Over the last months I have shown examples of the Naturalist painting that became popular in Europe during the late nineteenth century, although it is now neglected or glossed over in modern accounts of that period. This concluding article provides a table of contents, and an illustrated list of some of the better-known painters who were Naturalists for substantial periods in their careers.
Contents
Naturalism and Impressionism
Origins
Jules Bastien-Lepage 1875-81
Jules Bastien-Lepage 1882-84
Marie Bashkirtseff
Spread
Science and medicine
The modern meal
Urban poverty
Education
Photography
Into the 20th century
Sorolla and Zorn
Major artists
Jules Bastien-Lepage (1848–1884)
Most prominent of the Naturalist painters until his early death in 1884, his Haymakers (1877) is a pioneering composition, with its high horizon and fine detail in the foreground. Together these give the impression that the whole canvas is meticulously realist, although in fact much of its surface consists of visible brushstrokes and other painterly marks. At the same time its deep recession and broad inclusion of land gives it the illusion of a wide-angle panorama, enhancing the exhaustion and desolation of its figures.
Articles:
Jules Bastien-Lepage 1875-81
Jules Bastien-Lepage 1882-84
Marie Bashkirtseff (1858–1884)
Bastien-Lepage’s brilliant protégé, A Meeting (1884) led the depiction of the urban poor.
Article:
Marie Bashkirtseff
Léon Augustin Lhermitte (1844–1925)
Previously an established social realist, his Naturalist masterwork is The Harvesters’ Pay from 1882.
Articles:
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Léon Augustin Lhermitte 1
Commemorating the 100th anniversary of the death of Léon Augustin Lhermitte 2
Fernand Pelez (1848-1913)
Specialised in urban deprivation and poverty.
Article:
Street Urchins: Paintings of Fernand Pelez
Jean-Eugène Buland (1852–1926)
Article:
A Civic Starkness: Paintings of Eugène Buland
Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1852–1929)
Articles:
Painting and Photography: the work of Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret 1
Painting and Photography: the work of Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret 2
Henri Gervex (1852–1929)
Article:
Surgery, sinners, and soirées: the paintings of Henri Gervex
Jean Geoffroy (1853-1924)
Specialised in children and schools.
Article:
Commemorating the centenary of the death of Henri Jules Jean Geoffroy, painter of childhood
Émile Friant (1863–1932)
Articles:
The Last Naturalist: Émile Friant, 1
The Last Naturalist: Émile Friant, 2
Gustave Caillebotte (1848–1894)
Although now known as an Impressionist, he also painted in Naturalist style.
Articles:
The Naturalism of Gustave Caillebotte 1
The Naturalism of Gustave Caillebotte 2
Christian Krohg (1852–1925)
A Norwegian social realist and Naturalist.
Articles:
Christian Krohg painting social reality 1: to 1883
Christian Krohg painting social reality 2: 1883-88
Christian Krohg painting social reality 3: 1888-95
Christian Krohg painting social reality 4: 1898-1924
Commemorating the centenary of Christian Krohg’s death
Erik Henningsen (1855–1930)
Danish.
Article:
Erik Henningsen: the thirsty man
Charles Frederic Ulrich (1858–1908)
Born in New York City, trained in the Royal Academy in Munich, Germany.
Antonino Gandolfo (1841–1910)
Italian, from Sicily.
Article:
Down and Out in Catania: paintings of Antonino Gandolfo
Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863–1923)
Spanish.
Articles:
Sorolla’s Naturalist paintings 1: Fishermen and white slaves
Sorolla’s Naturalist paintings 2: Science and the sea
Anders Zorn (1860–1920)
Swedish.
Articles:
1: Portraits of success
2: Far places and near death
3: Switching to oils
4: High life and low life
5: Portraits and prints
6: Presidents and Saunas
7: The White House and legacies
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