Question

The camera inspired artists such as Monet to rethink the purpose of painting, moving away from depicting the scene as it appears to viewers to recording what the eye actually experiences (the impression of the object). Does this scientific approach to art make it more or less appealing to art lovers and the public in general? Do you think this approach to art was too scientific?

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) Prior to the invention of the camera, it was understandable that most artists aimed to recreate a particular scene in order to spread the effect that it had on the mind of the artist. Upon the invention of the camera, it became a lot simpler to document a scene almost exactly how it was. This caused artists to rethink the very purpose of their work. This is why artists like Monet and even a famous impressionist like Vincent Van Gogh decided to paint how a scene made them feel as opposed to how a scene actually was.

Whether or not the lack of accuracy and the increase of imagination were appealing or not is not truly the question. That is because art like love or beauty is not absolute. For example, one might like the colour blue and love their mother very dearly. However, the neighbour’s child will probably love purple and their own mother. Similarly, art is not a rule and it isn’t absolute. It is merely an opinion or affection.

This new and unique style at the time was well received by liberal individuals and perhaps left the conservatives with a little prejudice. However, with time, the symphony of colour gained popularity because it was more than what a black and white photograph had to offer.

This approach wasn’t particularly scientific; however, it was sagacious in the sense that art stopped providing what a camera could produce and began to provide something else that wasn’t available at the time. Just like any invention seeks to provide a service that isn’t available at the time, art did so as well. Since poetry through art wasn’t available too easily, impressionism gained traction.