A Burial At Ornans (1849-50) by Gustave Courbet is a painting of the funeral of the townspeople of Ornans, France. His aim was to point out the full cycle that is present, the young people who are there will become the adults and the adults will become the people underground. This grim scene of the funeral may aim towards a message that is more humbling, which could be that no matter where one is in life, you’ll always end up six feet underground.
The Stone Breakers (1849) by Gustave Courbet, was a painting done with direct parallels to the ideas shared in the Communist Manifesto. The Communist Manifesto directly criticized the exploitation that capitalism does, and in this painting there is a young man and old man doth breaking stones with their tool, but the caveat being that this labor is too much of a physical burden for these unfit people, thus exploitative.
Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl (1861-62) by James Abbott McNeill Whistler is a painting of the artist’s lover at that time. She was a pale ginger woman who was the daughter of the man who created the steam whistle. This affluent background that she had and the beautiful dress she had, signified what the bourgeoisie was and how different their life was compared to others.
The Barge Haulers on the Volga (1873) is a oil on canvas painting made by Ilya Repin, that depicts a group of barge haulers moving a barge filled with wealthy people inside of them. The focus that the artist had was on the gap of wealth, because these people aren’t rich like the barge owners, they are treated less than human and laughed at by the affluent people in the boat.
The Virgin and Child in Majesty and the Adoration of the Magi (1100) is a fresco painting done in the apse of a church in Spain, to remind church-goers that they should remember to continue obeying Christ and his mother – this is Catholic Church so the Virgin Mary is also heavily praised. Given this information one could say that the Romanesque era called for many church-commissioned paintings that often reminded Catholic followers of how inferior they are to Christ and that they should continue to praise him because he’s the only answer they have.
The Portal from the Church of San Leonardo al Frigido (1175) had a lintel that referenced the moment when Jesus entered Jerusalem in a donkey. This event usually serves as a reference to how humble Jesus was, and how despite being the son of God he still was able to humble himself down to the point where entering a city with a pathetic animal wouldn’t phase him.
Angels Swinging Censers (1170) is an French artwork made via stainless glass. What’s interesting of this art piece is the fact that it is depicting angels flying around in desperation because of dormition of the Virgin Mary. What this event is about, is the mother of Jesus dying then ascending to heaven.
The Virgin and Child (19th-20th Century) is a small statue made in Europe, which depicts baby Jesus in Mary’s lap, in Romanesque style. The main detail to focus is the fact that Jesus in this depiction seems overpowering due to his hand being raised, and this could not only intimidate Mary but also his followers.
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