The Stonebreakers Essay

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1. Discuss Gustave Courbet’s Realism in works such as The Stonebreakers (FIG. 30–12) and A Burial at Ornans (FIG. 30–13) in relation to the social and political issues of mid-century France. The Stonebreakers (1849) depicts two men laboring to break and remove stone from a road that is being built. The two men are set against a low hill in the rural setting of the town of Ornans, town where the artist was raised and continued to spend time. The techniques used by Courbet in this painting suggest isolation and entrapment: the two laborers are physically and financially trapped. The two figures describe the reality of the time: a boy that is too young and a man that is too old to work in this lowliest, most backbreaking form of labor. Courbet’s …show more content…

The figures present at the funeral seem to be close to the viewer, pushed forward by the artist who wanted to suggest realism to the scene. The painting represents a common sight at a funeral: people from a small community came to pay their respects to the deceased and each one has different concerns and behavior during the ceremony. The realism of the painting comes from the illustration of the characters: some seem bored, others mourn, while a dog focuses its attention away from the participants. There is no representation of fictional elements that would normally be seen in a classic artwork: opened skies that welcome the deceased, angels and saints hovering over the burial site, etc. Even the colors used express grief and authenticity of a burial …show more content…

Van Gogh’s works are characterized by dramatic brushstrokes that expressed emotion and action and it was thought that he used paint straight from the tube. “Starry Night”, which is often considered his best work, was painted from memory and not out in the landscape how an Impressionist artist would had painted it. The picture portrays a swirling tumultuous sky that represents emotional life and not a simple illustration of the sky. Although his previous works represent natural landscapes, “Starry Night” is a departure from his old style and a step towards symbolism and abstract

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