The tumultuous and dramatic social and political changes which took place across Europe in the 18th century produced some of the most remarkable developments in the visual arts of any century. One major shift was the rapid increase in the number of people involved in the consumption, and therefore production, of art. More people saw, owned and commissioned works of art in the 18th century than at any time previously.
This course will chart the passage of the visual arts through this turbulent period. It will take in the frivolity and humour of the Rococo, the profound impact of the discovery and dissemination of Roman and Greek statuary, debates over the relative merits of national art styles, particularly in Britain, the waning influence of royal and aristocratic patronage in the face of a rapidly rising middle class and the relative austerity of Neo-Classical art.
Across Europe, questions concerning the role of art within society, the role of the artist and the role of those who viewed art, remained central and will be themes that we return to throughout this course. Unevenly and at different times, political and economic power began to slip from the complete control of European monarchs and aristocrats. Meanwhile, questions of taste, previously bound up with ideals of nobility, became entwined with notions of popularity. We will see in this module that art in this century both reflected, and distracted, from stark and brutal changes.
1: A lighter touch
Until the 20th century, most art movements were not named by those that worked in that style. None more so than the Rococo. Buffeted by wars, revolutions and national chauvinism, Rococo is a style that has been defined as frivolous, thoughtless, shallow and inherently elitist by art historians.
Yet, artists working in this style were able to question how society defined class, gender and economic structures and it was its very light and airy qualities that were seen as a threat to more masculine and supposedly serious concerns.
After the break, Timothy Revell will discuss the global spread of the Rococo across Europe and beyond to Turkey, China, Central America and Brazil.
Prior to the 18th century, questions of taste were most usually considered alongside questions of social rank. It was assumed that members of the elite were best able to determine the worth of an artistic production, while most of the population were unable to understand what they might be looking at.
However, an increasingly prosperous, and numerous, middle class and the inexorable commodification of art, meant that the patronage and appreciation of art was no longer confined to one section of society.
This week, we will explore how greater engagement with art altered the subjects depicted and the ways in which they were shown.
After the break Dr Jenny Graham will speak on the cult of sensibility and changing representations of masculinity in 18th-century art, with reference to the paintings of Reynolds, Gainsborough, Chardin, Boucher and Greuze.
This week, we will be looking at how one country, Britain, sought artistic approaches that were not linked to Rococo, a style treated with suspicion as it came from France. This century saw the establishment of the Royal Academy and the confirmation of London as the premier location for art in the country due, in no small part, to its wealth.
We will look at the figurehead for both the establishment of the Royal Academy and the intellectualising of portraiture, Sir Joshua Reynolds and William Hogarth, advocate for a uniquely British style of painting, moraliser and, despite his unflinching eye, an optimist of the human condition.
After the break, we will explore the work of another British artist, George Stubbs, who revered his roots, and sought out other popular genres, mainly the painting of horses and animals. We will examine how Stubbs, ever the maverick, took a genre of painting that had been neglected and pushed it to the forefront of 18th-century British art.
4: The Enlightenment
The Enlightenment is often understood as the triumph of scientific enquiry over mysticism and tradition. Across Europe, philosophers, writers, intellectuals and scientists increasingly wanted to understand the world around them and sought to do so through observation and experimentation. We will look at how these changes impacted on the production of paintings and, in particular, paintings of volcanoes. We will also consider whether the break with mysticism and superstition was as final as many have claimed.
The second part of the session will focus on a single painting, perhaps the most complete visual presentation of the ideals, and problems, of the Enlightenment – Joseph Wright of Derby’s ‘An Experiment on a Bird in an Air Pump’. We will see that Wright was both enlightened and a mystic.
5: The Grand Tour
Artists and art lovers have always travelled to see works of art. However, in the 18th century, this process became codified and commercialised as young men, often in the company of a large entourage, began to travel across Europe as part of their education.
Inevitably, their journeys took in Rome, Venice and Florence. This session will look at how the Grand Tour, as it came to be known, was vital in disseminating ideals based on classical architecture, writing and sculpture. We will look specifically at the ways in which portraits produced by the Italian artist, Pompeo Batoni, catered to this market.
After the break, Dr Richard Stemp will deliver a talk entitled ‘Venice: Canaletto and Carriera’. Seen by many as the party capital of Europe in the 18th century, Venice was often the last important venue to be visited on the Grand Tour, and so the ideal place to get your last souvenirs. Nowadays they would be holiday snaps and selfies, but back then, Canaletto and Carriera were the go-to artists for 'vedute' (views) and portraits respectively, and we will see how the careers of each developed according to the demands of the tourists.
6: Neo-Classicism: Revolution to Empire
Increased exposure to artifacts excavated from classical Roman and Greek sites, encouraged a deeper interest in, and emulation of, classical art. If the Rococo was perceived as art for Francophile aristocrats, the new style was a clean, serious, masculine alternative.
Promoted by a range of dealers, antiquarians, artists and, in some cases, secret agents, Neo-Classicism was the new art for the newly (and in some cases, already) wealthy. With the French Revolution it became a new style poised for a new regime. From the living rooms of newly constructed elite houses and estates in London and Berlin, Neo-Classicism became the style of revolutionary anti-monarchists, as exemplified by the work of Jacques-Louis David. This session will chart the rise of this forward-and backward-looking style.
Fiona Alderton will conclude the course by exploring the link between the artist Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun and the actress Sarah Siddons. She will then look further into the lives and careers of some of the most extraordinary women artists, patrons and sitters of the 18th century.
In focus: Hogart
Few artists represent their time as well as William Hogarth. His art, paintings, drawings and, above all, engravings, were bawdy and irreverent, but, at the same time, deliberately socially engaged.
Hogarth believed that it was possible to create a distinctly English form of art; one that was in opposition to the French Rococo style and which would be more in tune with his countrymen. The fashion for Neo-Classical art and antiquities was, Hogarth believed, another form of unhealthy obsession with foreign fashions.
Hogarth came from modest means and believed that art should appeal to the increasing number of people with similar backgrounds to his. For him, art was not only for aristocrats, but could be for a greater section of the population. The changing publics for art was an issue that Hogarth recognised, embraced and recorded in some of the best works of art of the 18th century.
We will look at Hogarth's life in relation to his engagement with issues as diverse as war, gambling and class.
