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Period: to
Impressionist Era
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Crime and Punishment
A novel by the Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky, originally published in 12 installments in The Russian Messenger. The novel focuses around the protagonist Raskolnikov, a pauper who lives in ST. Petersburg, Russia. It is an important philosophical and psychological work wherein the protagonist sets a plan in motion to murder a pawnbroker. The book was heralded as the most important literary work of its time, and that sentiment has held through the years. -
Urgolino and His Sons
Sculpted by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Urgolino is a character from Dante's Inferno. It depicts the moment when Urgolino, condemned to die of starvation, gives in to the desire to eat his children. Carpeaux was known for sculpting anatomically correct pieces. -
The Blue Danube Waltz
ListenThe Blue Danube Waltz by Johan Strauss. Composed and originally performed in 1867 at a concert of the Vienna Men's Choral Association. This waltz is one of the most famous of all time and is in fact five interlinked waltzes. When this was played at the World Exhibtion in Paris in 1867 it created a sensation and sold over a million copies. -
Porte de la Reine at Aigues–Mortes
Painted by Jean-Frederic Bazille in 1867 in the town of Aigues-Mortes. Bazille was an impressionist painter, a painter who used small brush strokes to symbolize movement and also to capture the different effects of light in a more realistic, sometimes almost abstract way. This style of painting was a radical departure from the norm of the day and initially met with much ridicule and resistance. -
War and Peace
A novel by Russian author Leo Tolstoy coming in at around 1300 pages long. It was originally published in six volumes and although some criticised its length it has been hailed almost universally as one of the greatest novels of all time. -
View of the Saint-Martin Canal, Paris
Painted by Alfred Sisley, an English painter who spent most of his time in France. Sisley painted almost exclusively landscapes 'en plein air' or outside. Painting outside was another mark of impressionism, choosing to use natural light. -
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
By Jules Verne. This novel is considered one of the greatest adventure novels of all time. It has been made into several films, perhaps aided by the 100 plus drawings inside. The story revolves around CAPT. Nemo, a submarine captain, and described technolgies of submarines that did not exist at the time, but have come into reality, thus the book has aged well. -
Impression, Soleil Levant
By Claude Monet. The painting that started it all. Painted in 1872 but first shown in 1874, as part of a collection of impressionist paintings, it was famously criticized as only being an impression of something by newspaper critic Louis Leroy "Impression - I was certain of it. I was just telling myself that, since I was impressed, there had to be some impression in it...and what freedom, what ease of workmanship! Wallpaper in its embryonic state is more finished then that seascape" -
The Bridge at Villeneuve la Garenne
Painted by Alfred Sisley. As mentioned before, Sisley preferred landscapes, and bridges were often part of his paintings. -
Soleil couchant à Ivry
Sunset at Ivry painted by Armand Guillaumin. A companion of Cezanne and Pissarro, Guillaumin's paintings are noted for there intense color. -
Rehearsal on Stage
Painted by Edgar Degas, this is one of three such paintings painted in the same year - all similar. Degas went into great detail in his compositional paintings as evidenced by the position of the dancers hands. -
California State Capitol Building
Part museum part working building in Sacremento, California. The building is built with a strong Greek and Roman influence, and was fully restored in 1976 using traditional methods that had to be re-learned. -
H.M.S. Pinafore
Listen & Watch A comic opera by Gilbert and Sullivan, it ran for 571 consecutive performances, and has contributed to the development of modern times musical theater. HMS Pinafore was one of many popular operas written and composed by the duo and can still be seen today. The opera revolves around the social class struggle of a captains daughter who wishes to marry a lower class sailor, although her father wishes her to marry the Lord of -
Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No 1
Piano Concerto No. 1 This is one of the best known of Tchaikovsky's compositions, and perhaps his most beloved. Listen to it. The music speaks for itself. -
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II
The Galleria is a four story covered shopping arcade in Milan, Italy. The gallery is nammed after King Victor Emmanuel II and was completed in 1877, some twelve years after construction began. -
The Thinker
Sculpted by Auguste Rodin, it was originally conceived as the crowning piece of The Gates of Hell and originally titled The Poet, and only a little over two feet tall. It was meant to portray Dante, part anguished man, part free thinking man, looking down at the circles of hell. It became an independent work when it was enlarged and exhibited by itself, and has become one of the most popular sculptures of all time, of a man lost in thought. -
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
A novel by Lew Wallace considered to be the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century. Its sales surpassed all others and was on the bestseller lists for nearly forty years. It was made variously into film and stage productions, winning 11 Oscars in its 1959 adaptation, and was actually blessed by Pope Leo XIII, the first ever work of fiction to be blessed by a pope. -
Two Sisters (On the Terrace)
Painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. -
The 1812 Overture
The 1812 Overture
The Year 1812 or the 1812 Overture, written in 1880 by Tchailkovsky, debuted on 20 August 1882 in Moscow. While all of it is good, if you only have time to listen to a little the most famous part with the cannons stars at around (best played loud) minute 14:00 -
Young Woman Knitting
Painted by Berthe Morisot, where she captured the light and color in outside views indicative of impressionists. -
Danaid
Sculpted by Auguste Rodin, initially for a piece entitled The Gates Of Hell, but not used. Danaid is one of the daughters of Danaos, a figure from Greek mythology. The Danaids were made to fill up bottomless barrels with water as punishment for killing their husbands. This depiction represents Danaids realization of the futility of the task. -
Lady Liberty
The Statue of Liberty on display in Paris, before she was shipped to New York. The statue is neoclassical sculpture by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, a Frenchman, designed to represent the Roman goddess of freedom, Libertas. At the time there was much kinship between the French and American peoples. The French built and paid for the statue whilst the Americans found a place to erect her and build the base, Ellis Island, New York. -
Snowflake
Whilst not a normally considered a classical fine art piece, you only have to stare at the image for a moment to agree it is beyond compare. This is the first ever photograph of a snowflake. Taken by Wilson A. Bentley with a microscope so more properly called a micrograph. Bentley took micrographs that were so beautiful, it was well over a century before anyone could even compete with his skill. This is just one example of many he took. -
Haystacks at Sunset
Painted by Claude Monet, Haystacks at Sunset is part of a 25 painting series, all painted in the Normandy region of France. The small brush strokes emphasizing light can clearly be seen. This is one of Monet's finest examples of impressionist art. -
Young Girl Bathing
Painted by Pierre Auguste Renoir, one of many of his favorite subject, namely young women in an outdoor setting. It is thought that this painting was actually completed in a studio, as the background is unaccentuated. Again in the impressionist style.
