Modernism in the Arts

Modernism was a movement in the arts that happened in the 19th and early 20th centuries, just before the horrors of World War I.It was characterized by a rejection of rules and traditions, always experimenting with new techniques, models, forms, etc. Trying to move forward. In this blog I'll talk about some pieces of art related to modernism. Enjoy!

Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) France

“L’ennemi” (“The Enemy”)

My youth was but a dark-aired hurricane,
Pierced by an eye of sun from time to time;
So ravaged was my world by bolts and rain
That in my garden few red fruits still climb.

Now at the autumn of the mind I stand,
And here I am to toil with rake and spade
If I am to renew this flooded land
Of grave-sized holes the burrowing rains have made.

And who knows if my dream-grown flowers shall reach
Beneath this soil now scrubbed into a beach
And taste the mystic foods that heal their parts?

Ache! Ache in me! What lifetimes Time devours!
And the dark Enemy that gnaws our hearts
Strengthens his blood by draining us of ours.

I really liked this poem by Baudelaire, even though it's a bit hard to understand because of all the metaphors it includes. What I understand is that The Enemy is the aging process of a man, that ends in death: "Strengthens his blood by draining us of ours." This is just like aging drains a man of his energy, making hi feeble and taking his youth away.

"Luncheon on the Grass "(Le déjeuner sur l'herbe)

 This is an oil on canvas panting by Edouard Manet created in 1862 and 1863. This picture  generated different emotions and thoughts in its time, not because the women are naked, which was something usual in paintings, but because they were prostitutes, and that wasn't really acceptable.They were with two dressed men in a rural setting. This situation  even prevented this painting from appearing in a great exposition in the Salon,but Manet had the opportynuty to exhibit it  in the Salon des Refusés, where many other paintings were exhibited . Another kind of paintings that developed during Modernism times was cubism.

Charkes Ives: "The 4th of July"
Charles Ives was an American modernist composer.This song was composed in 1919  and it´s  titled 4th of July . This was obviously a way of Americans to represent their patriotism during Modernism. It starts all slow and quiet, just as the first talks of liberty and independence began. Then it goes to a stronger music representing the fights, and then to music that represents the happiness and joy of liberty, freedom and having a nation of your own. Charles Ives was an experimental composer. He liked to add familiar melodies that meant something to him personally; that´s why we can recognize some parts of this song.