Degas’ bathers were revolutionary in their stylistic and conceptual approach to the female form, following a long tradition of nudes in Western art history. Degas strips them of the recognizable characteristics of sensuality, which are even more glaring in their absence, because the women do not seek invite the viewers attention and are not surrounded by props that enhance their seductive qualities. Instead, Degas chooses to depict bathing as an ordinary activity, where the viewer is “looking through the keyhole.” Ironically, he was often accused of misogyny because he didn’t give women the sex appeal they were used to. Although his bathers exhibit a highly personal style and an innovative compositional sense, Degas took his inspiration from a wide variety of sources, including the realistic lines of Ingres, japanese woodblock prints, and the emerging art of photography.

Suzuki Kiitsu’s gilded folding screen comes from the Rinpa school tradition that emerged during Edo Japan, seeking to revive the traditional painting style of earlier times. Many Rinpa artists were also involved in the textile industry, so their work has a highly decorative quality that could be applied to an emerging mass market. The Rinpa school was never closely united and continued to extend to the 19th century, when Kiitsu developed an even more stylized approach.

Caillebotte eventually gave up painting entirely to pursue his passion for boating, but, for a time, the two merged to create a unique world of innovative color and ambiguous perspective. His family owned property in the Yerres region, where the river provided a setting for socializing and the development of boating as a popular pastime. Boating was actually one of the traditions that the French adopted from the English during a time when Anglomania was sweeping across France.
An essay about Callebotte’s oarsmen: >>>

Mokuan Reien is one of the most respected early Zen painters, and his work is distinct in both style and subject matter compared to later Zen works. He was trained near Kamakura, the capital that had the support of the shogunate, and he traveled through China for more than twenty years. Unlike other painters who were influenced by Chinese texts and paintings that hung on the walls of the monasteries, Mokuan was invariably immersed in Chan belief and culture, and, as a result, transmitted this influence through his work. In his Hotei paintings, he depicts the Chinese monk of the tenth century who gained legendary status after his death and became a popular subject for Zen painters. Mokuan is often associated with the Chinese painter Muqi because of their strikingly similar painting style: dry brushstrokes counterbalanced with a few strong ink lines that echo Southern Song “apparition painting.”

Fūgai, a Zen painter who lived during the early Edo period, represents a different lifestyle and approach to painting. Instead of traveling through China, Fūgai spent most of his life wandering around the Japanese countryside, and spent many years living in a cave near a remote village. He did not display his paintings on the walls of temples, but left them outside his cave for villagers to take in exchange for rice. His Hotei Wading a Stream still depicts the same strong outline of Mokuan’s stick, but the rest of the brushstrokes are clearly meant to be seen as marks of ink. Fūgai displays these marks as though they are solely responsible for conveying his message, and offers a view into his own visualization, while Mokuan relies on the conviction of past masters to legitimize his work.

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In Luncheon of the Boating Party, Renoir’s circle of friends sit on the balcony of the riverside restaurant Fournaise, where many boaters, writers, models, and art enthusiasts gathered in the summer. The group looks so homogenous that it’s hard to discern the different classes and occupations, from the proprietor, Alphonse Fournaise, to Gustave Caillebotte, who both wear the straw hats and white shirts attributed to boaters. Caillebotte was not only a well-known painter in his own right but an avid boater as well. Ironically, Renoir creates the tigh-knit and festive atmosphere by giving each member a different line of vision, and as individuals they seem to be absorbed in their own thoughts.
Identification of each member of the party: >>>

Caillebotte presents a different kind of occasion in Luncheon, where his mother and brother René dine in silence, attended by their butler. The Caillebotte family was well-off, but, at this point, had to sort out their finances after the death of Gustave’s father. René was particularly good at reckless spending. Caillebotte always creates an unusual perspective that makes the viewer’s involvement ambiguous, and, here, the plate in the foreground suggests that he himself sits at the table. Callebotte’s paintings seem to grow out of that play in perspective, making it hard to judge whether family tensions are involved in Luncheon. The colors may not be as bright and flashy as Renoir’s, but the dynamics and perspective are no less innovative.

Bazille and Camille is a study for Monet’s Luncheon on the Grass, which was less successful than its provocative counterpart and was left unfinished. The study, on the other hand, could be a painting on its own, as Monet’s brushwork and composition bears none of the stiffness that characterizes his intended product.

Delacroix, like many Europeans during the 19th century, was dazzled by the exotic aesthetic of the Orient, a place that existed in the imaginations of those who wanted to be seduced by the unfamiliar patterns, fabrics, and people. For Delacroix, the Orient allowed him to satisfy his curiosity and romantic notion of design without any comparison to previous visual conventions. For the French viewer who had never been to any of the countries that constituted the Orient, the paintings would, as Cézanne describes it, “flow into the eye like wine down the throat and one is intoxicated.”

Delacroix accompanied the diplomat Charles de Mornay to Morocco, and, reportedly, was allowed to visit a harem in the city of Algiers. Of course, his Women of Algiers in their Apartments depicts European-looking women as though they were the fruits and flowers of a still life, and some think that oriental art reflects the colonialist mentality. On a more basic level, however, the inaccessibility of the Orient was erotic, mysterious, and simply different.

Suno’s Spring/Summer ’09 collection is a modern-day collaboration between New York artists and Kenyan craftsmen and women. The materials and patterns come from the City and travel to Kenya, where small workshops turn them into one of a kind pieces.