During the second half of our course we have focused on the nature of the “real.” From the Age of Enlightenment to the 20th century, artists attacked the established system, explicitly criticizing an artistic and social order they saw as artificial. Perhaps the first artist to successfully accomplish this is William Hogarth, who brutally satirized the aristocratic classes of the 18th century in direct contrast to the elegant art of Rococo artists such as Antoine Watteau. In the 19th century, Eduoard Manet attempted to show us a reality stripped of the idealism of the Academic style, and Vincent van Gogh presented a truly unique style based on emotional expression rather than stories.

For this paper, I ask you to reframe some of your Learning Logs to consider artwork from the 18th and 19th centuries. Answer this fundamental question: how do these artists struggle to define the nature of “reality” or “authenticity?” How does each artist work to establish their own unique priorities for art? What techniques, narratives, or other methods do they use?

In writing your paper, you must use address the following three images, but feel free to use other images from lecture to support your discussion. Please do no research outside of Gombrich! This is an assignment that rewards thinking, not research.

William Hogarth, Rake in Bedlam (A Rake’s Progress)
Edouard Manet, Olympia
Van Gogh, The Artist’s Bedroom in Arles

Minimum of 3-4 pages for credit