First Amendment Girl

@firstamendmentgirl

Retired librarian, lifelong Democrat, 2nd Wave Feminist, living in Land of Enchantment. Art soothes my political anxiety.

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First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 27d

Once Upon a Time by Mark Maggiori, 2020, Briscoe Western Art Museum (San Antonio, TX #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #CinematicRealism For more on depictions of Black cowboys, see glasstire.com/2020/12/18/t...

Maggiori's bold painting depicts two Black cowboys on horseback working on the cattle drive out West. The Briscoe celebrates the untold aspects of American history to help show the West was of many colors and still is.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 27d

The House at Rueil by Édouard Manet, 1882, National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) (Melbourne, Australia) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism

"The House at Rueil" (1882) consists of two nearly identical oil-on-canvas paintings depicting the sunny façade of a rented villa in Rueil-Malmaison. The landscape version resides in the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin, and the vertical version is in the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.Painted just a year before his death, these works capture a surprisingly bright, impressionistic style. Manet utilized brilliant colors and light but chose an unconventional composition. The house is cropped and partially obscured by a central tree trunk, a technique inspired by Japanese woodcuts, which forces the viewer’s attention to the shifting patches of sunlight and shadow.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 28d

Forest by Paul Cézanne, c. 1890-1892, The White House Collection (Washington, DC) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism

Volume anchors the composition of this forest scene. Bold tree trunks and spreading branches create solid presences within the dappled light. Thick, overlapping planes of green and blue modulate the perception of depth. These faceted surfaces build the forest's structure, asserting a tangible reality independent of atmospheric effects. The deliberate stacking of form suggests a departure from illusionistic representation, favoring an analysis of nature's underlying geometry. Broad brushstrokes articulate the texture of foliage and ground. Shadows carve out distinct shapes on the grassy slope. The density of the applied material accumulates, giving weight to the trees and undergrowth. This tectonic construction of form anticipates a modern visual language grappling with representation's shifting boundaries.

Created during a pivotal period in art history, bridging Post-Impressionism and the early stages of modern art, Cézanne's work is considered a crucial precursor to Cubism and other 20th-century movements. He moved away from the Impressionists' focus on capturing fleeting moments and instead sought to understand the underlying structure of nature. This work exemplifies his exploration of form, space, and color influencing generations of artists who followed. It represents a shift from representing reality as *seen* to representing reality as *conceived.*

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 28d

Red Vineyards ar Arles by Vincent van Gogh, 1888, Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts (Moscow, Russia) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Post-Impressionism

This is the only painting that Van Gogh is certain to have sold. It went for 400 francs (then £16) at a Brussels exhibition in March 1890, four months before his suicide.

The impasto application of color establishes a vigorous surface. Figures bent low to the earth, occupy a field of dense, autumnal vines. These workers, their forms a series of energetic dabs, attend to the harvest. Short, insistent strokes build the textured foliage and the bright, rippling water. The sun, a colossal disc of yellow, dominates the upper sky, its intensity a palpable presence. This treatment of light and form imbues the scene with a raw, unmediated vitality. The broken, distinct marks suggest an emergent modern awareness, prioritizing immediate sensory experience over idealized representation. This approach to depicting labor, direct and unembellished announces a shift toward celebrating the fundamental rhythms of existence. The entire composition vibrates with an earthy luminescence. Figures and landscape merge in a unified, swirling energy. The day's intense heat presses down.

This painting falls within the Post-Impressionist movement, a reaction against the Impressionists' concern with objective representation of light and color. Post-Impressionists, like Van Gogh, used color and form to express subiective emotions and ideas. "Red Vineyards" demonstrates a move towards greater abstraction and emotional intensity than Impressionism, foreshadowing the Expressionist movement of the early 20th century. It represents a key moment in the transition from depicting *what* is seen to depicting *how* it is felt.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 29d

Still Life with Pheasant by Boris Kustodiev, 1914, Dogadina State Art Gallery (specifically the Kustodiev Picture Gallery branch) (Astrakhan, Russia) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #ArtNouveau

The painting belongs to the early 20th-century Russian art scene, a period marked by a flourishing of various artistic movements, including Symbolism Impressionism, and Realism. Kustodiev, while influenced by these trends developed his own distinct style rooted in Russian traditions and a celebration of everyday life. The still life genre was popular during this time, offering artists a chance to explore composition, color, and texture without the constraints of narrative or portraiture. It reflects a move away from academic painting towards more personal and expressive forms.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· 29d

Mediterranean Landscape by Pablo Picasso, 1953, Albertina Museum (Vienna, Austria) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Cubism

$Landscape painting is rare in Spanish art. This scarcity can be tied to Spanish history. The Spanish Counter-Reformation of the 16th century was staunchly against both classicism and humanism. Strictly interpreted Catholic doctrine viewed the subject of human nature and nature in general as corrupt and indulgent. To contemplate the beauty of nature was to indulge in a hedonistic, pagan, and heretical act. The sharp edge of planar forms defines the composition. Terraced structures climb a hillside. their facades painted in sun-bleached ochre, vibrant red, and cool white. A solitary sailboat glides across a sapphire sea, its two figures silhouetted against the bright sky. The application of color, in broad, unmodulated strokes compresses planes and imbues the scene with an immediate, almost tactile presence. These flattened perspectives fracturing the familiar architecture of the South of France, speak to the post-war era's re-evaluation of representation. Sharp diagonals slash across the lower half, delineating cultivated plots bursting with patterned foliage. The dense foliage of a palm tree emerges on the right, its fronds reaching towards the intensely blue sky. Multiple archways puncture the buildings, suggesting veiled depths within the sun-drenched architecture Architectural elements interlock, creating a complex, dynamic visual puzzle. The energetic rendering of forms and the uninhibited use of color create a feeling of vibrant, sun-drenched activity. "Mediterranean Landscape" falls within the Post-War period of art history. This era saw a shift away from the pre-war avant-garde movements (like Cubism, which Picasso himself pioneered) towards new expressions reflecting the trauma and hope following World War II. While still retaining elements of Cubism, the painting demonstrates a move towards a more lyrical and colorful style, foreshadowing some aspects of later movements like Abstract Expressionism and Neo-Impressionism.$

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 13

The Farm by Joan Miro, c. 1921, National Gallery of Art (Washington, DC); Gift from Mary Hemingway #ArtHistory #ModernArt #NaïveArt

$The sheer flatness of the sky anchors the composition. A ramshackle collection of farm structures and domestic objects sprawls across the earthen terrain. Figures, rendered with doll-like simplicity engage in mundane tasks near a swimming pool and through open doorways. The meticulous, almost fussy rendering of every leaf and twig on the central tree arrests the eye. This careful attention to detail, applied to disparate elements, carves out distinct visual zones. These disparate zones cohere into a dislocated dreamscape. The meticulous rendering speaks to a new engagement with the visual world, filtering it through a sharpened, hyper-real sensibility that characterized nascent Surrealism. This deliberate cataloging of the everyday presented with an uncanny stillness, disrupts the expected order of rural life. A single watering can sits attentively on the ground. The entire scene unfolds under a stark, unblemished moon. The fractured architecture and unexpected juxtaposition of elements convey a latent unease. At first glance, everything looks ordinary. Crops spring from the ground, animals are in the shed, and a donkey turns a millstone to grind grain—but what about the newspaper under the watering can or the footprints that suddenly stop on the path? These puzzling pictograms of daily life on Joan Miró’s family farm in Montroig, Spain, invite us into a magical world. The dreamlike images attracted author Ernest Hemingway, the painting’s first owner, and did much to inspire the surrealist movement a few years later. The Farm was created during a pivotal period in art history, bridging the gap between Cubism and Surrealism. While Miró had experimented with Cubist principles, The Farm marks a departure towards a more personal and symbolic language. It predates the full emergence of Surrealism, but anticipates many of its key themes, such as the exploration of the subconscious and the use of dreamlike imagery.$

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 12

The Cultivators by Samuel Dunson, 2000, The Kinsey African American Art & History Collection #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Expressionism

Dunson depicts three African Americans harvesting books from the soil of the earth. A woman wipes the dirt off a volume while a young man behind her holds a copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. While the male has cultivated a bag full of books, his dress suggests that this work is not menial labor. These individuals are cultivating knowledge. The Kinsey family, Bernard, Shirley and their son Khalil, are the subiects in Dunson's portrait.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 12

Olympic Track by LeRoy Neiman, c. 1970s #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Impressionism #Serigraph #Poster

One of Neiman's first forays into art was creating posters for local merchants at a young age to advertise their store sales. Later, as an established artist, he often made posters to commemorate and promote special sporting and cultural events. Neiman’s posters remain a tribute to his vibrant work and life.

Neiman painted every type of sporting event during his lifetime, with his influence earning him the title of “Father of Contemporary Sport Art.” As the official artist of five Olympics, his art reached millions of people via al fresco paintings of the competitions. His comprehensive coverage of other sporting events includes the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Kentucky Derby, championship boxing, PGA and The Masters golf tournament, and the Tour de France.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 11

Red Moon by Phil Epp, 2018, Private Collection #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #WesternArt The Sons of Charlie Russell Cowboy Artists of America at Briscoe Western Art Museum (San Antonio, TX), Courtesy of Craig Macnab, Summer Exhibition 2022

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 10

Undergrowth with Two Figures by Vincent van Gogh, 1890, Cincinnati Art Museum (Ohio) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Post-Impressionism

In May 1890 van Gogh left the asylum at Saint-Rémy for Auvers-sur-Oise, a small village north of Paris which he described as "Edenic.' On July 27 he shot himself, dying two days later. The myth of the suffering artist, whose madness enabled him to transcend the limitations of art, has colored perceptions of him ever since. Van Gogh himself noted that bouts of madness only spurred him to work during his periods of sanity; during his final months at Auvers he painted nearly one canvas a day.

In a letter to his younger brother, Theo, dated June 30, 1890, van Gogh explained the structure and brilliant colors of "Undergrowth with Two Figures'": "The trunks of the violet poplars cross the landscape perpendicularly like columns," adding "the depth of Sous Bois is blue, and under the big trunks the grass blooms with flowers in white, rose, yellow, and green." Concealed amid the lush carpet of grass and flowers and a proliferation of slender tree trunks, two lovers reiterate the theme of nature's fecundity.

"Undergrowth with Two Figures" has a silvery tonality characteristic of van Gogh's works from Auvers. His brushwork may be swift and visceral, his colors strong and biting, his emotion raw and visible, but the composition reveals no hint of psychological torment. It is painted on a double square canvas, twice as wide as it is high. Van Gogh explored the artistic possibilities of this panoramic format in several of his last paintings.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 9

Finding of the Body of St Mark by Tintoretto, c. 1562, Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan, Italy) #ArtHistory #LateRenaissance #Mannerism

Tommaso Rangone, “grand guardian” of the Scuola di San Marco in Venice, commissioned Tintoretto in 1562 to paint a cycle depicting episodes associated with the saint, which the artist had completed by 1566. The cycle of large canvases, one of which this is one, recounted not only the saint’s life but also miracles in which he is alleged to have had a hand. This painting shows the moment when, as the Venetians are busy removing corpses from tombs in their search for Saint Mark’s body, the saint appears to them and imperiously commands them to stop because his body has already been removed from the tomb at the end of the room and is lying at their feet. The presence of a man possessed by devils on the right of the composition adds to the miraculous tone of the episode, which is being observed by the patron Rangone clad in attire befitting his rank. The artist, a skilled narrator, depicts the miracle as though it were taking place on a stage, forcing his “actors” to adopt theatrical and emphatic poses. The observer, or in this case the spectator, is drawn into the heart of the action by the dizzying foreshortening that impresses a profound acceleration on the picture’s spatial depth accentuated by the play of light on the arcades; the dark is split by flashes of light, underscoring the crucial elements in the story, emphasising the volume of the figures and amplifying the unnatural, ghostly pallor of the corpses.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 8

Portrait of a Lady, probably Camilla Martelli De'Medici by Alessandro Allori, 1570s, Saint Louis Art Museum (Missouri) ##ArtHistory #LateRenaissance #Mannerism

This woman’s exquisite attire indicates her likely wealth and importance. Gold disks decorate the edge of her collar while rubies and emeralds adorn her hair. She wears an extravagant necklace with a large cut diamond and luxurious pearl. The fashion suggests the portrait was made in the 1570s. It is possibly a representation of Camilla Martelli, mistress and later second wife of the Grand Duke of Tuscany, Cosimo I de'Medici. Unlike other portraits depicting individuals who themselves may have collected art or created a studioli, or private studies, Camilla herself would not have had access to such a study room. However, the Medici family had one of the most celebrated studioli in all of Italy.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 8

Peony by Ding Yanyong, 1978, Private Collection #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt

The peony is a significant symbol in Chinese culture, often representing wealth, honor, and prosperity. The plant became particularly popular during the Tang dynasty, and it has retained its cultural importance ever since. The inscription on this painting indicates that the work was painted in the spring, and the artist's signature in the bottom left corner uses the traditional red seal.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 8

A Market Square in Tunis, Evening by Tom Scott, 1889, Private Collection #ArtHistory #Realism #Orientalism

The diffused light washes over the ochre earth and whitewashed buildings. Figures rendered with broad, economical strokes inhabit the dusty expanse: a man on a donkey proceeds toward the viewer, two robed individuals converse in the middle ground, and a small group gathers near a domed structure. Adjacent to this dome, a wall anchors the right foreground, its rough surface suggesting weathered stone. The swiftness of the washes that define the architecture creates a sense of immediacy, capturing the fleeting quality of evening light. These planes of muted color and simplified forms convey a ived-in landscape, populated by its inhabitants. The atmospheric perspective achieved through fainter tones in the distance, pulls the viewer into the scene. A lone palm tree, its fronds delicately delineated, punctuates the sky. The painting's rendering prioritizes atmosphere over intricate detail, placing it firmly within the tradition of Orientalist watercolors that captured the visual allure of North Africa for a European audience. This approach, prioritizing impression over strict mimesis, speaks to a burgeoning interest in capturing the essence of a place rather than its exhaustive representation. The open sky, a wash of pale blues and subtle clouds, further amplifies the sense of vastness.

Scott's 'A Market Square in Tunis, Evening' falls within the Orientalist movement of the 19th century. This movement, popular in European art, depicted scenes from the "Orient" - North Africa, the Middle East. and Asia - often romanticized and exoticized. It emerged alongside increased European colonialism and travel to these regions. Scott, unlike some Orientalists, actually travelled to and lived in North Africa, aiming for a more authentic representation, though still filtered through a Western lens. The painting reflects the broader Victorian interest in different cultures and the growing accessibility of travel.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 7

Spring Picnic by Roland Petersen, 1963, Private Collection #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #NeoExpressionism

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 7

Rainy Season in the Tropics by Frederic Edwin Church, 1866, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco - de Young (California) #ArtHistory #Romanticism

Critic Henry Tuckerman praised this imaginary landscape, inspired by Church's extensive travels:

"Athwart a mountain-bounded valley and gorge . . . the sunshine, beaming across the vapory vail, forms thereon a rainbow, which seems to clasp the whole with a prismatic bridge; a scene more characteristic of the season and the region it is difficult to imagine, and one more difficult to represent on canvas could not be selected. To combine the right perspective with the aqueous effects is a problem hard to solve; but Mr. Church has succeeded; the aerial perspective is exquisitely true—the floating vapor, the blue sky, the radiant iris—the brooding mists on the distant mountains, the rich vegetation of the foreground, and green, rugged, declivity and mule-path—water, air, cloud, hill, and vale—all wear the tearful glory of The Rainy Season in the Tropics."

[Henry Tuckerman, “Church,” in Book of the Artists, American Artist Life (New York: G. P. Putnam & Son, 1867)

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 6

There aren't many shows that were great but the final season outshone all that came before. I can only think of one

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 6

New York by Jacek Kiercz, 2021, Private Collection #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #Expressionism

The bold outlines of the skyscrapers anchor the composition. The Statue of Liberty stands viailant on the left, a pale green sentry before a dense cluster of richly colored towers. These structures rendered in flat planes of vibrant hues, create a fragmented cityscape. The rapid application of impasto strokes for the water generates a kinetic energy. Boats ply the choppy depths beneath a suspended roadway teeming with silhouetted vehicles. This depiction of urban density and constant movement speaks to a post-industrial New York. The simplified forms and saturated palette recall early 20th-century avant-garde explorations of the modern metropolis Distant, spectral buildings shimmer on the horizon line. Kiercz captures the enduring spirit of a city always reinventing itself.

Kiercz's work falls within the tradition of abstract expressionism and post-painterly abstraction, movements that emerged in the mid-20th century as a reaction against representational art. While not directly replicating the styles of artists like Pollock or Rothko, Kiercz shares their emphasis on non-figurative forms and the expressive potential of color and texture. His work can also be seen as a contemporary response to the urban landscape, a theme explored by earlier modernists like Boccioni and Léger.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 5

Plains Indian Dancer by Allan Houser, undated, Bureau of Indian Affairs Museum Program (Washington, DC) #ArtHistory #ContemporaryArt #ChiricahuaApache

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 4

The Fourth of July, 1916 (The Greatest Fourth of July, Display of the American Flag Ever Seen in New York, Climax of the Preparedness Parade in May) by Childe Hassam, 1916, The New York Historical (New York City, NY) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism #AmericanImpressionism

This monumental painting by American Impressionist Childe Hassam depicts Fifth Avenue bedecked with dozens of American flags in celebration of Independence Day in 1916. The artist was a committed supporter of the Preparedness Movement, which advocated for a strengthened national defense after the outbreak of war in Europe in July 1914. Proponents of the cause staged parades in cities across the country for the next two vears. Witnessing one such parade in May 1916, Hassam commented: "...I looked up the Avenue and saw those wonderful flags waving, and I painted a series of flag pictures after that."

This is the second of Hassam's flag pictures. The full title of this painting conflates the annual July 4th celebration with the nationalistic fervor created by the Preparedness Movement.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 4

Happy Birthday, United States

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 4

The Horse Fair by Rosa Bonheur, 1852-1855, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Realism

This, Bonheur’s best-known painting, shows the horse market held in Paris on the tree-lined Boulevard de l’Hôpital, near the asylum of Salpêtrière, which is visible in the left background. For a year and a half Bonheur sketched there twice a week, dressing as a man to discourage attention. Bonheur was well established as an animal painter when the painting debuted at the Paris Salon of 1853, where it received wide praise. In arriving at the final scheme, the artist drew inspiration from George Stubbs, Théodore Géricault, Eugène Delacroix, and ancient Greek sculpture: she referred to The Horse Fair as her own "Parthenon frieze."

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 4

New York by Arturo Souto, 1957, Private Collection #ArtHistory #ModernArt #SpanishModernism #PostImpressionism #AbstractExpressionism

The surface of the work absorbs light through its textured application of color.

A dense cluster of towering structures dominates the composition, their varied heights and colors defining a sprawling cityscape. Beneath this architectural immensity, a street level unfolds, bustling with the suggestions of vehicles and storefronts. Heavy, dark forms anchor the foreground, their shadowed interiors hinting at the city's underbelly.

The impasto layering of the paint generates a tangible topography across the picture plane. This sculpted surface gives each building a solid presence, an almost geological weight that anchors it against the pale sky. The marks build up, coalescing into distinct architectural volumes that push forward.

These energetic applications of paint translate the relentless upward thrust of mid-century urban expansion. The very texture of the surfaces conveys a sense of construction and industry, the dynamism of a city in constant flux. Buildings rise ike monumental forces, their presence overwhelming the human scale suggested by the streets below. The limited palette punctuated by bright vellow and stark white, captures the glare and shadow of a metropolitan noon. A stark arrow sign points outward, urging movement through the built environment. The sky, a soft wash, offers a muted counterpoint to the city's assertiveness.

Souto's "New York" falls within the Abstract Expressionist movement, which flourished in the post-World War Il era. This movement marked a shift in the center of the art world from Paris to New York, and it was characterized by a focus on spontaneous, automatic, or subconscious creation. It emerged as a reaction against the perceived formalism of previous movements and sought to express universal human emotions and experiences. Souto, though Spanish, was influenced by the American Abstract Expressionists and incorporated their techniques into his own style.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 3

Whistlejacket by George Stubbs, 1762, National Gallery (London, UK) #ArtHistory #Romanticism

"Whistlejacket" shows the Marquess of Rockingham's racehorse approximately at life-size, rearing up against a plain background. The canvas is large, lacking any other content except some discreet shadows, and Stubbs has paid precise attention to the details of the horse's appearance. The Fitzwilliam family, heirs of the childless Rockingham, retained the painting until 1997 when funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund allowed the National Gallery, London to acquire it for £11 million.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 3

Étretat Interior by Henri Matisse, 1920, Museum Berggruen (Berlin, Germany) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #PostImpressionism

The edge of the doorway anchors the left side of the composition. A fiqure slumbers beneath a mound of white bedding, their form dissolving into the soft sheets. Through an open window, boats rest on a shimmering expanse of sea, their masts like dark exclamation points against a pale sky. Bold, unmodulated fields of intense blue engulf the room's walls, their flatness aggressively asserting the picture plane. This shallow spatial construction. where interior and exterior coexist without deep recession, speaks to a post-war interrogation of representation. The loosely applied strokes, particularly evident in the rendering of the window frame and the distant water, disrupt any illusionistic depth. Shadows pooling beneath the bed and along the floorboards offer the only concession to a three-dimensional world, yet even these are rendered with broad, economical gestures. The flattened perspective and simplified forms characterize a period where artists questioned traditional modes of seeing and depicting reality. The visual experience prioritizes the flat surface and the interplay of color areas. A framed picture on the right wall provides another flat element, echoing the painting's overall dimensionality. The scene captures a liminal state. where waking reality merges with the dreamscape.

"Étretat Interior" falls within the Post-Fauvist period of Matisse's career. Following his earlier, more radical Fauvist explorations, Matisse began to refine his style, focusing on decorative harmony and a more classical approach to composition. This work reflects the shift towards a greater emphasis on order and clarity, while still retaining the vibrant color palette that defined his work. It bridges the gap between the exuberance of Fauvism and the more serene, decorative style of his later years. It also reflects the post-war desire for stability and a return to traditional values in art.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 2

American Landscape by Charles Sheeler, 1930, MOMA - Museum of Modern Art (New York City, NY) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #NewRealism

Although the title may evoke a rural scene, Sheeler's subject here is the Ford Motor Company plant on the River Rouge near Detroit, Michigan. In 1927 he had photographed the plant extensively, and he would go on to examine it in works in a number of mediums. While these works experiment with arrangements of hard–edged forms and shifting planes, they also make clear how innovative American industry was during these years, how it was generating a radically new American landscape and experience. Missing from Sheeler's images are the people who worked in the factory, perhaps reflecting an ambivalence about the country's shift toward the industrial.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jul 2

The Ball by Henri Gervex, 1879, Musée d'Orsay (Paris, France) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Impressionism

Light defines the opulent surfaces of this salon. A young woman, resplendent in a frothy white gown with delicate pink ribbons, rests on a ailded sofa. Her gaze drifts beyond the immediate scene, towards a distant dance hall where elegantly dressed couples swirl. The broad, sweeping application of paint across her voluminous skirt captures the ephemeral quality of silk. This fluid handling of form suggests a moment apprehended rather than meticulously constructed, aligning with a social milieu that prized momentary spectacle and outward display. The shallow depth of field, particularly in the background fiqures, immerses the viewer in the immediate social sphere. Gold accents on the furniture and picture frames amplify the room's richness. The darkened doorway acts as a visual portal contrasting the quiet introspection of the foreground with the energetic social engagement beyond. This juxtaposition underscores the private contemplation often found within public celebration.

The Ball is a prime example of French Salon painting during the Third Republic, a period marked by a revival of artistic ambition and a desire to capture modern life. It emerged during the late 19th century, a time when Impressionism was challenging traditional academic styles. While Gervex wasn't strictly an Impressionist, he incorporated some of their techniques, such as a focus on light and atmosphere, into his work. The painting reflects the broader artistic trends of the Belle Epoque, characterized by a fascination with modernity, luxury, and social spectacle. It stands as a bridge between the academic tradition and the emerging avant-garde movements.

First Amendment Girl @firstamendmentgirl· Jun 30

James Bay No.7 by Sarah Crease, 1860, Royal BC Museum (Victoria, Canada) #ArtHistory #ModernArt #Realism