The Hierarchy and Its Enemies
By 1800 the French Académie ranked art strictly: History painting (myth, scripture) was Rank 1. Still life (fruit) was Rank 5, barely art. The Salon jury enforced this.
| Rank | Genre | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | History painting | Only serious art |
| 5 | Still life | Fruit, barely art |
Courbet detonated the hierarchy in 1850. A Burial at Ornans showed a village funeral at the massive scale reserved for kings. Nothing was idealized: Pitfall — critics raged not at the peasants, but that ordinary life claimed royal scale.
Perception Over Object
Manet flattened modelling in Déjeuner sur l'herbe (1863), keeping the canvas an assertive painted surface. Nude goddesses were fine; a naked Parisian looking back was a scandal.
Impressionism (1874) made light the true subject. Monet painted Rouen Cathedral thirty times at different hours; the cathedral was just what the light fell on.
En plein air painting outdoors was sped by the 1841 metal paint tube. Distinction — photography (1839) took likeness, forcing painting to pursue pure perception.