Bibliography

Artists, Courbet established a "Federation of. "Gustave Courbet - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustave_Courbet>.

Gombrich, E. H.. "Permanent Revolution." The story of art . 16th ed. London: Phaidon Press, Ltd., 1995. 511. Print.

People, the time Delacroix painted Liberty Leading the. "Liberty Leading the People - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_Leading_the_Peop

"18th century - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia." Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 May 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/18th_century>.

Liberty Leading The People, Eugene Delacroix, 1830

          Liberty Leading the People, by Eugene Delacroix, was painted in 1830. The liberty of the people is depicted as a “barefoot and bare breasted” woman because that is how the people lived everyday life (Liberty Leading the People). The people were poor and starved and this caused a revolution. This painting was meant to evoke emotion in the people and make a statement towards revolution. With the people taking over France this was seen as a very patriotic painting and became Delacroix’s masterpiece.
          The style of the painting is very romantic because it evokes emotion in the people of France. The painting represents every social class by having the young man with a top hat from the upper class on the left of the “liberty” and a child with two pistols from the middle/ lower class. The painting is meant to inspire all of the people of France by showed their liberty standing up to fight with the tricolor flag (Liberty Leading the People). This was a very inspirational painting for the revolution.
          The proletariat comes together and takes what they owned all along. The people use their strength in numbers and determination that they acquired throughout many years of poverty, to rise up and assume control. The French people had the right idea, but they took the revolution too far and became blood drunk. This is the problem that all revolutions face. People cannot control themselves when they acquire power and they become just like the people they worked so hard to take the power from.

The Potato Eaters, Van Gogh, 1885

 

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            The Potato Eaters, by Vincent Van Gogh, was painted in 1885, which was just after Courbet's Realist movement. Van Gogh was in the Netherlands when he painted The Potato Eaters and he was hoping that it would be his big master-piece to get him started as an artist, but the painting did not receive as much attention as Van Gogh had hoped. Since Courbet had just started the Realist movement Van Gogh must have thought that if he wanted to be a famous artist he should use the style that is most desired. However, the impressionists were also just starting to become a large part of the art community and Van Gogh happened to make this painting at the exact wrong time for it to be admired in the art community. Van Gogh quickly became a post-impressionist and became a much respected post- impressionist artist, and today The Potato Eaters is considered Van Gogh's first masterpiece.

            Van Gogh uses realism in this painting and it almost seems as though he uses sfumato throughout the entire painting. The painting is very dark and the people look dirty and ugly. The people are wearing tattered clothing, and they are sharing potatoes between the five of them. These people are obviously poor and Van Gogh does not try to glamorize their life; he actually tried to make them look very ugly and dirty so that they will look very poor and starved. Their fingers are very bony and these five people are crowded around a small table with one lamp. Van Gogh almost takes the realist sense of the painting a little to far, this may have been why it was not so loved by the art community.

            These people of the proletariat must go through this every night. This is why they would be able to become powerful as a country’s government. These people know how to work together and share like a family should. The proletariat is like a family and this is why they would be able to create a strong government. There would be much more trust within the government and it would be more like a family than a government.

The Stonebreakers, Gustave Courbet, 1849-50

                 The Stone Breakers, by Gustave Courbet, was painted in 1850 as a statement towards realism in art. Courbet was a French painter who led the realist movement during the nineteenth century. Realism made the bridge between the Romantic Movement and the impressionists. The 1800’s are when the French revolution took place, and this must have been a major reason why Courbet would want to paint the people realistically. The proletariat was looked down upon in society so Courbet showed their life as it truly was. He did not add any glamour because that was how the people lived. This made a great statement towards the revolution and its cause. Courbet was obviously very pro-revolution and he used his art as his revolutionary movement.

                Courbet’s style is of course realism, and he depicts the realistic view of the painting by not making anything look prettier than it really is. The workers have tattered clothing and they are obviously straining their bodies trying to move these heavy rocks. Also, one of the workers is too old to be doing hard labor and the other is just a little too young. Courbet does not try to make them look strong or heroic at all, he just shows them as they are. This was the true depiction of how the world as in the 1800’s and that is exactly what Courbet wanted to show us.

                The workers in this painting are obviously of the proletariat and they are working hard to move up in the world. These people have discipline and good work ethic, and if they knew how to put that to use in an uprising they could create a society with order and strength. This is the power of the proletariat; they have the ability to run a nation with strength and discipline.