One Child Policy Homeschool

• September 18, 2007 - Renoir and Toulouse-Lautrec-- Artist Comparison

We've been studying the art of Toulouse-Lautrec recently. This is a notebook page DD filled out. You can access this PDF notebooking page (I designed) at HSLaunch.

My DD does not enjoy his art. It's too drab and gloomy for her.

It's really quite a contradiction. Toulouse-Lautrec's main subjects were the performers, dancers, and patrons of the cabaret nightlife of Montmartre in Paris. You would expect raucous scenes filled with smiling faces. Instead you have images like this one.

Where are the smiles? I'm amazed when portraits of dancers performing on stage show very bored, gloomy expressions. This lack of joy has given us much to discuss -- how that kind of "party life" may seem happy but really is so empty. I think Toulouse-Lautrec has captured that truth. (The lifestyle eventually cost him is life to alcoholism.)

A revelation came as I was doing some reading about Toulouse-Lautrec online. Renoir also painted many of the same cafes and cabarets of Montmartre! The Renoir painting below is of the same location as the one above. What a contrast! I pulled out our Renoir book and told my daughter. She was amazed too! Since we had studied Renoir earlier, she was able to make general comparisons of the two artists, expanding beyond the differences between these two artworks. Horray for artist study!

What a great lesson in the power of art to express feelings and mood, and how that can vary from artist to artist, even with the same subject.

So do you agree with my daughter? Do you like Renoir's happier, more youthful, brighter image?

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Comments

• September 18, 2007 - Wow!!!!

Posted by deedeeuk

That says alot about the eye of the beholder and the hearts of the two artists! One could see such fun, beauty, and love. The other could only see sadness, darkness, and dreariness. What a great contrast! Thanks for that info.

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• September 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by squeeli

Thanks for visiting my blog and all the great info.

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• September 18, 2007 - Art study

Posted by Robinlyn

Oh, I definitely like the Renoir better. We are just getting ready to read about the Post-Impressionist artists and I had been going over some of the work of Toulouse-Lautrec and it was depressing. We use The Story of Painting by Sister Wendy and supplement it with several books from the library.

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• September 18, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by noahsmom

I like the Renoir better as well simply because the lady in the lower right corner of the other painting looks scary...

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• September 19, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by drewsfamilytx

I definitely like Renoir better.

If I don't see beauty in it or it does not bring me some type of joy, then it is not the art for me.

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• September 19, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by kellieann

Thanks for the link to hslaunch...what an amazing resource! By the way, you may be getting some extra blog traffic. Someone was asking about lapbooking on the Sonlight forums. I answered some questions, but I also told them about your blog because of your amazing pictures. Hope you don't mind....

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• September 20, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by happycamper

I agree with your daughter. I would have never connected the two paintings in that way. Excellent!
Jenn

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• September 21, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Teri

My oldest loves Toulouse-Lautrec, we had the opportunity to see an exhibit of his works and he just loves him- which floored me! I didn't know about the connection to Renoir, and I'm going to have to have him look at both paintings.

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• September 21, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by Teri

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• September 21, 2007 - Untitled Comment

Posted by PlainJane

Yes, I agree! The Renoir looks more pleasant, but yet still isn't a terribly "happy" picture - no big smiles or laughter.

Noticed you were online and just wanted to pop in for a visit. Your blog name intrigued me as I'm an only child. What a nice place you have here. I'm a Lapbook fan too! Thank you for a fun visit.
Blessings to You and Yours!

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About Me

~^~Homeschooling my only child with a somewhat Charlotte Mason approach and a healthy dose of lapbooks, crafts, and field trips. ~^~Showcasing my photography hobby by sharing images of life in China. ~^~Why "One Child Policy Homeschool"? I happen to have an only child, and I live in China. It is just my attempt at a witty name for the blog.