(from 2014.Old Walks and New)
F. Vogler, German
A Paris Street Scene, last third of the 19th century, oil on panel
While the Barbizon artists preferred the countryside, the next generation of artists—the Impressionists and Naturalists—were fascinated with modern Paris, which was substantially rebuilt between 1850 and 1870. Here Vogler depicts the characteristic Paris advertising column surrounded by people of different classes involved in commerce. Perhaps the viewer sees the scene through the eyes of the flâneur, who was, according to French poet Charles Baudelaire, “a gentleman stroller of city streets” and a “passionate spectator.” Vogler’s forms are more tightly painted than those of the Impressionists, but he does share their use of high-key color.
