From 19th Century To 20th Century

The art history from 19th century to 20th century is marked by a number of important changes and developments. In the 19th century, artists began to move away from traditional forms and subjects, instead experimenting with new styles and techniques. This trend continued into the 20th century, as artists increasingly sought to push the boundaries of what was possible in art. As a result, the art of this period is characterized by a great deal of diversity, with no one style or approach dominating.

The Dream of the Shepherd (Der Traum des Hirten)

    In the lower, terrestrial portion of this composition, the shepherd kneels in an Alpine landscape, while in the upper, celestial portion, a vision unfolds of eight nude women.
    In contrast to the shepherd's muscular, naturalistically depicted body, their pale, ethereal forms indicate that they are apparitions.
    The women may symbolize enlightenment, harmony with nature, and erotic desire.
    Their frieze-like arrangement and stylized, rhythmic gestures recall the work of Puvis de Chavannes, which Holder greatly admired.
    This ambitious composition, first exhibited in Geneva in 1896, was one of the paintings that earned the Swiss artist notoriety for his exploration of sexuality, mortality, and the unconscious.

Mont Sainte-Victoire

    Cézanne worked on this, one of the grandest pictures of Mont Sainte-Victoire, over a considerable length of time, enlarging the canvas in order to extend the view at the right and in the foreground.
    The painting is a view of the Mont Sainte-Victoire in the south of France.
    The painting is a view of the Mont Sainte-Victoire in the south of France.

The Garden of the Tuileries on a Winter Afternoon

    In December 1898 Pissarro wrote from Paris that he had "engaged an apartment at 204 rue de Rivoli, opposite the Tuileries, with a superb view of the garden, the Louvre to the left, in the background the houses on the quays behind the trees, to the right the Dôme des Invalides, and the steeples of Sainte-Clotilde behind clumps of chestnut trees. It's very beautiful. I shall have a fine to paint."
    During the following winter and spring he painted eight cityscapes looking toward the Louvre, and six, like this one, of the Tuileries Gardens with Sainte-Clotilde in the background.

Haystacks, Morning, Éragny

    Made the same year as Pissarro's bird's-eye views of the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, this idyllic scene of a meadow near the artist's home in rural Éragny is a counterpoint to his paintings of modern urban life.
    Pissarro depicted the same trio of haystacks, seen from a slightly different vantage point, and under afternoon rather than morning light (private collection), a practice recalling Monet's Haystacks series of the early 1890s.

The Boulevard Montmartre on a Winter Morning

    After spending six years in rural Éragny, Pissarro returned to Paris, where he painted several series of the grands boulevards.
    Surveying the view from his lodgings at the Grand Hôtel de Russie in early 1897, Pissarro marveled that he could "see down the whole length of the boulevards" with "almost a bird's-eye view of carriages, omnibuses, people, between big trees, big houses that have to be set straight."
    From February through April, he recorded - in two scenes of the boulevard des Italiens to the right, and fourteen of the boulevard Montmartre to the left - the spectacle of urban life as it unfolded below his window.

Three Tahitian Women

    The artist is thanking the unknown collector of his work.
    The artist recommends a modest frame and if possible one with a glass.
    The artist is apologizing for the barbarity of the painting.

Steamboats in the Port of Rouen

    Pissarro was already enraptured by "the beautiful motifs of the quays, which will make famous paintings."
    This is one of several views of the busy port that he painted from the window of his room at the Hôtel de Paris.
    Across the river in the background may be seen the wharves and warehouses of the working-class Saint-Sever district.

View of Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme