The Political Side of Impressionism - Option #1

            Both The Rue Montorgueil by Calude Monet and The Rue Monsnier with Flags by Edouard Manet are depictions of the French festival of June 30th, 1878. Though both are paintings of the same day and same celebration and share many similarities, we can see that each artist chose to depict the scene in their own distinct ways.

            The Rue Montorgeil and The Rue Monsnier with Flags differ greatly. When looking at The Rue Montorgeil by Calude Monet we get a sense of both energy and movement. There is a mass amount of flags that are hanging off the sides of the buildings and look as if they are waving furiously in the wind. The flags are very sketch like making them not clearly defined which also gives them a sense of movement. We can see flags start close to us in the foreground with them continuing all the way as far as the eye can see down the road. Looking at The Rue Monsnier with Flags there are not as many flags and they are spread sporadically down the road. We aren’t seeing any flags really close to us in the foreground; they look as if they start about midway down the road. The flags are much more spread out allowing the viewer the identify individual flags, while in The Rue Montorgeil we are getting the sense that all the flags and the colors of the flags just blur together. In The Rue Montorgeil we are getting an aerial view of the extremely crowded narrow street. Not one person is clearly defined making it look as if these huge crowds of people are all in movement and celebrating. Having so many people on the road gives the painting a very busy energetic feel. It is as if the crowd is in a frenzy of excitement and happiness.  In contrast, we are seeing The Rue Monsnier with Flags in a more straight on point of view and it only has several people strolling the streets and none seem to be in a frenzy or in great celebration. The focus of this painting seems to be the crippled veteran at the left of the canvas. Having the focus be on one man rather than a large crowd of people gives the painting a calm feel. There is no real hustle, just a few people here and there and the old man making his way down the street. This scene looks as if it could be before or after the big rush of people celebrating. The colors Monet used are much darker and vibrant than the colors Manet chose to use. Manet had a much lighter palette with some individuals outlined in a darker color as well as some shadowing. While both are depictions of roads, The Rue Montorgueil seems to have a lot of emphasis on the vertical lines of the tall buildings, while The Rue Monsnier with Flags seems to put more emphasis on the lines of the road rather than the buildings surrounding it.

Both The Rue Montorgueil and The Rue Mosnier with Flags are avant- garde paintings. However, they are both avant-garde in their own ways. Monet’s painting is avant-garde because it is artistically radical. He is using loose brushstrokes, observing light and color, it is an outdoor scene, and looks very sketch like as if done very quickly and spontaneously. Manet’s painting however is both artistically and politically radical. We can see that he too used similar artistic techniques as Monet. At the same time though, Manet’s painting is politically charged. The old man on the left side of the canvas appears to be someone who fought in the war. This veteran who has lost a leg in war is a way for Manet to remind the viewers that he has not forgotten the war.

The Rue Montorgueil and The Rue Monsnier with Flags are also similar in several ways. Each are depicting the same French festival. Both paintings put importance on the flag showing the countries pride and emphasizing the celebration that is taking place. Both also share similar Impressionist artistic techniques such as loose brushstrokes, outdoor scenes, spontaneity, observation of light and color, as well as depicting a modern setting.