Women and girls are depicted in an increasingly exploited their knowledge and talent, The portrayal of women reflect the social standards of contemporary times, therefore, the exhibits in this gallery will explore the reasons why women and girls are shown as intellectual and skillful people. The pieces of art in the Light Bulb Exhibition include Nicolas Régnier’s Divine Inspiration ofMusic, Robert-Jacques Lefévre’s Portrait ofa Woman Holding a Pencil and a Drawing Book, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Two Girls Reading. These three works are wonderful examples of the use of art to present the social interests and political climate at the time of their creation. The Paintings in Context Regnier’s work, painted circa 1640 in Holland, displays two young women equipped with instruments, books, and music sheets. This painting is characteristic of Baroque art partly because of Caravaggio‘s influences.
The sharp contrast between the light and shadows creates a theatrical spotlight on the two women One of the women holds up her hand and points to the heavens which creates dramatic movement between the subjects, However, what is not typical of Caravaggio‘s style is the atmospheric perspective which the painting presents. The asymmetrical composition of this piece also identifies it as a Baroque painting, in contrast to the classical ideals of symmetry and balance, as it was during the Renaissance era. Lefevre’s painting, created circa 1808 in France, shows a woman comfortably sitting on her sofa with her drawing book and pencil. Painted during the Neoclassical era, this portrait served as an example of what is found to be proper and rejects the Rococo style of the painting. This was painted almost a decade after the French Revolution and The Enlightenment, which makes it an example for other women in contemporary society.
Lefevre expresses the idea that people should be practicing their skills, exploring their talent, or educating themselves instead of practicing frivolous activities, which are the expressions of Rococo painting, Renoir‘s creation, finished circa 1890 in France, is a painting of two young girls reading a book together as they sit in the middle of greeneryi Painted near the end of the impressionism era, the piece implies rather than presents detail. The images are presented through a series of dabs as opposed to consistent brush strokes, Also characteristic of impressionism is the lack of linear perspective – the background only tells us of different shades of greens and browns, leaving us to infer that the two girls are surrounded by nature The subject matter in this piece is typical of impressionism paintings, the two girls are most likely from the Bourgeois class and they are practicing an activity that is typical of contemporary life – reading. LBE Qualifiers These three particular works were selected for the Light Bulb Exhibition to showcase intellectual fervor among women and girls in different eras.
This type of subject matter is typical of our exhibition because we value skill, art, and literature Not one of the subjects in these paintings are lounging about without clothing, weighing pearls, or cooking, Rather, they are advancing themselves in some way by reading, drawing, or practicing music. Each of these pieces of an exploit the contemporary fashions of painting which helps us to identify the era, therefore we can make sense of social patterns and expectations of the different time periods. These paintings were also chosen because of their exceptional beauty and the skill of each of the artists. Similar to many other artists of his time, Nicolas Régnier followed the footsteps of Caravaggio and created works there were similar to the influential artist Robert- Jacques Lefevre was also influenced by an earlier artist, Jacques-Louis David, who is famous for painting works that were meant to persuade the French people at the dawn of the French Revolution, This influence can be seen through Lefevre‘s piece that is showcased in this
exhibition. Perhaps the woman that is painted has a higher purpose than to serve as an object of beauty. Pierre-Auguste Renoir was influenced by multiple painters such as Delacroix, Corot, Courbet, and Manet, Renoir was particularly inspired by female sensuality. Consequently, many of his pieces are centered around women and girls. Comparing the Pieces Despite the difference in eras, these paintings share a number of similarities They all depict females who are practicing a skill that they have acquired Each of the paintings are also similar because they are expositions on the unique style of each of their specific time periods. Another common factor is that the women and girls in all three of the paintings are presented realistically Even Renoir’s impressionism painting gives special attention to the faces of the two girls. The lighting in the three paintings seem natural as well, although the sources of light are not directly specified in any of the three pieces. Prospective Insight I hope that this exhibition will increase the understanding of the correlations between societal ideals and Western art. The Baroque and Neoclassical eras> for example, are famous for exploring new ideas, The Baroque era presented new roles for women, many roles that were not involved in the home. Women of this era were increasingly depicted with more intellectual and skillful credibility, such as the women in Divine Inspiration ofMusic. While at the same time, other artists of this period continued to depict women as homemakers and servants, but progress still existed. The Neoclassical Era tended to portray women in an idealized way, using a classic standard of beauty as a basis of art. The woman in Portrait ofa Woman Holding 0 Pencil and 0 Drawing Book is characteristic of what classical beauty might look like. Often times, women of this period were portrayed as symbols of the Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity of the French
Republic, The woman in this painting can be described as an independent woman who is content with being alone and drawing whatever she pleases, expressing liberal ideas. The third work, Two Girls Reading, is characteristic of the impressionist era while at the same time it is unique in comparison to other works of the time. Impressionist artists were typically fascinated by painting landscapes and everyday life Two girls reading a book is a familiar routine of the time, but Renoir painted them in such a close perspective that there is little room to depict the landscape around them Renoir’s highlighted subject matter is often times the people of the painting rather than their surroundings. This painting is the latest of the three, and it is interesting to note that the girls are not idealized, such as they are in the Neoclassical or Baroque paintings, but are painted realistically and seem to look as though they would be actual girls we would find at a park Women and girls that were portrayed as knowledgeable figures during the times of the Baroque, Neoclassical, and Impressionist eras were rare> but not unheard of Artists used female figures to establish an ideal or symbolize a meaningful aspect of society The idealized female roles that are depicted in 17th century and early 19th century paintings, however, become a reality in modern paintings, I hope you have enjoyed some insight on Régnier’s Divine Inspiration ofMusic, Lefévre‘s Portrait ofa Woman Holding a Pencil and a Drawing Book, and Renoir’s Two Girls Reading Hopefully this exhibition has served its purpose and a better understanding of the link between contemporary influences and art has been gained.
