Prompt:
From the 18th century on, for a number of social, political, and economic reasons, new human subjects entered the realm of fine art; no longer did paintings primarily depict the wealthiest members of society. Select four paintings to interpret that depict members of different social classes. Evaluate the quality of life portrayed in each painting.
Describe and analyze who the subjects of the painting are, the activities they are engaged in, the setting, and the painting’s formal properties. Explain how each painting is characteristic of the artistic style identified.
Also indicate when and where the painting was created; address how the context in which the artist was working was influential on his/her work.
Artwork selection: The four paintings selected for discussion should focus on different social classes so that at least one depicts the working poor (lower class), another the bourgeoisie (middle class), and finally the aristocracy or monarchy (upper class). One of the paintings selected may depict the intermixing of classes.
Furthermore, each painting chosen must be representative of a different artistic style. Styles studied thus far include Rococo, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Symbolism, Art Nouveau, Fauvism, German Expressionism, and Italian Futurism.
The paintings selected must be taken from the assigned textbook pages or the PowerPoints shown during our class meetings (and posted to the modules). Properly identify each painting discussed (include the title, artist, and date).
References: Your paper must be phrased in your own words and it should expand upon information found in the textbook and course assignments (successful papers will not include text copied and pasted from course assignments, but instead consist of new text generated for this assignment). You may conduct additional research, but only reference the following credible sources: books, scholarly articles, museum websites, and Khan Academy. If you quote, please keep it to a minimum and include proper citations in MLA or The Chicago Manual of Style format. Include a bibliography at the end of your paper.
