Please choose ONE of the following questions and answer in one complete paragraph of 5-7 sentences (150-170 words).
1. “Impressionism was never a single, uniform style.” How do the works of Degas and Cassatt differ from those of other impressionists?
2. Describe the influence of Japanese art on the visual artists of the late nineteenth century.
3. What role did dance and dancers play in the works of Rodin?
4. In what aspects of European life were the impressionists interested? Is it accurate to say that these artists were more concerned with paint than with what was painted? If so, why? If not, why?
5. The canvases of the postimpressionists were attacked in their time for defying traditional standards. Why then do you think they have become so enormously popular in our own time?
6. In what ways might Mallarmé, Debussy, Monet, and Cézanne be called “the last of the romantics”?
7. Examine the role of color in the paintings of the late nineteenth century. How did the invention of synthetic paint affect art? Is it fair to suggest that technology had a major impact on pictorial style?
8. The author of the textbook describes the art of Oceania in the 19th Century as “reflecting an authenticity of spirit.” Can you see any Oceanic influences from that time period reflected in peoples’ artistic expression today?