Culture Changes in Europe: Art, Literature, Music, and Architecture

Culture was changing in Europe during the late 1800s. Innovations in literature, visual arts, and music helped others to develop new worldviews. Between 1870 and 1914, many writers and artists rebelled against the traditional styles of art that had been around since the Renaissance. These changes contributed to a movement known as MODERNISM.

LITERATURE:

-Western novelists and poets who followed the “naturalist” style felt literature should be realistic and address social problems

-Two writers, Henrik Ibsen and Emile Zola, explored the role of women in society, alcoholism, and the problems of urban slums in their work

 

-Symbolist writers had a different idea about what was real. They were inspired by psychologist Sigmund Freud, believing that the external world, including art, was a collection of symbols reflecting the human mind. Art, the symbolists believed, should not be used to criticize or seek to understand society

 

PAINTING, ART, ARCHITECTURE, and MUSIC
The table below gives specific examples of artists and people who made advances in the categories above. Fill out your worksheet and make sure you follow instructions on what to do with Google at the end of each section:

CLAUDE MONET	Best known for being: an impressionist artist   - Impressionism was a movement that began in France in the 1870s, when a group of artists rejected traditional indoor studios and went to the countryside to pain nature directly.   -Monet’s paintings aimed to capture light, water, and sky   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -Impression Sunrise by Claude Monet -Women in the Garden by Claude Monet   -San Giorgio Maggiore at Dusk by Claude Monet
VINCENT VAN GOGH	Best known for being: a postimpressionist artist   -Postimpressionism was mostly used to express a mood and spirituality   -Van Gogh was especially interested in color and believed it could be its own language   -Felt “artists should paint what they feel”   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh   -Starry Night over the Rhone by Vincent Van Gogh   -The Potato Eaters by Vincent Van Gogh
PABLO PICASSO	Best known for being: a modern artist   -Picasso was from Spain and eventually moved to Paris to start painting in a variety of styles   -Picasso created his own artistic style called cubism- which used geometric designs to re-create reality   -Picasso is described as being influenced by Albert Einstein   Google the following paintings, and describe them in your worksheet:   -Plaster Head and Arm by Pablo Picasso   -Dora Maar by Pablo Picasso
Wassily Kandinsky	Best known for being: an abstract painter   -Kandinsky was a Russian and was one of the first artists to use abstract styles   -He wanted to avoid visual reality altogether   -Kandinsky believed paintings should only contain lines and color   Google the following paintings and describe them in your worksheet:   -Yellow Red Blue by Wassily Kandinsky   -Composition IV by Wassily Kandinsky   -Sketch for Composition II by Wassily Kandinsky
Frank Lloyd Wright	Best known for being: a modern architect   -Wright believed buildings should be functional, or easy to use. He built a series of American homes with long geometric lines and overhanging roofs   -Wright was influenced by the idea that extra ornaments and decorations on homes and buildings should be done away with   Google the following house built by Frank Lloyd Wright and describe them in your worksheet:   -Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Oak Park, IL
Igor Stravinsky	Best known for being: a Russian composer of music   -Stravinsky used new expressive sounds and bold rhythms in his music   -His most famous work was called “The Rite of Spring.” When it debuted in Paris in 1913, the sounds and rhythms of the music and dance caused a near riot by an outraged audience