Houtwerf by Georges Michel

Houtwerf 1773 - 1843

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drawing, pencil

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drawing

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pen sketch

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landscape

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pencil

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genre-painting

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realism

Dimensions: height 56 mm, width 118 mm

Copyright: Rijks Museum: Open Domain

Georges Michel sketched 'Houtwerf' with graphite on paper, capturing a lumberyard. Michel was working in late 18th and early 19th century France, a period of significant social upheaval. As institutions like the monarchy and aristocracy lost their grip, the academy came under scrutiny for its elitist values. Artists began to explore more common subjects, influenced by the rise of Romanticism, which valued nature and the everyday experience. The sketch aesthetic suggests a break from academic polish and a turn toward the real world. The mundane lumberyard replaces idealized landscapes of earlier French painting and this reflects a wider societal shift towards embracing the lives of ordinary people. The historian can unpack this through exploring Salon records, political pamphlets, and artists’ biographies to reveal art's relationship with the social transformations of that era.

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