A Comparative Analysis of Imperialism and Artistic Movements in the 19th Century
Imperialism
The Causes
For European countries, colonies were a symbol of international prestige. It was also important to control strategic locations to gain greater security and mobility.
The growth of the population in Europe and the use of machinery in factories caused high levels of unemployment, and many people emigrated. To avoid conflicts, governments encouraged emigration to the colonies.
Scientific progress required geographic expeditions. People believed in the supremacy of white people.
The Colonial Empires
The European powers, the United States, and Japan colonized most of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The largest colonial empires belonged to France and Great Britain. They competed with each other to gain control of colonies in Africa and Asia. Other industrialized countries began building their colonial empires.
The Occupation and Administration of the Colonies
There were three stages in the colonization of an area:
- Occupation by conquest: The colonizing power used its military advantage over the peoples or countries it wanted to conquer.
- Political and administrative control: This was executed by a small group of Europeans: the governor and high-level civil servants organized the administration, and military commanders maintained order.
- Organization of the colonial economy: This involved exploiting the natural resources and the indigenous population of the colony. Each colony had a specific value for the colonizing country.
- Exploitation colonies had economic value. Indigenous people were governed by a white minority originating from the colonizing country, who exploited the area economically. Example: India was an exploitation colony of Great Britain.
- Settler colonies had socio-economic value. The majority of the population of these colonies were emigrants. Colonies with governmental autonomy. Example: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, which were all under British control.
- Protectorates were areas of strategic interest. The indigenous population had its own government and administration, but always under the supervision of the colonizing power, who controlled defense. For example, Morocco was a protectorate of France and Spain, and Egypt was a protectorate of Great Britain.
The Consequences of Imperialism
Political
The colonies became the scene of political rivalry for the dominion of territories, sometimes leading to war. The climate of tension and competition that developed in colonial areas was one cause of the First World War.
Economic
The colonists displaced the indigenous tribes (often with very poor conditions) from their land to establish their single-crop plantations. They acquired rights to extract mineral resources. The result was the imposition of a single-crop and extraction economy, which left the indigenous people without their traditional resources and means of survival.
Indigenous artisan crafts could not compete with the colonists’ manufactured products and gradually disappeared. The colonizing country dominated the colonial market. Infrastructure focused on importing and exporting products. The world economy was organized unequally because the exploitation of valuable resources and the organization of trade were controlled by the colonizing countries. This was the origin of differences that we can see today between developed and developing countries.
Demographic
The pressure of population growth, especially in European countries, led to increased emigration. The population in the colonies increased because of the decrease in mortality rates due to improvements in hygiene and health. The birth rate remained constant, though, which led to rapid population growth. Resources were insufficient, therefore causing starvation and poverty.
Social and Cultural
The colonizing countries imposed Western culture, and the indigenous people and their culture were relegated to second-class status. Social and racial segregation continued until recently in many colonies.
The Chicago School
In 1871, a fire in the city of Chicago destroyed most of the city. A group of architects, including Jenney and Sullivan, redesigned the city. Their designs included new innovations.
- The first skyscrapers were built. Their structure was made with iron and steel, and the walls were made of glass, which was lighter and allowed more floors to be built.
- Reinforced concrete pillars.
- Lifts and telephones were incorporated for easier communication.
Boxer Rebellion
During the first half of the 19th century, the Europeans, after winning the Opium Wars, signed various treaties with China. Great Britain gained control of Hong Kong; Shanghai and Canton became European colonies, which were not subject to Chinese laws; Christian missionaries had the right to preach; and there was only a 5% tax on foreign products.
In response to these concessions and the growing influence of foreigners in China, a secret society called the Boxers emerged. They aimed to expel all foreigners from China. The Boxers, supported by some elements within the Chinese government, launched a violent campaign against foreigners and Chinese Christians.
The European powers sent an international army to Peking. It arrived in August 1901 and defeated the Boxers easily. The Chinese government was forced to pay 330 million dollars in compensation, and foreign troops were stationed in China to protect their ambassadors.
Characteristics of Impressionist Art
- Outside themes, non-drama or historical
- Mainly bright, pastel colors
- Short, quick brushstrokes
- Non-drawing figures, no volume of the figures
- Use of perspective
Notable Impressionist Works
- The Balcony (Manet): A typical costumbrista scene.
- The Large Bathers (Renoir): Net contour, smooth material, and uniform light distribution. Shapes are drawn more rigorously, and the colors become colder.
- The Tub (Degas): Intense and bright colors. Pastel colors. Zero conventional perspectives, decentering figures, and sharp objects and furniture around. High point of view. Unstable and realistic composition.
- Walk on the Beach (Sorolla): Bright, colorful, captivating the sunlight and its inevitable play of light and shadow, in addition to its fondness for the sea and the landscapes of Valencia.
Cast-Iron Architecture
Cast-iron architecture was prominent between 1850 and 1890. It used iron as a building material, as in the case of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, designed by Gustave Eiffel to commemorate the centenary of the French Revolution. The iron and steel industry produced cast-iron, which allowed the construction of large buildings with fewer supports. Libraries, such as the Sainte Geneviève library in Paris, and train stations were some of the constructions built with this new material. In Spain, Velázquez Bosco built the Crystal Palace in Madrid with a cast-iron structure and glass walls.
Modernist Architecture
Antonio Gaudí’s Casa Batlló in Barcelona is a prime example of Modernist architecture. Modernist architects designed every aspect of the building, including interior and exterior elements, such as furniture and balconies.
Curves and wavy lines were the predominant feature, with organic motifs, such as flowers and leaves. In Europe, the Paris metro entrances were designed by Modernist architect Hector Guimard. In Spain, Antonio Gaudí (1852–1926) practiced complete creative liberty; he designed hexagonal balconies and curved structures with concrete. His most famous works include the Casa Batlló, the Casa Milà, the church of the Sagrada Familia, and the Park Güell, all of which are in Barcelona.
Realism
Realism was a socially conscious art, as it portrayed the hard working conditions of laborers and reflected the social and economic situation. The figures in the paintings were painted realistically and were not idealized.
In sculpture, the bronze works of Constantin Meunier (The Forger) were important. In painting, Jean François Millet painted peasants (Angelus), Honoré Daumier painted the working class (The Laundress), and Gustave Courbet painted different social classes (The Painter’s Studio).
In Spain, an example of this artistic style was Martí i Alsina (La Siesta). He painted scenes of middle-class life.
Impressionism
Impressionists usually painted outside, not in a studio, and they painted scenes of everyday life, such as landscapes, dances, and walks, without any intention of conveying political or social messages. Artists depicted the effect of light on objects at different times of the day.
The technique they used was innovative, using unmixed colors. Paint was applied in thick, overlapping layers, with fast, loose brushstrokes. It was the viewer’s eye that mixed the colors. The most important Impressionists were Claude Monet (Impression: Sunrise), Édouard Manet (A Bar at the Folies-Bergère), and August Renoir (The Swing). In Spain, important Impressionists were Joaquín Sorolla (Paseo a Orillas del Mar) and Darío de Regoyos (Tendido de Sombra). In sculpture, Auguste Rodin (The Burghers of Calais) abandoned the proportional representation of figures and exaggerated facial expressions.
Post-Impressionism
The most important Post-Impressionist artists were Vincent van Gogh, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edgar Degas. Paul Cézanne used geometric shapes, such as cubes, cylinders, and spheres, to depict real objects.
depict real objects.