Golden Symbol

Description: Early intimations of a new art had been made by James McNeill Whistler who, in his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The falling Rocket, (1872), placed greater emphasis on visual sensation than the depiction of objects. An objective interest in what is seen, can be discerned from the paintings of John Constable, J M W Turner, Camille Corot... ( +expand to view full text )

Description: Early intimations of a new art had been made by James McNeill Whistler who, in his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The falling Rocket, (1872), placed greater emphasis on visual sensation than the depiction of objects. An objective interest in what is seen, can be discerned from the paintings of John Constable, J M W Turner, Camille Corot and from them to the Impressionists who continued the plein air painting of the Barbizon school. Paul C¨¦zanne had begun as an Impressionist but his aim - to make a logical construction of reality based on a view from a single point, with modulated colour in flat areas - became the basis of a new visual art, later to be developed into Cubism by George Braque, Pablo Picasso.