CHAPTER 16:
The Age of Reason
1700-1789
Time goes on. Philosophers look to create that perfect world. People get richer. Those who are in power realize that searching for perfection implies that the current world is imperfect. They become defensive.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 –1797) is even suggesting equal rights for women in A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792)
The religious philosophy of Deism is popular, which holds the belief that God created the universe, then left everything up to us.
Famous Deists included Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Gouverneur Morris, Thomas Paine, Stephen Hopkins, and George Washington.
In
Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788)
“Robert Andrews and His Wife Frances” 1748-49
“Landscape in
John Plampin 1753-4
The Blue Boy 1770
William Poyntz 1762
William Hogarth
(1697 – 1764) painted similar pictures.
A Scene from the Beggar's Opera. c.1728 (Theater is quite popular at this time.)
After (Outdoor Scene). c.1731
'Marriage A-la-Mode' was the first of Hogarth's satirical moralizing series of engravings that took the upper echelons of society as its subject.
“The Marriage Settlement”
(1743) Earl Squander is arranging to marry his son to the daughter of a wealthy but mean city merchant. The aged Earl (far right) is shown with his family tree and the crutches he needs because of his gout. The new house which he is having built is visible through the window. The merchant, who is plainly dressed, holds the marriage contract, while his daughter behind him listens to a young lawyer, Silvertongue. The Earl's son, the Viscount, admires his face in a mirror. Two dogs, chained together in the bottom left corner, perhaps symbolize the marriage.
“Shortly After the Marriage” The husband has returned exhausted from a night on the town – possibly including a trip to a brothel, as the dog has sniffed out a lady’s cap in his jacket pocket. Although it is only breakfast time, the young woman is already tired out, perhaps from a session of cards the night before. The butler has reached the end of his tether: the household is in chaos. He leaves the room despairingly, a clutch of bills and a receipt in his hand, and a ledger under his arm. On the wall, religious pictures are hung. However, there is a probably erotic painting behind the green curtains. A naked foot is revealed.
The third scene takes place in the room of a French doctor (M. de La Pillule). The Viscount is seated with his child mistress beside him, apparently having contracted venereal disease, as indicated by the black spot on his neck. He holds towards the doctor a box of pills; other boxes on the chair and in his mistress's hand suggest he is seeking an alternative remedy. An older woman holds a clasp knife; she appears to be the young girl's mother. The machines to the right, identified in the inscription on the open book, are for setting a broken shoulder, and drawing corks. A skeleton embraces a model in the cupboard behind the Viscount.
“The Countess’ Morning Levee” Infatuated with her new
wealth, our heroine entertains herself with the fashionable excesses of her
time. The lawyer Silvertongue invites her to a
masquerade like the one to which he points, depicted on the screen. A group of visitors on the left listen to an opera singer, possibly
a castrato, accompanied by a flautist. An African page on the right
unpacks a collection of curiosities bought at auction, including a figure of
the minotaur. The paintings on the right wall show '
“Death of the Earl” Suspecting the fidelity of his wife, the young Lord follows her to a masquerade, and from there to a bagnio, where he discovers her in flagrante delicto with the lawyer, Silvertongue. They fight, and the Earl is mortally wounded. The lawyer escapes through the window.
“Suicide of the Countess” In
the house of the Countess's father, she has taken poison on learning that her
lover has been hanged for the murder of the Earl, reported in the paper at her
feet. Her crippled child embraces her
and her father removes a ring from her finger as a suicide's possessions were
forfeit. In the centre an apothecary remonstrates with the servant whom he
accuses of obtaining the poison. Through
the window to the right is a view of
If you liked “Marriage a la Mode,” try checking these other Hogarth series on line: “The Harlot’s Progress” (1732- a woman succumbs to prostitution—at her funeral, a friend tries to seduce the undertaker) and “The Rake’s Progress” (1735- a young man seduces women, only to die of syphilis in an asylum.)
French art was quite different and more aristocratic. It was called Rococo.
In contrast to the heavier themes and darker colors of the Baroque, the Rococo style was characterized by an opulence, grace, playfulness, and lightness. Rococo motifs focused on the carefree aristocratic life and on lighthearted romance rather than heroic battles or religious figures; they also revolve heavily around nature and exterior settings.
Jean-Antoine Watteau
(1684-1721), first great Rococo painter,
who loved the theatre, Rubens,
and decoration.
Pilgrimage to
“The French Comedy”
(1714)
“Mezzetin”
(1717-19), Amorous valet, a stock character from the commedia dell'arte (Italian improvisational theatre).
Les Coquettes. c. 1712, from Moliere’s play
Love in the Italian Theater. 1716
Arlequin, Pierrot and Scapin. c. 1716
Les Champs-Elysées. c. 1717
A Love Festival. c. 1717
“Le Faux Pas (The Mistaken Advance)” 1717 Obviously the young lover has been spurned.
François Boucher (1703-1770) painted Rococo of a more licentious nature, clearly influenced by Rubens.
A Summer Pastoral
1749
Marie-Louise O'Murphy (1737-1818), also called “Reclining Girl”
The Rape of Europa
1732-34
Diana Resting after her
Brown Odalisk 1745
Germain Boffrand (1667 —1754) was one of the most gifted French architects of his generation, effectively bridging the gap between the late Baroque and the Rococo.
Hotel de Soubise.
German Architect Johann Balthasar Neumann (1687 - 1753) brought the style north.
Kaisersaal,1720
château/palais royal, Wurtzbourg 1719
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732 –1806), a student of Boucher, who continued the rococo style with remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism.
The Swing
1767
The Stolen Kiss
1787-89
The Musical Contest
c. 1754
The Bathers 1772-75
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin (1699 –1779) favored still life painting, and the middle class shown without sentiment.
The Attributes of Painting and Sculpture c. 1728
Still-Life with Jar of Olives 1760
'La Brioche' (Cake) 1763
The House of Cards
1736-37
In an effort to settle things after revolutions, and to portray the world as balanced and superior, art moved into the NEOCLASSIC AGE, which focused on a strict interpretation of historical classics. This was supported by recent archeological reports of life in the Greek and Roman ages.
Rebellion, Revolution, and the establishment of new governments led to a need for stabilization. Neoclassicism rejected the artificiality and hedonism of Rococo, and replaced it with order, balance, and a reverence for Greek and Roman society.
Jacques-Louis David: "Portrait Juliette Récamier" [1800]
Jacques-Louis David (1748 –1825), the greatest painter of the Neoclassical period
“The Oath of the Horatii” (1784)
In
the 7th century B.C., the triplet sons of Publius Horatius, decided the struggle between
“The Intervention of the Sabine Women”
1799
“Leonidas at
1814
“Bonaparte Crossing the
“Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon I and Coronation of the Empress Josephine in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris on 2 December 1804” 1808
“Death of Marat” 1793
Robert Adam (1728 -1792),
of
Garrick’s Villa
Apsley House
Jacques Germain Soufflot (1713 –1780) brought neoclassical architecture
to
Pantheon of
Hotel Marigny
In Political Philosophy, Montesquieu (1689 1755), was famous for his articulation of the theory of separation of powers (including checks and balances), implemented in many constitutions throughout the world. The book in which he introduced this idea was De l'Esprit des Lois (The Spirit of the Laws) 1748
Jean-Jacques Rousseau(1712 –1778), believed that humankind was naturally good, but easily corrupted by society. In The Social Contract (1762), he stresses the need for a democracy that encourages freedom for all, and may be the source for a number of later socialistic theorists.
François-Marie Arouet (1694 –1778), better known by the pen name Voltaire, was one of the most popular writers in French Literature. His satirical masterpiece was Candide (1759)
Candide is the picaresque tale of a noble, honest young man (hence the name) who is taught by Dr. Pangloss (a name meaningfully chosen) that ours is the best of all possible worlds.
Let us visit just a small part of the story, by watching a few scenes of Leonard Bernstein's "Candide,” with a book by Hugh Wheeler, lyrics by Richard Wilbur, additional Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, John Latouche, Lillian Hellman, and Leonard Bernstein, featuring Paul Groves as Candide, Kristin Chenoweth as Cunegonde, Patti Lupone as The Old Lady, Sir Thomas Allen as Dr.Pangloss, Jeff Blumenkrantz as Maximilian, and Janine LaManna as Paquette. Music is by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Marin Alsop.
A lesson logically proving that this is the best of all possible worlds
The best of all possible juxtapositions
The horrors of war
Even syphilis happens for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
Multiple rapes and murders may still be for the best in the best of all possible worlds . . .
After a series of picaresque adventures which take place all over the world, and involve multiple murders, resurrections, hangings, all kinds of sexual abuse, and the ingestion by Mongols of the Old Lady’s Buttock, our heroes are finally reunited and are willing to question the philosophy on which they have built their lives.
“We’re neither pure nor wise nor good. We’ll do the best we know.”
Leonard Bernstein (1918 –1990)
Alexander Pope (1688 –1744) was
In “The Rape of the Lock,” we meet the lovely Belinda, to whom style, dress, and coiffure mean everything. In this satire of the Rococo, she is protected by sprites and sylphs who fly around her.
Th' Adventrous
Baron the bright Locks admir'd,
He saw, he wish'd, and to the Prize aspir'd:
Resolv'd to win, he meditates the way,
By Force to ravish, or by Fraud betray;
For when Success a Lover's Toil attends,
Few ask, if Fraud or Force attain'd his Ends.
The Peer now spreads the glitt'ring
Forfex wide,
T'inclose the Lock; now joins it, to divide.
Ev'n then, before the fatal Engine clos'd,
A wretched Sylph too fondly interpos'd;
Fate urg'd the Sheers, and cut the Sylph in
twain,
(But Airy Substance soon unites again)
The meeting Points that sacred Hair dissever
From the fair Head, for ever and for ever!
After all kinds of sorrow and moaning, as if cutting a lock of her hair was actually raping her, the women first fight the men by giving them dirty looks. Then, they fight over the lock the baron has put in his snuffbox and the hair blows away in the wind.
Then cease, bright Nymph! to mourn
the ravish'd Hair
Which adds new Glory to the shining Sphere!
Not all the Tresses that fair Head can boast
Shall draw such Envy as the Lock you lost.
For, after all the Murders of your Eye,
When, after Millions slain, your self shall die;
When those fair Suns shall sett, as sett they must,
And all those Tresses shall be laid in Dust;
This Lock, the Muse shall consecrate to Fame,
And mid'st the Stars inscribe Belinda's Name!
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) published the six volume History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire between 1776 and 1788, making him the first “modern” historian to
study
Gibbon
believed, the
The novel became extremely popular in the 18th century,
especially in
Samuel Richardson (1689-1761) focused on love stories showing women dealing with various seducers.
Clarissa Harlowe, of The
History of a Young Lady (1748) tells the story of a young woman who allows herself to be disgraced after succumbing to numerous suitors.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded (1740), tells of another kind of women who resists temptation and ends up happily married. (Both books were over 1,000 pages each, and are still in print today.)
Henry Fielding (1707-1754) focused more on comedy and adventure. Among his works are “The Tragedy of Tragedies, or the Life and Death of Tom Thumb” (1731), a play that lampooned theatrical tragedies; and Shamela Andrews (1741), novel that made fun of Pamela, she was not so pure after all.
Tom Jones (1749) was Fielding’s
masterpiece.
Born a bastard, Tom Jones is an honest, good man, who is constantly getting into trouble.
The novel shows the hypocrisy of the church-going middle class . . .
. . . along with the manners and social graces of the 18th century.
Tom tries to do the right thing . . .
The pleasures and beauty of the English hunt, as portrayed by Fielding . . .
Tom gets into many scrapes and trysts, including spending the night with a woman who may be a very close relative . . .
He finally has a happy ending and wins the right girl, while Fielding ends with words for us all to live by.
Popular Music in the neoclassical era focused mainly on the harpsichord and dancing was a popular pastime.
In the middle of the 18th century, real classical music was born, as the Sonata was popularized. The sonata form had three parts: Melodies and themes were developed in The Exposition. Then, the same material was expanded and changed in The Development. Finally, the themes are restated in The Recapitulation, with richer harmonies and more complex associations. Symphonies followed the same format, although they often added a fourth movement in a Minuet format, between the development and Recapitulation.
Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) was the first to master this intellectual, new style, with the creation of 104 symphonies, 68 quartets, 45 piano trios, 13 masses, 13 operas, and many concertos, and vocal works.
The first movement was usually fast, establishing the themes. This is the first movement of Haydn’s 94th Symphony (“Surprise”) in G major. (Adagio Cantbile-vivaie assai) (Adagio is 66-76 beats per minute)
The second movement tended to be slower and more reflective, although this is not really the case in the 94th. Haydn called this tempo “andante.” (76-108 bpm)
The third movement of the 94th symphony was the dance (menuetto-allegromolto). This was on the fast side of 120-168 bpm.
The final movement is usually as fast as, if not faster than the first. (Allegro molto) This is also on the fast side of 120-168 bpm)
Finally, we come to arguably the greatest composer of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
An incredible child prodigy, Mozart played several instruments at the age of four, and composed his first original music by the time he was five.
A true Humanist, Mozart preferred the company of normal people to the aristocrats who supported him. An incredible virtuoso performer, he showed his talents at parties.
Mozart was never able to get along with bosses he considered inferior, as when he chose to ridicule the music of Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), at that time, one of the most popular composers in the world.
Mozart’s Symphony no. 40 in G minor, written in a few weeks in 1788, is one of his most famous. See if it sounds familiar to you.
Part of the Humanism of Mozart was his desire to write operas in the language of the common people, with storylines and themes aimed at common taste rather than mythology and classic literature.
Among the most famous of Mozart’s operas are:
The Marriage of Figaro
(1786)
The Magic Flute (1791)
Don Giovanni (1787)
Cosi
Fan Tute (Women are Like That) 1790
Never able to manage money, and never really appreciated in his
lifetime, Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave. This memorial was erected later.
Mozart’s refusal to
follow established neoclassical rules leads us to our next chapter, and the
artistic movement called ROMANTICISM.