In: Psychology
Which two landmarks would you consider most representative of late nineteenth-century Western culture, the so-called, “Age of Materialism”? Explain why.
How did advancing technology affect the arts of the late nineteenth century? Provide specific examples.
Answer.
The middle of 19th Century saw a rise of industrial production in the Western due to the invention of the steam engine and mass production of goods in the factories as a result of the industrial revolution. Thus, steam power, coal, iron and steel became the material resources for the increasing development and power of the West which ultimately allowed countries like the United States, England, France, Russia and Germany to expand a trade a rapid rate. The era is known as the age of materialism as the repaid industrial and urban growth allowed the Western states to establish their dominance over less industrialised countries in the New World.
Within art, this marked the age of Realism and Impressionism. The artistic and Architecture artefacts of this age also represent and articulate the magnanimity of the market industrialised model of society where structures were built and commissioned as an exhibition of the economic strength and supremacy of the nation. Thus, one structure which is iconic of the 19 th century W3tern society is the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Built by Albert Gustav Eiffel, the tower comprises of an elongated iron arch reinforced over a concrete platform which was constructed to preempt the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 in Paris and was supposed to be representative of a gateway into the splendour of the French capital. As the and costs went high at the time, there was a move towards designing skeletal architectural designs with the skyscraper as the new innovation.
Another Key architectural artefact of this age is Joseph Paxton’s the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park London inaugurated in 1851. Although the original structure was destroyed in a fire in 1936, The structure was iconic in its representation of the splendour and might of the British Empire which had established its stronghold over a large part of Asia and parts of Africa. The structure made the most of the industrial materials by using a combination of cast iron, wrought iron and glass.