Art in Brunant

Art in Brunant spans over one thousand years.

Brunanter Golden Age
The Brunanter Golden Age, also known as the classical era, (1690-c.1730) is often considered by art connoisseurs to be the the defining moment when Brunanter art took shape. The most prominent artist during this era was Johannes Neyt the Younger (1661-1724). He was a famed landscape painter who, although lived in poverty in his lifetime is now well known. Much of his work has been lost over the years, and his work can command upwards of €80,000. Other painters who followed in his style were Jan van Helsinger (1672-1743), Andreus Ricard (1688-1851) and Blomefont van Stein (1679-1730), who's early work was heavily based on Neyt's style. Art during this time consisted of abstract-like painting (somewhat similar to impressionism), where objects, landscapes and backgrounds were not clearly painted and often were just blended together. Art critics of the age called them the "indefinites", due to not clearly defining landscapes and background. Notable works from this era include Death on the land (Neyt, 1698), The Resilient Patriot (1707) and Blomefont van Stein's Roodstad Farmhouse (1727).

Neoclassical art
The Neoclassical era (c.1815-1850) was a movement reminiscent of the Golden age of 70 years previous. It was obviously influenced by old masters like Blomefont van Stein and Neyt the Younger, but also from outside artists like J.M.W. Turner.

The earliest Neoclassical painter (often considered the founder of the movement) was Michael Emmett Springfield (1777-1845); he utilized the principles of the old masters but to greater extremes. If one takes his White Horse (1839), one can see some influences, but the background is much more abstract and the foreground image (the horse) is very well defined, giving a sharper contrast. Antonius Niesterfeld (1783-1854) became one of the more famous painters of this era; his Sinking ship at the foot of a wave, painted in 1829, was only sold by him for Th. 650, but in a 2003 Sotheby's auction it realized €185,000.

Academics
The Academics (1820-1860) was an art movement seen as a response to the neoclassicals. The paintings from this era were dramatic, detailed and "real".

Hans Rotmensen is considered the main exponent from this age. Two of his best-known works, The destruction of war (1826) and Carrington Leading the Charge (1820-22) are large works with lost of figures, details and a sense of magnitude unseen with the classicals/neoclassicals. Other notable painters form this era include portraitist Pierre-Jules Chapron (1786-1861) and Edward Winters (1798-1824), who tragically died young while his career was blossoming.

Impressionism
Impressionism caught on in Brunant in the 1860s just as the academics began to wane. Mrs. Wilmer's garden, 1892. A prominent painter from this era was Eugenia Villes (1856-1928), who painted rich countryside landscapes from 1891-1905.