Response to the following questions:
1. Define the term "enlightenment." Then explain what this philosophy had to do with the ways artists began to view their world and how to reflect it in their creations. Discuss two of the specific signs of the way "enlightenment" affected the artists' way of looking at life.
2. Was the United States a leader or a follower in respect to artistic movements and styles? Discuss some of the styles that gained followings in the U.S. during the nineteenth century and why artists such as John James Audubon and George Catlan were important.
3. Assume you have been given the ability to travel back in time, and you are about to set off on a trip to the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The purpose of your trip is to give you the opportunity to visit artists in their studios and to view firsthand the creation of some specific types of paintings or sculpture.
Since the length of time you can spend on this journey is limited, you must decide beforehand what styles you are most interested in. The job you will have is to collect information concerning three different styles as represented by two artists from each. You may choose from the below:
1. Rococo style
2. Romantic style in painting or sculpture
3. Naturalistic or realistic style in either Europe or North America
4. Impressionistic style
5. Post impressionistic style
Before you set out, you should have decided on the three styles that interest you, have determined specific artists you wish to visit, and come up with questions for which you wish to find answers. When you return, you will need to prepare a report that includes the below for each of the three styles you chose, as represented by two artists from each style:
1. Specific information about the pieces you viewed and found most interesting
2. Images of these pieces
3. Reasons for the style to have gained popularity
4. Specific features of the style
Your answer should provide an explanation about which style you find most interesting. Include comments about whether or not you see anything in modern artistic work - work of the 20th and 21st centuries - that indicates that influences from this style still exist.