Externals and Internals of Art

The Rise of Modernity

The Industrial Revolution, alongside rising nationalism and democratic governments, brought Europe into the modern era. While the scientific achievements of the Enlightenment opened new perspectives, the real transformation began in the 1800s. This century’s technological advances shifted societies from agriculture-based communities to an industry-driven world. Factories drew rural populations into cities, and railways opened new commercial markets, making transportation faster and easier.

Technology created a sense of false optimism. Many believed that with technological progress, they could fully understand and control nature. However, these developments were not matched by moral growth. Modernism’s technological and scientific progress did not make humanity more virtuous; instead, it brought problems such as air pollution, unemployment, and overcrowded cities.

Changing Role of Art and Patronage

In 19th-century Europe, more buildings were constructed than ever before, giving artists new materials and opportunities. The church was no longer the main patron; since the Renaissance, the bourgeoisie had taken on that role, and secularism began to spread. Society shifted from a religion-centered worldview to a human-centered one, and artists turned their focus to earthly life. The present moment gained value over the promise of the afterlife. Secular humanism emerged, celebrating the idea that “man is the measure of all things.” Political and social changes, such as the French Revolution, fueled ideas of equality, education, and individual freedom.

Realism and Gustave Courbet

These shifts inevitably shaped art. In mid-19th-century France, Gustave Courbet initiated the Realist movement, rejecting biblical and historical subjects in favor of everyday life. His painting The Burial at Ornans portrayed an ordinary village funeral without allegory or idealization, making everyday life heroic in the eyes of Paris’s elite. Reality was presented in a physical, direct language—modernity’s influence expressed through realism.

Edouard Manet and Social Controversy

Edouard Manet, though not aligned with any movement, also broke with tradition. His Luncheon on the Grass, rejected by the official Salon and shown at the Salon des Refusés, scandalized the bourgeoisie. Depicting a nude, ordinary Parisian woman (his wife) between two dressed men, the work confronted social norms and hinted at the link between bourgeois leisure and the prostitution industry. Unlike idealized nudes of the past, Manet’s figure met the viewer’s gaze directly, in her natural state. His distinctive contours, unconventional spatial arrangement, and altered proportions disrupted academic expectations and leaned toward avant-garde expression.

The Shift to Symbolism

Modernity encouraged new techniques, favoring physical accuracy over emotional sentimentality. In contrast, Symbolism sought to move beyond surface reality. Artists like Gauguin, Rousseau, and Munch infused their work with deeper meaning, emotion, and dreams. Critics of naturalism argued that purely physical representation lacked spiritual depth. Symbolism embraced mood, fear, and personal vision, marking a shift from depicting the visible to expressing the invisible.

Edvard Munch’s The Storm

Edvard Munch’s The Storm embodies this duality—its bending trees and anxious women convey both external and internal turmoil. The psychological distance between the central woman and the house suggests separation and loss. Hints of the northern lights add an otherworldly tone. The front-facing woman, covering her face, becomes the focal point, echoing the existential anxiety found in Munch’s The Scream.

The Seen and the Felt

Where realism and naturalism sought to capture the world’s physical truth, symbolism turned inward, uncovering emotional and spiritual dimensions. Together, they reveal the constant dialogue in art between what is seen and what is felt—a reminder that every era leaves its mark not only on the surface of the canvas, but also deep within it.

Aylin Satı

2021

Bibliography

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Serullaz, M. (1991). Impressionism (Visual Encyclopedia of Art). Paris.