability. Foreword Art and design education are part of a comprehensive Pre-K-12 education for all students. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction continues its efforts to support the skill and knowledge development for our students across the state in all content areas. This guide is meant to support this work as well as foster additional reflection on the instructional framework that will most effectively support students’ learning in art and design through creative practices. This document represents a new direction for art education, identifying a more in-depth review of art and design education. The most substantial change involves the definition of art and design education as the study of visual thinking – including design, visual communications, visual culture, and fine/studio art. The guide provides local, statewide, and national examples in each of these areas to the reader. The overall framework offered suggests practice beyond traditional modes and instead promotes a more constructivist approach to learning.
    [Show full text]
  • The American Abstract Artists and Their Appropriation of Prehistoric Rock Pictures in 1937
    “First Surrealists Were Cavemen”: The American Abstract Artists and Their Appropriation of Prehistoric Rock Pictures in 1937 Elke Seibert How electrifying it must be to discover a world of new, hitherto unseen pictures! Schol- ars and artists have described their awe at encountering the extraordinary paintings of Altamira and Lascaux in rich prose, instilling in us the desire to hunt for other such discoveries.1 But how does art affect art and how does one work of art influence another? In the following, I will argue for a causal relationship between the 1937 exhibition Prehis- toric Rock Pictures in Europe and Africa shown at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the new artistic directions evident in the work of certain New York artists immediately thereafter.2 The title for one review of this exhibition, “First Surrealists Were Cavemen,” expressed the unsettling, alien, mysterious, and provocative quality of these prehistoric paintings waiting to be discovered by American audiences (fig. ).1 3 The title moreover illustrates the extent to which American art criticism continued to misunderstand sur- realist artists and used the term surrealism in a pejorative manner. This essay traces how the group known as the American Abstract Artists (AAA) appropriated prehistoric paintings in the late 1930s. The term employed in the discourse on archaic artists and artistic concepts prior to 1937 was primitivism, a term due not least to John Graham’s System and Dialectics of Art as well as his influential essay “Primitive Art and Picasso,” both published in 1937.4 Within this discourse the art of the Ice Age was conspicuous not only on account of the previously unimagined timespan it traversed but also because of the magical discovery of incipient human creativity.
    [Show full text]
  • The State of Art Criticism
    Page 1 The State of Art Criticism Art criticism is spurned by universities, but widely produced and read. It is seldom theorized, and its history has hardly been investigated. The State of Art Criticism presents an international conversation among art historians and critics that considers the relation between criticism and art history, and poses the question of whether criticism may become a university subject. Participants include Dave Hickey, James Panero, Stephen Melville, Lynne Cook, Michael Newman, Whitney Davis, Irit Rogoff, Guy Brett, and Boris Groys. James Elkins is E.C. Chadbourne Chair in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His many books include Pictures and Tears, How to Use Your Eyes, and What Painting Is, all published by Routledge. Michael Newman teaches in the Department of Art History, Theory, and Criticism at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and is Professor of Art Writing at Goldsmiths College in the University of London. His publications include the books Richard Prince: Untitled (couple) and Jeff Wall, and he is co-editor with Jon Bird of Rewriting Conceptual Art. 08:52:27:10:07 Page 1 Page 2 The Art Seminar Volume 1 Art History versus Aesthetics Volume 2 Photography Theory Volume 3 Is Art History Global? Volume 4 The State of Art Criticism Volume 5 The Renaissance Volume 6 Landscape Theory Volume 7 Re-Enchantment Sponsored by the University College Cork, Ireland; the Burren College of Art, Ballyvaughan, Ireland; and the School of the Art Institute, Chicago. 08:52:27:10:07 Page 2 Page 3 The State of Art Criticism EDITED BY JAMES ELKINS AND MICHAEL NEWMAN 08:52:27:10:07 Page 3 Page 4 First published 2008 by Routledge 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016 Simultaneously published in the UK by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
    [Show full text]
  • Art Appreciation Art Criticism
    Art Criticism Well……..? That’s why Critical Thinking matters…..in its broadest sense it can be described as purposeful reflective judgment concerning what to believe or what to do. I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like. And I really don’t need a class to help me with this... Taste Taste Taste as an aesthetic, sociological, economic and anthropological concept refers to cultural patterns of choice and preference regarding aesthetic judgments. What determines aesthetic judgments? Is it really just a function of our biases? And why should we even care about things we don’t like ? Well, for one…..because art exists for more than one subgroup or individual…. Art is part of our Public (shared) Experience ART is reflective of the HUMAN EXPERIENCE…good and bad. Edvard Munch, “The Scream” 1893, National Gallery, Oslo Norway. ART is not just for interior design and we are not just “CONSUMERS”! …..and this is why Museums and Galleries are so important. ITS GOOD TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE and AWAY FROM THE MARKETERS!!! AND REMEMBER What are our VALUES • Personal Values • Political Values • Cultural Values • Sub-Cultural Values • Class Values • National Values • Religious Values • Spiritual Values ART IS POWERFUL The reason art can please, is also because it can displease….. ART IS POWERFUL …. it can alternately challenge or reinforce the value system of any given culture. It is one of many place where a peoples discovers who they wish to be…. ART and BEAUTY Art can be beautiful. But what is Beauty? Who gets to decide? ART and BEAUTY Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable! It has MANY purposes.
    [Show full text]
  • Using Art Criticism to Engage Students in Writing
    Using Art Criticism to Engage Students in Writing Allen Trent and Pete Moran University of Wyoming Abstract: This article describes using art criticism, a process the authors define as “viewing, thinking, talking, and writing about art,” to engage students in writing. The authors provide theoretical support for art criticism in education, describe the process, and share ways it can be used to address Common Core writing and other content area standards. They also share a sample art criticism lesson taught to fourth graders and include a summary of student learning data documenting student engagement and learning aligned with targeted standards. The article ends with suggestions for using art criticism, finding and using accessible art criticism resources, and integrating art criticism writing with other content areas. “I know what it is. Art criticism is writin’ bad stuff about people’s art!” This response was from a fourth grader, but we have heard similar responses from many students and teachers over the years. While logical, especially considering the common meaning of “criticism,” it is a misconception. Barrett, an art criticism theorist who has devoted his career to translating the process into educational contexts, explains that art criticism is a generally positive endeavor. Critics write about art “because they love it and see it as a valuable phenomenon in the world… Critics do not always agree with the art that is made, but they enjoy thinking about it” (Barrett, 2000, p. 2). Art criticism is the process of viewing, thinking, talking, and writing about art, and as teachers, we have found using the process to be a positive, effective way to engage students in meaningful conversations and writing.
    [Show full text]
  • The Nature and Importance of Art Criticism and Its Educational Applications for K-12 Teachers
    University of Central Florida STARS HIM 1990-2015 2015 The Nature and Importance of Art Criticism and Its Educational Applications for k-12 Teachers Tia Blackmon University of Central Florida, [email protected] Part of the Art Education Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015 University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in HIM 1990-2015 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Recommended Citation Blackmon, Tia, "The Nature and Importance of Art Criticism and Its Educational Applications for k-12 Teachers" (2015). HIM 1990-2015. 1856. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/honorstheses1990-2015/1856 THE NATURE OF AND IMPORTANCE OF ART CRITICISM AND ITS EDUCATIONAL APPLICATIONS FOR K-12 TEACHERS by TIA BLACKMON A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Honors in the Major Program in Art Education in the College of Education and Human Performance and in The Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Fall Term 2015 Thesis Chair: Dr. Thomas Brewer Abstract This thesis will critically examine the importance, purpose, methods, and applications of art criticism. Initial background information on types of critical judgment will lay the foundation to understanding the different methods of art criticism. While the articles and journals read on criticism vary in style and method they all have the goal to become a basic framework for examining the form and content of works of art.
    [Show full text]
  • A Disruptive Model for Postmodern Art Education
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by Iowa Research Online Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education pps. 68-77 Volume 14 DOI: 10.17077/2326-7070.1312 Text, Discourse, Deconstruction and an Exploration of Self: A Disruptive Model for Postmodern Art Education Jane Gooding-Brown Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.uiowa.edu/mzwp Part of the Art Education Commons Copyright © 1997 Working Papers in Art Education. Recommended Citation Gooding-Brown, Jane. "Text, Discourse, Deconstruction and an Exploration of Self: A Disruptive Model for Postmodern Art Education." Marilyn Zurmuehlin Working Papers in Art Education 14 (1997): 68-77. Hosted by Iowa Research Online This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Iowa Research Online. It has been accepted for inclusion in Marilyn Zurmuehlen Working Papers in Art Education by an authorized administrator of Iowa Research Online. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gooding-Brown: Text, Discourse, Deconstruction and an Exploration of Self Text, Discourse, Deconstruction and an Exploration of Self: A Disruptive Model for Postmodern Art Education Jane Gooding-Brown Background to the Study There is a need to reposition visual arts education away from the modernist approaches which have dominated this discipline for more than 50 years and move it into the particular postmodern way of thinking which is characterizing much of the cultural life of the late 20th century. In recent developments in American art education there has been the recognition of the necessary inclusion and intermeshing of the disciplines of art history, art criticism and aesthetics with studio practice.
    [Show full text]
  • An Artistic Approach to Geometric Transformations
    ArtsECO Fellows Joelle Worm, ArtsECO Director UWM Lesson Plan Template (adapted from PSOA Art Education Area) Name: Olivia Peterson Email: [email protected] Lesson Title: Transformations within Composition: An Artistic Application to Geometric Transformations Level/Grade/Age: 8th grade Geometry BIG IDEA (Describe how the big idea is important to this age group in relation to student assets and the content area): In this lesson on geometric transformations, students will be use the four basic types of transformations and their correspondence to shapes on the coordinate plane to create a work of art utilizing each of the different transformations. Prior to the project students will be presented with various examples of how this geometric concept is incorporated into art, especially in relation to the idea of repetition and perspective in artwork. Instructors will inquire and explore what each kinds of transformation may be used for in contemporary artwork. Upon completion students will have proficient comprehension and execution of geometric transformations in the plane, created a work of art representing these ideas in art, and produced a written description of their artwork including how they utilized the different transformations in their artwork. In addition, students will be asked to find a work of art and describe how it utilizes the different geometric translations in a short-written observation. OBJECTIVES AND NATIONAL STANDARDS: http://www.nationalartsstandards.org/ Art Creating Anchor Standard 2: Organize and develop artistic ideas and work. Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches How do artists and designers learn from trial and error? - VA:Cr2.1.8a Demonstrate willingness to experiment, innovate, and take risks to pursue ideas, forms, and meanings that emerge in the process of art- making or designing.
    [Show full text]
  • The Tao of Postmodernism: Computer Art, Scientific Visualization and Other Paradoxes Author(S): Donna J
    The Tao of Postmodernism: Computer Art, Scientific Visualization and Other Paradoxes Author(s): Donna J. Cox Source: Leonardo. Supplemental Issue, Vol. 2, Computer Art in Context: SIGGRAPH '89 Art Show Catalog (1989), pp. 7-12 Published by: The MIT Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1557936 Accessed: 05/04/2010 22:26 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=mitpress. Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. The MIT Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Leonardo. Supplemental Issue. http://www.jstor.org The Tao of Postmodernism: Computer Art, Scientific ABSTRACT The authorsuggests that a [1] paradigmshift must occur in art Visualization and Other Paradoxes criticismto assimilatethe nonlinear branchingof aesthetic activities in ourera.
    [Show full text]
  • Art Criticism and Avant-Garde: André Lhote's Written Works Jean-Roch
    Art Criticism and Avant-Garde: André Lhote’s Written Works Jean-Roch Bouiller André Lhote (1885-1962) was an important figure in the art world of the 20th century. He contributed to cubism and the “rappel à l’ordre” movement. During his whole career, he was known for his work as a painter, as a writer and as a teacher. This triple identity led him to mingle classical artistic references with modern revival style. Above all, he occupied a central place in the debate on art literature. Indeed, he was one of the most important contributors to La Nouvelle Revue Française (La NRF) between 1919 and 1942. The problem of the “avant-garde” in his work is interesting for an art historian. This is perceptible between 1910 and 1962 in his strategy as an artist and writer, in his critical comments on the artistic field and in the question of his position within or outside the avant-garde movement. Lhote’s Strategy The period from the end of the 19th through the beginning of the 20th century is a privileged period to observe the transformation of the artistic field. The development of avant-garde, the establishment of the “dealers-critics” system (Harrison and White: 1993), and the re- vival of art criticism result in many innovations and confrontations between different representations of art (Gamboni 1992: 49-54). One of these transformations results in the opposition between “strategies of the order” and “strategies of the rupture” throughout the first half of the 20th century (Bouillon 1996: 19-37). Another main transformation is the development of artists’ written works, after several years of conflict between artists and critics at the end of the 19th century (Gam- boni 1989a : 208 and Gamboni 1989b: 11; 231-236).
    [Show full text]
  • A History of Art Criticism
    1 ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ A History of Art Criticism It is conventional to explain the origins of criticism as following the establishment of regular art exhibitions by the Académie in the Louvre in 1737. Yet the various ingredients that came together to form Salon criticism pre-existed the instigation of annual exhibitions. —RICHARD WRIGLEY, IN THE ORIGINS OF FRENCH ART CRITICISM, 1993 In his immortal Salons, Diderot . founded the criticism of painting. 1 —THÉOPHILE GAUTIER, 1854 THE BIRTH OF A GENRE Defined broadly, art criticism clearly has a lengthy history. Men and women have been talking and writing about buildings, sculptures, and paintings with discernment—and so practicing art criticism, in one sense of the word— for thousands of years. As early as the first century BCE, for instance, the ancient Greek geographer Strabo pondered the effect of an ancient temple of Artemis that, “insofar as the size of the temple and the number of votives is concerned, falls short of the one in Ephesus; but, in its well-designed appearance and in the artistry visible in the fitting out of its sacred enclosure, is much superior.”2 And in the fifth century CE, a Byzantine scholar named Procopius recorded his reaction to the vast dome of Constantinople’s Hagia Sofia. “From the lightness of the building,” he argued, “it does not appear to rest upon a solid foundation, but to cover the place beneath as though it were suspended from heaven by the fabled golden chain.”3 1Quoted in Snell, Théophile Gautier, 206. 2Pollitt, The Ancient View of Greek Art, 171. 3Quoted in Lethaby and Swainson, The Church of Sancta Sophia Constantinople, 26.
    [Show full text]
  • Art Criticism Art Criticism Is an Organized System for Looking at And
    Art Criticism Art Criticism is an organized system for looking at and talking about art. Art Critic is a person whose job is to study, understand, and judge works of art. When studying a work of art, a critic can use the sequential four-step process of description, analysis, interpretation, and judgement. Steps and examples 1. Description - “What do I see?” How many figures are there? What are they doing? Describe the setting. What type of building is this? Look for details in the painting. Describe the people and their postures. 2. Analysis – “How is the work organized?” Identify and describe the elements of art, including dominant colors and shapes. Where do you find pattern, rhythm, variety, harmony, or emphasis? How is balance used to organize the composition? 3. Interpretation – “What moods, feelings, or ideas are expressed by this work? What does this artwork say to me?” What is the mood or feeling of this painting? What is the artist trying to say? Identify and describe how the elements and principles of art are used to communicate feeling, ideas, or meanings. 4. Judgement – “Is this work of art successful?” Is the subject painted realistically? Is the artwork well organized? Does the artwork effectively express an idea, feeling, or emotion? Directions: Look at the painting and answer the questions on the following 2 pages. If you cannot print the worksheet, write your answers on a separate sheet of paper: Art Critic’s Sheet Name: ___________________________ The work I am critiquing is called A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
    [Show full text]