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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter is a cornerstone of American Romanticism Literature. Challenging Puritan beliefs, beautiful prose, and themes of sin and redemption brought the book instant praise and criticism in 1850 and it is still widely read.
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According to the official London Chrystal Palace website, the original structure was created by Joseph Paxton for a six month exhibition of industry from around the world. After six million visitors to the Hyde Park exhibit, the structure was moved to east London and re-opened in 1854. The structure was destroyed by fire in 1936.
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This oil on canvas painting is a solid example of the late French Realist style of the 19th century and shows as a fitting contrast to the following Impressionist movement. The painting is currently on display in the collection of Musée Fabre in Montpelier, France.
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Ride of the Valkyries
Ride of the Valkyries is Wagner’s most known movement of music. Wagner did not want the piece played apart from the rest of the opera, but the five-minute movement is often an encore piece for contemporary symphonies. -
Decamps is a noted painter of the French Academy. Known more for depicting animals engaged in human activities and the Orientalism style, this canvas is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.
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Victor Hugo is one of the most renowned writers in the world. Known as a Romantic novelist, poet and dramatist, his novel Les Misérables continues to be one of the most renowned works of literature worldwide.
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The still life had become a passé’ genre in painting, but by painting a formerly alive fish, Édouard Manet brought an unusual twist and re-popularized the genre. As a canvas is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, this Impressionist painting is a great example of a great genre, from one of the greatest Impressionist painters.
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Any timeline of the 19th century must include a novel by a Russian Realist writer. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky would be at the top of any reading list then and now. The sweeping descriptions of life and the moral and ethical dilemmas presented make the work timeless.
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Another oil on canvas painting from the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago, this Impressionist painting depicts a scene of the “racetrack in the Bois de Boulogne, on the western outskirts of Paris. The popularity of Longchamp, where races were run for the first time in 1857, Manet dared to compose the scene so that the throng of horses and jockeys thunders straight toward the viewer.”
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Claude Monet is one of the most noted French Impressionists and this is one of most noted Impressionists paintings of all time. This canvas is currently in Musee Marmottan in Paris.
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The Roman Widow by Dante Gabriel Rossetti is an unusual piece to see after 1850. Rossetti is known as a Pre-Raphelite and medievalist, but this piece is an excellent example of his work.
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The Dance Class by Edgar Degas is an excellent example of Degas’ love of the Paris Opera ballet and the ballerina as a subject. This oil on canvas impressionist painting is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
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Paul Gauguin is another noted French Impressionist painter. The oil on canvas painting The Market Gardens of Vaugirard is in the Smith College Museum of Art and provides an excellent example of the landscape genre from the Impressionist era.
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Norway's henrik Ibsen radically changed the theater by establishing "the fourth wall." Ibsen brought Realism to the stage with everyday people in everyday situations.
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Conceived, and modeled in 1880, The Thinker by Auguste Rodin was not cast in bronze until 1903. As a piece of sculpture, The Thinker is probably the most iconic Realist sculpture in the world.
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Pierre-Aguste Renoir is synonymous with the Impressionist movement in France. The oil on canvas painting Two Sisters is one of the most famous of the Impressionist portrait genre. This painting is in the collection of is in the collection of The Art Institute of Chicago.
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Dutch painter Vincent Van Gogh is the greatest Post-Impressionist painter in the world. This oil on canvas painting described as Landscape with Pollard Willows depicts trees that have been trimmed of branches to produce mats to build polders to hold back the sea.
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French painter George Seurat is known for radically changing the painting world. By developing the Pointillism style, he contributed to the Neo-Impressionist movement. A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte is the most renowned example of Pointillism.
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Listen
Austrian composer Gustav Mahler is one of the most performed composers of our time. His late Romantic era symphonies were not performed during the WWII era, but have become the basis of many symphony company repertoires since. Many of his compositions came after 1900, but Symphony No. 1 by Gustav Mahler was completed in 1888. -
This is but one of Vincent van Gogh’s famous “Iris” paintings completed after his self-mutilation and during his stay in asylum. The piece is a part of the famous Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam.
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Other impressionist and post-impressionist painters revered Camille Pissarro. This landscape oil on canvas painting exhibits all the strength and style of Camille Pissarro.
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Mary Cassatt’s painting The Child's Bath is probably her most recognized work. This oil on canvas Belongs to the Art Institute of Chicago and represents her standing alongside the noted Impressionist painters of the era.
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Edvard Munch’s The Scream is one of the most recognized art works in the world. There are three versions of this oil, tempera, pastel, and crayon on cardboard pieces in the world. The 1893 painted version is in the National Gallery in Oslo, Norway and is the seminal Expressionist piece.
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The Basket of Apples by Paul Cézanne represents the end of Post-Impressionists and a shift toward the 20th century forms of cubism and others to follow. Cézanne represents the end of the era, even though many continued to emulate the Impressionists style and method.
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Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad first appeared in 1899 as a serial and was later published in 1902 as a novella. The story explores the depths of human depravity without the constraints of civilization. Joseph Conrad serves as a fitting start to the Modern era of literature.
