19th Century Art History Comparison
Option 1: Choose a work of art we have studied this term and a contemporary work of art or media image to which it can be compared. The nature of the comparison is up to you (it could be made on the basis of form, iconography, theme, function, ideology, etc.). Write a 500-word comparative analysis, explaining what can be learned from the comparison. Cite at least one relevant course reading to make your case.
Option 2: Choose a work of art we have studied this term and that is discussed in one of the assigned readings. Briefly explain the author’s larger point (this may be about the construction or representation of gender, sexuality, race, or class; technology and/or ecology and aesthetics; modernity; space; mass culture; etc.) and then write about how the work of art, in light of the chosen reading, is relevant to your life today.
With either option, your paper should discuss specific similarities and differences between nineteenth-century and contemporary experience, and offer visual analysis of relevant features of the work(s) selected. To earn 4%, your paper must be thoughtful and self-reflective; it must be well written and properly formatted, with footnotes and labelled images; and it must be handed in on time.
follow the format for written work on the syllabus (double-spaced, 12-point font, 1” margins, pages numbered, cover page with required information, etc.)
include properly captioned images of both works with your paper (see syllabus for formatting instructions)
include properly formatted footnotes and a bibliography: Chicago Manual of Style Quick Guide)
Just use the given resource or scolary peer review. Don't use Ai, my professor is serious about this.
19th Century Art History Comparison
Your Name
Course and Section
Professor’s Name
March 26, 2023
Jenny Saville, Propped, 1992
Edouard Manet, Olympia, 1863. Oil on canvas, 130 x 190 cm, Musée d’Orsay
The two paintings being contrasted and examined in this essay are works by Saville and Manet, the former being a renaissance artist and the latter being French Modernist painter. The naked women in the two paintings are posed in quite distinct ways. Seville's picture depicts a woman who appears to be experiencing self-body prejudice and self-acceptance issues. On the other hand, the Renaissance picture by Manet depicts a naked figure who is ecstatic about her beauty. It must be noted, however, that Manet’s painting depicts the contemporary Parisian Prostitute, which evokes idea of beauty and male dominance at the same time. Both painters have unique perspectives on the ladies who are the subject of their paintings, and these perspectives have inspired them to design their pieces so that spectators may comprehend their intended meaning.[Murrell, Denise. Posing modernity: The black model from Manet and Matisse to today. Yale University Press, 2018.]
Given the distance between them, there are many things that can be compared to the two works of art I have picked. Due to the society's concentration on other issues and the delayed dissemination of fresh and visual content at the time, body discrimination against women was not as prevalent. Although the contemporary art that is mentioned was created before the internet was invented, the technologies that they had back then were very much capable of spreading visual content that will raise a person's consciousness to themselves as they wish to be that person or that model that they are seeing. This contrasts with today where the internet is taking over everyone's life. As a result, society has established standards for what is considered beautiful and unattract...