Claude Monet, Rouen Cathedral, 1893

Things to think about when studying:

• Was this the only image Monet painted of Rouen Cathedral?
• Where did he paint it?
• What did Monet consider the most important aspect of his paintings?

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Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, At the Moulin Rouge, 1892-95

• What movement does this work fit into?
• Why does perspective play an important role in Toulouse-Lautrec’s work?
• What type of women did Toulouse-Lautrec most often paint? Why?

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Georges Seurat, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, 1884-1886

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Auguste Rodin, The Burghers of Calais, 1884-86 

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Henry H. Richardson, Marshall Field Warehouse, 1885-87

Things to think about when studying:

• How did Richardson draw on historical architecture when designing this building?
• What happened in the 1870s that caused Chicago to become an ‘architect’s playground’ during the late 19th century? 

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Eadweard Muybridge, The Horse in Motion, 1878

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Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Moulin de la Galette, 1876

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In the Loge: Woman in Black at the Opera - Mary Cassatt, 1877-78

Things to think about when studying:

• How is this woman breaking the normal conventions of what women should be doing? Where is her gaze directed? How does Cassatt play with the male gaze vs. female gaze?
• As a female painter, what subjects was Cassatt restricted to painting, and how did her subject matter differ from that of her male contemporaries because of her gender?

(Source: cavetocanvas, via cavetocanvas)

John Singer Sargent, Dr. Pozzi at Home, 1881

This painting is an example of the somewhat decadent and super refined world of Aestheticism in Paris. Its followers believed in art for art’s sake, with no obligation to promote morality or tell a story. Aesthetes believed that art shouldn’t imitate life; instead, art is about the search for abstract beauty.

Dr. Pozzi is an example of the artfulness that permeated this movement. His appearance is carefully cultivated, with a flamboyant flair tied into the sensuality of his hands. His fingers are playing with the neck of his robe, while his other hand is dragging down the tasseled cord. Many people of the time thought that Sargent was pushing the boundaries of good taste with this portrait, partly because of how he portrayed Dr. Pozzi, but also because this portrait was not commissioned; Sargent approached Dr. Pozzi about painting his likeness, and this was the result.

(Source: cavetocanvas, via cavetocanvas)

Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic, 1875

Things to think about when studying:

• What elements / personality traits of Dr. Gross is Eakins emphasizing through his use of light?
• How does this image reflect advances in medicine since the Civil War?

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Edgar Degas, The Rehearsal of the Ballet Onstage, 1874

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Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, 1872

After the Civil War, Homer made a series of paintings relating to children and school in rural areas. Snap the Whip is one of his most famous examples. The rural setting is Homer’s denial against an increasingly urban nation, and he made several oil paintings with similar depictions of rural school life.  Although the representation of children in art was nothing new for American artists, the depiction of children grew substantially after the Civil War, signifying a yearning to return to the innocent after the bloodbath of the Civil War.

(Source: cavetocanvas, via cavetocanvas)

Albert Bierstadt, Storm in the Mountains, c. 1870

Things to think about when studying:

• Is this an example of a sublime or pastoral landscape?
• What group of painters / movement was Bierstadt a part of?

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Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Veronica Veronese, 1872

Things to think about when studying:

• This is an example of what movement?
• Who were the other major figures associated with this movement? What other type of literary art was encompassed in this movement? 
• What were some common themes or tropes that are prevalent in this painting and others like it?

(Source: cavetocanvas, via cavetocanvas)

Prisoners from the Front - Winslow Homer, 1866

Things to think about when studying:

• How does this work depict Union vs. Confederate soliders?
• Does it favor one side over the other?
• How does this image fit into Homer’s career?

(Source: cavetocanvas, via cavetocanvas)