Pop Art Essay Research Paper Throughout the

Pop Art Essay, Research Paper

Throughout the period that covered the last half of the nineteenth century, Western Europe enjoyed the gatherings of a great wealth that was accumulated by the industrial-colonial economy. The revolutionary changes in the stratification of the society and the functioning of the production system brought new perspectives to view the individual and the world that surrounded him. The bourgeoisie reached the summit of its rise since the French Revolution, and industrial European cities became the centers of world economy and politics.

The immense change that Europe went through was not reflected in any part of life as dramatically as it was in the arts. The struggle between the avant-garde and the conservative artists represented (politically, economically and culturally) the fear of the society against the unpredictable and the new. The depiction of the contradictions in the society visualized the undesired realities, and therefore, the more realist a painting was, the more it was attacked. The non-bourgeois activities were seen as degenerate and morally corrupt.

In Paris, by the last decade of the nineteenth century, a popular form of entertainment, ‘quadrille naturaliste’ (the street dances), became the object of attraction for the Parisians. However, their popularity in the streets did not find expressions among the intellectuals and the politicians. Andr. Chadourne expressed in a treatise, in 1889 that such forms of popular entertainment were degraded and base; and in 1891, senator Ren. B.renger as the president of ‘The League against Licence in the Streets’, campaigned against the quadrilles .

Though the quadrilles were considered as anti-establishment by the upper classes, their popularity continued, and they found expressions in the popular press. Ferdinand Lunel drew the dance of La Goulue (with Valentin le D.soss., they were the most popular couple among the quadrille dancers) for the cover of ‘Le Courrier Fran.ais’ on 12 May 1889. In December, a two page engraving followed, but this time Lunel also included Valentin as her companion .

However, the most well-known, and probably one of the most successful quadrille depiction was completed in 1890, by Toulouse-Lautrec. At the age of 25, Lautrec was one of the most innovative artists of his time, and his move into the avant-garde circles dated back to 1888 . As Maurice Denis points out in his article ‘From Gauguin and van Gogh to Neo-Classicism’ that was published in L’Occident, in May 1909, with Emile Bernard, van Gogh and Anquetin, Lautrec was the rebel of the Cormon studio, sympathetic to everything new and subversive .

‘Au Moulin Rouge, la danse’ was one of the first works of Lautrec’s maturity, and reflected his distinctive style. The painting depicts Valentin performing the quadrille with a new girl. Around them is a crowd that varies from uninterested passersby to careful viewers. While the dancing takes place in the middle ground, at the front, a woman, explicitly dressed in pink watches the incident. The dressing and her make up probably signifies that she is a prostitute.

Lautrec’s extensive use of lines makes his work resemble a drawing rather than painting. His free treatment of figures gives the expression of a quick sketch. However, the most striking and distinctive characteristic of his work is the use of color. In terms of quantity he may be considered as a minimalist, but the quality and the representative power of his colors is incomparable to most of his contemporaries. The whole setting of the painting is based on a contrast between natural/soft colors and bright ones. A mixture of green and brown is dominant in the work. However, we see a line of three figures which contrast with the general color balance. In the foreground, there is the probable prostitute with the pink dress. In the middle, there is the female dancer who wears a light brown dress and bright red socks. Finally, at the very back there is another woman. She is dressed in red and with her lipsticks of the same color and the light colored hair she is the prominent figure of the background. She, too is probably a part of the Parisian night-life, but it is hard to tell her position. Nevertheless, the three figures make up a line of brightness within a setting which is very much homogenized in a boringly stereo-typical way. Therefore, the popular perception of the night-life (that Lautrec also shared) that takes it as a middle/lower class entertainment which can bring color to the highly ordered and bourgeois dominated social life, and which can ‘carnivalize’ it, is visually represented in Lautrec’s painting.

In 1891, Lautrec made a color lithograph called ‘La Goulue au Moulin Rouge’. This poster announcing the new season in Moulin Rouge, was his most innovate product up to that period. As the spectators, there is a line of black silhouettes in the background. In the foreground, there is the profile of Valentin, again as a silhouette, but of a lighter color of brown. In the middle La Goulue performs her dance in a red and white dress. The three levels of depth composed by different colors and the yellow-red dominance of the poster allude to the passionate night-life of Paris, and moreover it is a direct invitation to this life. When the two works that I have mentioned are combined, the outcome is the mixture of popular culture, life of the common peopl