Discussion:  "Mirror of Society"

Option: Art Movements

Throughout the "long" nineteenth century - roughly, from the French Revolution through the beginning of World War I, artists engaged intimately with developments in politics, religion, industry, race and gender relations, and popular culture.

Write a three paragraph minimum response addressing the following questions and post your statement to the Discussion Board on our Blackboard site; then reply to two classmate's postings in one paragraph responses.

• Which artists and works of art - or entire styles/movements - best exemplify this trend of social commentary and/or documentation?
• How was art "used" to illuminate or, in some cases, criticize certain aspects of contemporary life?
• Did different preoccupations come with different eras?
• Were certain styles or genres more amenable to such an enterprise?

Here are some supplementary readings/resources that could help you answering the questions above.

• http://www.arthistoryunstuffed.com/artistic-revolution-france/ (Art & French Revolution)
• http://www.arthistoryunstuffed.com/enlightenment/ (Art & Enlightenment)
• https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/realism/a/a-beginners-guide-to-realism (Realism)
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm (Impressionism: Art & Modernity)
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/edph/hd_edph.htm (Early Documentary Photography)
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/arso/hd_arso.htm (Art & Society in the New American Republic)
• http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/brady-photos/ (Matthew Brady's Civil War)
• http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ashc/hd_ashc.htm (Ashcan School/Social Realism)
• http://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada (Dada and WWI)