Early Modern Era

    The Early Modern Era of art was filled with many struggles. These struggles would affect the art world significantly, from the creation of many new art styles to the reworking of many old ones. Many famous artists became known for their work at this time. There are three of these artists that stand out significantly, and here they are.

    Pablo Picasso is well known for his cuboid self-portraits, but he also made many other works of art that use the cuboid style to give off a free and creative feeling. One of these paintings is Pablo Picasso's The Three Musicians.


Pablo Picasso,  The Three Musicians, 1921. Painted at Fontainebleau, France.

    The Three Musicians is one of the best examples of an abstract painting. You can make out three characters, each holding something used to make music. The person on the left seems to be playing a clarinet or some other woodwind instrument. The person in the middle is seen holding what can be interpreted as a classical guitar. The person on the left can be seen holding sheet music as though they were singing. There is also a dog in the bottom left corner of the painting seemingly hiding under a table that the three musicians are playing on. At first glance, it is hard to tell where one musician ends and another begins. The musician's bodies tangle and blend together making a large amalgamation of a character. Though the bodies of the musicians blend together, the feet help to discern where each musician is. The character on the left is wearing white/cream pants and brown shoes, and the character in the middle is wearing patterned orange and yellow pants with white/cream shoes. The character on the right seems to be wearing a robe and light brown shoes. Following the legs up, it starts to get easier to tell where each musician's body is, when your eyes reach the heads of the characters, you can see why you became confused, the necks of the two people on the left seem to be tangled together, sort of spaghetti-like. This painting is so abstract and messy, this is most likely because not all musicians look the same and what instruments and clothing are acceptable now, might not be tomorrow. The great depression caused many artists to start thinking outside of the box, they knew that they were in a great time of change, so they put that change into their art. If nothing looks exactly like anything, then later, it could look almost like everything.

    Another artist well-known for their work in the Early modern era is Salvadore Dalí. Salvadore Dalí is most well known for his strange painting, The Persistence of Memory.

Salvador Dalí, The Persistence of Memory. 1931. Painted at Port Lligat, Figueras.

    Salvadore Dalí is well-known for his signature feature of making solid everyday objects appear limp and alien. The clocks in the painting appear to be melting as if they were made of putty. These paintings show that even something that you see every day can seem as if it were from a different planet when you give it a different physical property. We all expect clocks to be solid, rigid, plastic, and metal, but when you make them soft and viscous, they don't appear to be real at all. The creature in the middle of the painting with one of the melting clocks on its back resembles nothing on Earth, this creature has features of many animals, and the specific combination of these features makes for a very disturbing sight. The animal appears to either be sleeping or deceased, but because nothing in this painting makes any sense, we don't know for sure. Everything in this painting resembles an object or animal that we think we know, but it is shown in such a way that we cannot properly distinguish whether it is what we think it is or not. The great depression was a time of great change, and in a time of great change, many things will change their appearance to something unfamiliar. Mostly everything in this painting is unfamiliar, so there's no doubt that the great depression had its fair share of influence on Salvadore Dalí. Lots of Salvadore Dalí's paintings follow a similar structure, a mysterious landscape with seemingly impossible objects and settings.

Another painting that is known for its unique style is L'Atelier Rouge. This painting combines styles from the previous two listed, it is very two-dimensional and flat, but still holds a three-dimensional feel.

Henry Matisse, L'Atelier Rouge, 1911. Painted at Paris, France.

L'Atelier Rouge, or The Red Room is one of Henri Matisse's most famous paintings, it shows the studio where Henri Matisse created one of his recent paintings. This painting has no depth to it whatsoever, it is just a blank, red canvas with objects from a studio thrown around. These objects are placed and oriented in such a way that they appear to be attached to an invisible wall or floor. The outlines of some objects can be seen without their textured, colored counterparts. There is a subtle shading on all of the corners that makes the center of the room appear brighter, also making the edges of the room appear to have some depth. The entire painting's background is a bright red gradient that sets the base for many different illusions. The paintings on the wall and floor make the viewer interpret them as if they are resting on walls we cannot see. The outlines of the chair, table, and other furniture let us see right through them, revealing more and more red. Everything in this painting doesn't make sense. Invisible walls, invisible objects, and an unnerving illusion of depth. All of these things make for a perfect Early Modern painting, there is abstractness and a unique style. This painting works because in the great depression, just like how change and the unexpected were around every corner, this work of art blends those feelings into a feeling of familiarity. You can tell that this is a room just by looking at it, you can tell that the room is an art studio and you can tell what is in said studio. You know what is in the painting, you know what it is used for, you know it looks right, but you see everything in a way you haven't before. Places, objects, and entire walls cannot appear invisible, depth without shadows and highlights seems impossible, a few lines on a big, red canvas shouldn't make depth, but it does anyway. That is why this piece of art is phenomenal and abstract, but vaguely familiar. The great depression caused many artists to change their style and adapt and create new ones. Henri Matisse is a clear example of a new art style that would spark inspiration for many viewers for many years to come. 

The great depression caused a lot of trouble and sadness, but it also paved the way for many new art styles to come in and literally shape the world. Pablo Picasso, Salvadore Dalí, and Henri Matisse are all perfect examples of a dark time giving birth to a wonderful revolution in something the world wouldn't be the same without, art.

"Three Musicians, 1921 by Pablo Picasso." Pablo Picasso Paintings, Quotes, & Biography, www.pablopicasso.org/three-musicians.jsp#prettyPhoto. 

"The Persistence of Memory." Museum of Modern Art. https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79018.

"L'Atelier Rouge , 1911 by Henri Matisse." Henri Matisse Biography, Artworks, & Quotes., www.henrimatisse.org/the-red-studio.jsp#prettyPhoto.

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