Illustrated summary of the 8 articles in this series, links to articles on specific themes, alphabetical list and links for artists, and recommended books.
photography
The influence and inheritance of Naturalism is hard to judge even now. Given the dramatic change in painting in the 20th century, its greatest inheritance may be in photography.
A lot changed in painting in the 1890s. Within just a few years, Naturalism went from being all the rage to old hat. These paintings show how.
His late career tackled his dislike of Impressionism, sculpture, photography as an art, and the depiction of truth – in several superb paintings.
As an avid photographer, how did he use his many photographs in his paintings? Was he just a copyist?
During his career, over 300 of his paintings were shown in the Salon, many being bought by the state for public collections. Yet he has all but vanished since.
A detailed look at his paintings of the rural poor which led up to Naturalism, and how he used a compositional formula so successfully.
‘Girl in a Red Kimono’ is a major work of Japonisme, and relied on photos as well as drawings and sketches. His name has even entered the Dutch language.
In 1882, he painted with Vincent van Gogh in The Hague. A Naturalist without realist style, he showed street life as it was, and loved Japonism too.
After the early death of Bastien-Lepage, he led the Naturalist movement in France. After 1892, though, he concentrated on religious themes seen in a new light.