Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 554 Proceedings of the 7th International Conference on Humanities and Social Science Research (ICHSSR 2021) The Review of Primitivism and Approve of Imagination: Research on the Art Criticism of Roger Fry 1* Liu Siru 1Northeastern University, Shenyang, Liaoning 110819, China, [email protected] ABSTRACT In the early twentieth century, the post-impressionist painting exhibition was held at The Grafton Gallery for the first time. With the exhibition of the works of these painters, there were many voices from the public, which inevitably brought voices of opposition. In this controversy, as the defender of the post-impressionists, Roger Fry (1866-1934) left a very important art criticism in the history of art criticism. His critical practice is a classic in the history of art that embodies Fry’s unique aesthetic thought with modernism and creates a new research paradigm for modern aesthetics. This is not only of great significance for our understanding of formalist aesthetics, but also a valuable material for the study of formalist aesthetics. Keywords: Roger Fry, Primitivism, Imagination, Post-Impressionism Fry used critical discourse with empiricism and case 1. INTRODUCTION analysis to analyze post-impressionist paintings. Although his critical paradigm was not integrated and Fry directly faced opposition voices and defended theoretical enough, he faced up to the differences in the post-impressionist painting in all directions. These voices painters’ forms and techniques ,and managed to take into were concentrated in two post-impressionist painting account the identity and integrity of school and exhibitions in 1910 and 1912. Fry’s articles for defense differentiation and individuality of the painters through of post-impressionism includes The Post-Impressionists, careful individual analysis of the post-impressionists; The Grafton Gallery-I, The Post-Impressionists-Ⅱ, A finally, in the criticism of the painter’s imagination, Fry Postscript on Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, pointed out the interactive relationship between the and The Grafton Gallery: An Apologia, etc. In these painter and the painting(the subject and the object). That defense essays, Fry conducted a tentative and non- is, while confirming the fundamental status of the metaphysical interpretation and analysis of post- imagination in artistic creation, he also indicated that impressionist paintings. To a certain extent, Fry’s defense during painting the painter uses imagination with essays contain his basic artistic ideas and aesthetic restraint. The paintings not only show the painter’s concepts, and are important academic bases for studying imagination, but also objectively obscure the painter’s his artistic outlook, art criticism practice and post- imagination. impressionist painting. This article will explore Fry’s artistic thought and art criticism from the following three 2. THE REBOUND OF “THEORY OF aspects: First, Fry boldly rebelled against the EVALUATION”: POST-IMPRESSIONISM’S reproduction method of traditional realism. However, it DOUBLE REBELLION AND FRY’S QUASI- is worth noting that he attached great importance to and RETROISM TENDENCY approved classical and primitive art resources and tried to implant painting techniques with primitivism into the On the ideological level of painting, one of the main post-impressionist painting, so as to jump out of the characteristics of post-impressionism lay in its “double predicament of accurate “reproduction” and finally rebellion” against naturalism and realism. To some extent, realize the harmonious state of “representation” and post-impressionism opposed the classical and realist “reproduction” in painting; secondly, as the “father of painting styles before the impressionism, and it also modern art criticism” as well as “the father of formalism”, Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Atlantis Press SARL. This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC 4.0 license -http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/. 556 Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 554 opposed the naturalistic painting ideas that the seen from this that post-impressionists strived to truly impressionists uphold. For this characteristic of post- express the theme of art, and in order to achieve this impressionism, Fry affirmed this in his art criticism. In artistic pursuit of post-impressionists, they must first the process of affirming the ideological tendency of post- break through the traditional representative painting impressionism, Fry showed a strong tendency of retroism. methods. Because of the difference in artistic expression, To a certain extent, Fry’s art criticism did not follow the the emerging post-impressionists formed a state of linear development of “evolution” logic. On the basis of confrontation with the mainstream painters of the time. identifying with the primitive art style, Fry had made a At the same time in the early twentieth century, when sharp reaction to the idea and logical method of “the post-impressionism came into being, artists in Paris still theory of evolution” in the field of artistic vision. created official salon paintings, most of which revolved around the theme of the exoticism of the Middle East. The Post-Impressionists is Fry’s first defense article Their brushes still recorded the feasting life of nobles and during the post-impressionist painting exhibition. Its bourgeoisie, and depicted female nudes and natural main contribution was to define the tone of the painting scenery, etc. Such conservative themes and representative genre of "post-impressionism", point out the difference techniques had long been seen in the eyes of the viewers, between it and impressionism and confirm the subversive but some viewers still enjoy it. As Fry said: “Their significance of post-impressionism to the excessive passive attitude towards things prevents them from naturalism of impressionism. Impressionists had done conveying the true meaning of things.” (Fry, The Post- their best to challenge the inherent colors of objects. Impressionists) In the face of recipients who were old- Impressionist artists used natural light and shadow to fashioned and unable to explore the profound meaning of compose their paintings, quickly captured the momentary art works, the creative practice of post-impressionists changes in the color of objects and showed what the against realism was undoubtedly avant-garde and objects like in their eyes on paper. This way of experimental at the time. Fry’s recognition of post- representing things did help in painting creation. Impressionists' efforts to rebel against naturalism and However, as the so-called “too much of a good thing”, realism not only originated from Fry’s own perceptual impressionists were always too obsessed with nature. identification with post-Impressionists, but also This special feeling gradually evolved into their coincided with his reactionary and anti-evolutionary obsession with analysis of light and shadow. Fry thinking. mentioned in The Post-Impressionists that in fact this was the first source of their disputes with the impressionists: In his art criticism, Fry often did not follow the the post-impressionists believed that the impressionists “evolution theory” of linear derivation and backward were too naturalistic. (Fry, The Post-Impressionists) waves. Instead, he revisited and retrospected the Obviously, the post-impressionists first responded to this primitive painting art, and strived to implant cultural gene negative attitude in the process of innovation. The way of of quasi-retroism and primitivism into artistic creations record was questioned, and the naturalism that of that time. In explaining the rationality of the impressionists overemphasized was suppressed and techniques of post-impressionists, Fry mentioned the resisted by post-impressionists. Impressionists used a opposition to the evolutionary model of art history. “In variety of brushwork and framing methods to record fact, changes in reproduction science are nothing more nature, placing art under nature, thereby making than a change in the expressive function of an artist. Here, themselves and their artistic practice slaves of nature. the most important thing is not change. The change we Different from impressionists, post-impressionists no should pay attention to is the change in the feelings and longer simply paid attention to the momentary emotions in human nature. I firmly believe that if impressions brought by light and their own records of perspective were never discovered, the art of the 18th colors. As a new bellwether, Cézanne showed the century would still be very different from the art of the changes in the formal composition and color contrast in 13th century.” (Fry, Post-Impressionism) In Fry’s point of the practice of post-impressionist painting, leading the view, art does not come from the “evolution” itself caused artist out of the whirlpool of naturalism and revealing the by a combination of objective and force majeure factors. true essence of artistic creation. It is not an inevitable progress brought about by technological progress, but comes from the internal The eyes of early artists and viewers focused on function changes of the painter as a living body, which representative art, paid much attention on the display of greatly weakens the linearity and inevitability of artistic techniques in the work, and emphasized the use of development and endows