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The 1860s
The 1860s was a decade of dynamic cultural transition. Aspiring French artists still hoped to exhibit at the Salon, the annual event of the official arts establishment that was the path to success. The young painters here, all in their twenties of early thirties, were no exception, but their works -- fueled by a new devotion to contemporary life and to the sheer tactile qualities of paint -- undermined Salon conventions. Instead of the polished surfaces preferred by Salon juries, these artists were inspired by Courber's heavy paint application and Manet's discrete brushworks, laid in side by side. Mythological and biblical narratives also gave way, and by the early 1870s the avant-garde movement known as impressionism was launched. |