The First Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries arguably changed life more than any other time in history. Most notably was the introduction of factories, which prompted mass urbanization as well as the widespread availability of goods. This radical shift in the organization of humans had downstream effects to every aspect of life, including society and culture. Painting was heavily influenced, both in terms of subject matter as well as a need to innovate the mediums by which the arts are produced, with the newfound competition of photography. This essay will explore Monet’s depiction of industrialization in his Gare Saint- Lazare paintings, comparing it with Diego Rivera's Detroit Industry Murals portrayal of industrialization.
Gare Saint-Lazare was the first of Monet’s “series” - in which he would portray the same subject each time, which took the viewer away from subject matter and drew them into the variation of color. This collection of works is debated on the inclusion in his series, because he never painted from the same perspective twice, whereas in Water Lilies, Haystacks, or Cathedral Rouen, he uses the same frame. Nevertheless, his rendering of coming and going trains, workers and passengers, and the smoke rising from trains, transport viewers into this train station. His choice of colors is made up of grays, blues, and whites, which appears harmonious because there
are no colors to command your attention. This choice demonstrates the reality of the train station but also emphasizes Monet’s feelings toward the bleakness and disconnect which has come from industrialization. His representation of these train stations is both a comment on the advancement of society as well as the destruction which this brings. The Paris which he lived and worked in was surely becoming polluted due to the rapid development of factories, and manifests itself in the hazy images he tries to illustrate. According to Climate Physicist Anna Albright, there is data suggesting the visibility of Paris was significantly reduced in the late 19th century and coincided with the Impressionist movement, “As sulfur dioxide emissions increased over time, the amount of contrast in both Turner’s and Monet’s paintings decreased.1” This can give viewers insight into the relationship between Monet’s subject matter and his choice to depict it in a bleak and color ridden way.
Monet was undoubtedly affected by the dawn of photography, which became popular in the mid-19th century due to technological progress. Not only did photography eat away at painters market share for things such as portraits, but also the way painters created their works going forward. Photography allowed the capture of subjects in a highly precise manner and forced painters to innovate by focusing more on light, color, and movement, all of which were impossible to capture by early photography. This manifested itself in Gare Saint-Lazare with sweeping brush strokes that emulate the traveling of trains and the smoke which rises out from them. This type of movement would not be possible in photography and shows the genius of Monet to depict it using his revolutionary methods.
The theme of industrialization continued to be imminent well into the 20th century. Mexican born Diego Rivera was commissioned in 1932 by the Detroit Institute of Arts with support from Edsel Ford, Detroit Industrialist and Henry Ford’s son. The Mural’s are Rivera's largest and depict American industry as well as technology, medicine, and Aztec Mythology. The juxtaposition of machines with Gods questions the adoration and reliance which society is placing into the hands of technological progress. There are allegories both lying in plain sight as well as hidden within the intricate murals, such as the characterization of Aztec Goddess Coatlicue as a Press, placed directly above workers. This deity was said to both create and annihilate life, which is a theme Rivera plays with in the entirety of the work. Planes and bombs warn of the dual nature of technological advancement, and the cost which humans are paying. These ideas were controversial from the start, stemming from the immense wealth and prosperity which had been brought to the city of Détroit due to Industry. They were attacked by capitalists as depicting communist ideology, as well as the Catholic church as being blasphemous, in particular a mural which, in homage or parody, shows a baby being vaccinated by three doctors in the familiar nativity scene of Jesus.
Both Artists have used their medium to question and express their anxieties surrounding the rapid development of society. As explored above, this oftentimes was met with criticism but the artists knew the weight which their works could carry. Monet countered the development of technology by innovating painting itself, using revolutionary techniques to depict what wasn’t possible by technology. Rivera did this by putting viewers into a position to question their adoration of technology at the level of religion, using the medium of Frescoes which was historically used in The Renaissance in Churches, further drawing parallels. Arguably the largest shift in Human organization, the Industrial Revolution hence was depicted widely by artists.
