Genius and Ambition: the Royal Academy of Arts, London 1768-1918 2 March - 9 June 2014 TEACHER NOTES
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Genius and Ambition: The Royal Academy of Arts, London 1768-1918 2 March - 9 June 2014 TEACHER NOTES Frank Cadogan Cowper, R.A. Vanity 1907 Oil on panel Photo credit: © Royal Academy of Arts, London; Photographer: John Hammond Exhibition Overview Founded in 1768, the Royal Academy was the primary art institution in the United Kingdom until at least the beginning of the 20th century. Its position as a national institution ensured that it was the leading venue for the study and display of art, the maker of reputation and renown, and the arbiter on national aesthetic matters. Genius and Ambition: The Royal Academy of Arts, London will draw on the wealth of the Royal Academy’s holdings, ranging from paintings and sculpture to works on paper (drawings and prints) and historic books. The exhibition will focus on what is often referred to as ‘the long 19th century’, from 1768 to 1918. This allows for the inclusion of such stellar artists as Reynolds, Gainsborough, Constable, Turner, Leighton, Millais, Waterhouse and Singer Sargent. To complement this international exhibition, Bendigo Art Gallery has curated a second exhibition, Australians at the Royal Academy, featuring more than 30 significant works by Australian artists whose works were displayed at the Royal Academy including Tom Roberts, Arthur Streeton, Rupert Bunny, George Coates, George Lambert, Agnes Goodsir, and E Phillips Fox. Genius and Ambition is an ideal exhibition for students to learn about many of the important painting genres from the 18th and 19th centuries that lead into 20th century art. The exhibition provides a unique opportunity for students to experience the viewing of major international artworks first hand, in Bendigo. On display from 2 March – 9 June 2014, this exhibition is a partnership between Bendigo Art Gallery, Victoria and The Royal Academy of Arts, London and is exclusive to Bendigo Art Gallery in Australia. Themes in the exhibition to explore Parallels between the Royal Academy and the development of Australian art Until the late 18th century, British artists looked to European artists especially from France or Italy for inspiration. With the founding of the Royal Academy, British artists were more confident to develop a range of landscape styles depending on their attitudes to their environments. This mirrored Federation in Australia 2001 and its subsequent influence on Australian artists to develop a uniquely Australian style. Impact of the French Revolutionary wars British artists had previously sought inspiration by travelling to European museums to view the masters first hand. During the French Revolution, and the Revolutionary wars in the late 18th century, British artists were unable to travel to Europe. This meant that they sought inspiration in their own environment. These were some of events that inspired the birth of British landscape painting. Orientalism/ The exotic Orientalism is a term used by art historians and literary and cultural studies scholars for the imitation or depiction of aspects of Middle Eastern and East Asian cultures (Eastern cultures) by writers, designers and artists from the West. In particular, Orientalist painting, depicting more specifically "the Middle East” was one of the many specialisms of 19th-century Academic art, and the literatures of European countries took a similar interest in Oriental themes. Rivalry Some of the artists were renowned to be rivals or opposites. Turner and Constable were a similar age but had very different personalities. Their landscape styles also differed from Romantic to Realistic style landscapes. Use of materials, techniques and processes Oil painting 2 19th century British artists used oil painting techniques similar to those used by their predecessors from the 17th–18th centuries. Canvases were stretched and usually primed with a dark ground. Successive layers were then added with oil paint, thinned with turpentine, linseed oil or sometimes poppy or walnut oil. Ready-made paint was sold in animal bladders from at least 1600 and in tubes from the 1830s. Some artists such as Constable started to move away from thin layers and included daubed and dotted thick paint (impasto). This technique pre-empted Impressionism that followed in the late 19th century. Impressionist inspired artists such as George Clausen used a dry brush technique which Constable had experimented with Underdrawing: the artists would often draw their detailed designs onto the primed canvas. Sometimes their original designs would change. Conservators use infrared x-rays to view original underdrawing. Scientific advances in the 19th century also brought new pigments and dyes. Key Terms: Underpainting Impasto (thickly applied paint) En Plein air (painting outside in the open air) Complementary colours Dry brush effect Square brush effect Glazes (translucent oil paint or varnish) Oil on canvas Other techniques in the exhibition Print making Drawing Sculpture Photography (Muybridge) Art styles The (“long”) 19th century a great many art styles emerged, either through homage to European art styles, a return to the art of the past or invention of new styles inspired by new technology. Some of the many styles seen in Genius and Ambition are: • Romanticism – including the sublime • Realism • Naturalism • Neoclassicism • Impressionism • Post-Impressionism 3 Selected artists Edwin Landseer (1802-1873) Landseer was seen as quite a prodigy, and sketched animals from the age of 5. He started studying at the Royal Academy from the age of 14, under the tutelage of the Swiss artist Fuseli. His works were characterised as having pathos, for example, in The Shepherd’s Last Mourner a faithful sheepdog rests his head against his owner’s coffin and similarly The Faithful Hound, in this exhibition depicts a crying dog against the body of a felled soldier from another time. His ability to merge images of animals with allegory (stories with morals) made him popular in the Victorian era. Key terminology Complementary colours of green and red (seen in trees) Landseer artwork in Genius and Ambition Sir Edwin Landseer The Faithful Hound ca. 1830 oil on canvas, 684 X 912 mm Joshua Reynolds Reynolds was best known as a portrait or history painter. As one of the earliest artists to exhibit with the Royal Academy, there were limited British art influences to draw from so he travelled to Europe, especially Italy to study the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Jacobo Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese. He was supported by monarchy and aristocracy who became his patrons, paying him to paint their portraits. This included becoming official court painter to King George III. He was sometimes considered as inventing the concept of the celebrity portrait. In Genius and Ambition: The Royal Academy of Arts, London 1768–1918 we see an example of a ceiling painting which was painted for the library at the Royal Academy. Theory can be seen to be in the Neo- classicist style as it depicts the female embodiment of Theory, and can also be seen as allegorical. Reynolds became famous as a portrait painter but considered that history painting or the depiction of scenes within a story was the highest form of painting. When the Royal Academy was founded in 1768, Reynolds was elected its first President. Influences As one of the earliest artists to exhibit with the Royal Academy, there were limited British art influences to draw from so he travelled to Europe, especially Italy to study the works of Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Jacobo Tintoretto and Paolo Veronese. He also admired the work of the Dutch masters such as Rembrandt. Materials and Techniques His portraits often used the chiaroscuro techniques of Rembrandt which involved strong lighting on one side which produces heavy shadows on the other. Reynolds used underpainting, starting off with layers of white and adding subsequent layers of dark paint. Although he made many layers, they were never thick. He used a range of brush thicknesses and often painted large paintings which enabled him to use large, loose and free brushwork. Aesthetic Qualities Reynolds often used a primary colour such as red in his portraits as a focal point. He created strong contrast of tone through extreme lighting on figures (chiaroscuro). Reynolds artworks in Genius and Ambition Sir Joshua Reynolds, PRA (1723-92) Theory 1779-80 4 oil on canvas, 1780 X 1790 mm John Singer Sargent American born John Singer Sargent was a portrait painter of the aristocracy of the late 19th century. He worked within the established style of classical portraiture but also sought new compositions and rarely used the same composition twice. He studied in Paris before moving to London and studying at the Royal Academy. His style can be seen as Realist, with hints of Impressionism. Materials and Techniques Sargent, inspired by the 17th century Spanish master, Velasquez, did not use underpainting, aiming for a more spontaneous effect. He used many coats of primer and this often extended around the sides and backs of the canvas. The colour of the primer was usually grey or white which gave for a cool effect on the final painting. He thinned his paint heavily with oil or turpentine and this was often seen in dribbles on the edges. He often foreshortened compositions, perhaps influenced by the Impressionists such as Degas whose work he would have seen firsthand during travels. This can be seen in An Interior in Venice 1899. He used large amounts of paint on his palette. “The thicker you paint, the more colour flows.” Sargent was inspired by Frans Hals, who had an influence on the Impressionists with his knack for capturing the effects of movement rather than the fine details and this lead him to use as few brush strokes as possible to communicate an effect. Influences Like many British artists, Sargent was influenced by European masters, especially Velasquez and Hal. He was also trained in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts which emphasised a traditional and classic style of training.