Country folk lured by the promise of material goods and wealth, fine clothes and smart carriages, who end up working in coal mines and struggling to stave off poverty.
von Menzel
How conflicting ambitions took Napoleon III to war against Prussia when France was so ill-prepared. Defeat was inevitable, and soon Paris was under siege.
How the rich paid to walk on planks to cross muddy streets, and hussars helped ladies over mud ruts, children at play, roads in London and Leeds, and a cheeky ploughboy.
Iron and steel mills and foundries, a printing shop, a lead mine still employing children, and spinners – all relentlessly demanding, without lighter work.
Paintings of iron and steel production, printing, lead mining, machining a cog wheel, spinning, and developing a photograph.
In the 1870s, Manet and Monet introduced steam trains to the world of art. At the Salon, they were met with ridicule, but became an important theme in Impressionism.
At the start of the 19th century, industrial power came from wind and water. Within forty years, steam power was taking over. How quickly did Turner respond to this revolution?
Mud was a common problem in the streets of cities, and on all the roads, tracks and paths of the country. Why isn’t it seen more in paintings before 1850?
Unlike Impressionism, which spread relatively slowly, Naturalism was prominent in the Salon, so spread across Europe and North America like wildfire.
Decidedly Post-Impressionist, his loose style and rough facture did not impress the critics at first. Painting a mixture of landscapes and scenes from the centre of Berlin, he was still looking for the right formula.
The Eclectic Light Company 