Example Of Question & Answer On The Academy And The Avant-Garde

The literal definition of Avant-Garde is “at the forefront”, and is a term derived from military usage. The avant-garde movement arose mainly because of the Academy’s (mainstream, acceptable art) stranglehold on the art world. The avant-garde sought to subvert the standard fare of the Academy, such as portraits, or urban or rustic scenes, and depict images that reflected the conditions of other socioeconomic classes – rather than the upper class. Moreover, the avant-garde emphasized “innovative”, sometimes radical, techniques. Even a painter such as Monet who is commonly accepted by the Academy of today, was considered avant-garde because of his use of color, and his innovative brushstrokes.
Courbet’s After Dinner at Ornans is described as a type of realism that is avant-garde insofar as its style is considered very different from a technical perspective. For example, this technique manifests itself in its rebellion against illusionism – a type of Academic practice where painters used techniques that mimicked how we perceive reality. However, Courbet applied thick layers of paint to his canvas, making it appear more three-dimensional and showcasing the work as an object of art, rather than a mere imitation of acceptable reality. In the case of Faed’s Mitherless Bairn, the work was considered mostly acceptable by the Academy at the time. Faed’s characters typified the popular aristocratic view of poverty at the time. That is, the painting showed rural poor who tolerated their impoverished conditions. The rural poor were looked down upon by the socially elite, and this painting ensures that this social dynamic stays the same. Thus, to Faed, the poor are meant to be poor, and that is how God designed them – and is not a fault of the upper classes.