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The Midcentury Malaise: The Pessimistic Cultural Revolution in Europe and the New World
The political revolutions which had forged new nations, and forced a recognition of reformist agendas in the old European autocracies, also helped to create a new artistic culture, primarily centred in Europe, but whose effects were felt across the Atlantic and the frontier states of the New World. [1] This new culture was inherently political, and surprisingly pessimistic in tone though this of course varied from nation to nation. New political theories, such as those of Karl Marx and his associates in the Cologne School [2] focused on economics and produced numerous critiques of the Classical Model posited by thinkers such as Adam Smith.

While the Cologne School was breaking with economic orthodoxy, the artistic movements that began to emerge in 1848 offerred a revival of techniques and styles located in the Middle Ages. The Antiacademians [3], centred in London explicitly rejected the classical art style of the Royal Academy of Arts and its founder Joshua Reynolds, preferring instead to focus on medieval settings combined with the Romantic movement's focus on nature. The group caused controversy with their style, particularly their focus on realism in Biblical scenes which led many to accuse them of blasphemy. [4] The group, which had originally been seven expanded in this period as the American born artist Walter Deverell joined the group in 1850. With the support of noted critic John Ruskin, their influence would be felt across the United Kingdom with several artists combining their medieval romanticism with realism.

Literature also appeared to be changing, though in Britain the figure of Charles Dickens continued to dominate popular sales. The abolition of censorship in Germany and Sardinia, saw the emergence of a sharp edged satirism, as authors and humourists took advantage of the new liberties. The newspaper and periodical boom that emerged as a result of the liberalising of press laws in Germany gave a prominent platform to authors, though Goethian fiction still dominated culturally with Adele Schopenhauser's A Danish Story (serialised in Die Welt) becoming something of a cultural phenomenon in the infancy of the empire. [5] The new cultural freedom also encouraged a certain degree of experimentation particularly in music, as composers such as Franz Liszt [6] began to experiment with atonality (in Liszt's case with organ music.) Liszt's shift into unconventional piano compositions was perhaps exemplified with the music he created for the centenary of Mozart's birth in 1856.

The new air of freedom emerging from the post-revoutionary ether in Central Europe encouraged artistic emigration, particularly from the Anglosphere with the most famous, American journalist, author and critic Edgar Allan Poe moving to Frankfurt to take up a post with the American Consulate. [7] Other writers such as Mary Ann Evans (who became better known under her pen name Marian Pearson) established literary reviews in Geneva, which developed a flourishing literary scene as a result. [8] The shifting away from romance themes to realism became more prominent in the newly developing Geneva Circle, as writers and artists disillusioned with Britain's cultural convervatism began to move to the continent. [9] This trend of artistic emigration was not limited to Britain however: Harriet Beecher Stowe's Life Among the Lowly was first published in Britain to acclaim, which saw it serialised in several abolitionist magazines in the States. Herman Melville's The Whale, found a similar path to success, and indeed the trend became encapsulated by the establishment of a writing retreat in the Yorkshire Moors which became home to several American writers during the decade. [10] The trend of artistic emigration was not solely confined to the Anglosphere. Victor Hugo, French author, poet and dramatist went into exile in Brussels following the coup of Napoleon III, while Nikolai Gogol retreated from Russia and eventually settled in Copenhagen where he finished the manuscript of Dead Souls. [11] The decade would not be without tragedies however: the German composer Robert Schumann committed suicide in 1854, while the young Russian novelist Tolstoy was killed while serving in the Crimean War. [12]

The great demographic changes that had resulted from the rapid industrialisation saw new approaches to urban planning developed within Europe, some of which would later be exported to the New World. In Paris, the "Dictators of Architecture" began the process of greatly expanding the city centre through the demolition of the old medieval centre and it's replacement with a neo-Baroque style which saw the enlargement of public parks and the development of wide, spacious boulevards. [13] Napoleon III's plans for the renovation of Paris began to be studied in other European cities, as the influx of population placed strain on the traditional systems. The appalling industrial conditions inspired a general pessimistic trend in literature as the newly dominant realist approach saw the conditions of industrial workers and the urban poor described in great detail in the "social novels" of writers such as Dickens and Gaskell in Britain and Ludwig Feuerbach in Germany, who was one of the leading figures in the Cologne School. [14]

The increase in artistic experimentalism during the period was surprisingly reflected at the Universal Exhibition of Paris with "realist" artists such as Gustave Courbet having their work exhibited within, though public reaction was decidely mixed. [15] The period also saw an increased experimentation in the field of children's literature with Edgar Cuthwellis's novel The Adventures of Alice Under Ground introducing surrealistic elements into what had previously been a didactic genre. [16] Poe's work in detective fiction saw him create a new character in the form of Prefect Hoffmann of Mainz, as he further developed the genre he had created with the character of Dupin. Other writers in detective fiction included Wilkie Collins, who created the popular character of Anne Rodway, who became the first prominent female detective character in popular fiction. [17] However, while realism was emerging as the dominant literary trend of the period, it's unflinching attention to detail saw it prove controversial. Flaubert's novel Madame Bovary was banned in France for obscenity, with Flaubert moving to Switzerland as a result: the novel was eventually serialised in The Geneva Review [18]

The period was also noted for the further development of photography as a medium, particularly in the context of newspaper reporting, with photographs becoming a notable feature of wartime reporting, particularly in the American Civil War and the Russo-Turkish War of 1853-1854. Several art exhibitions of the period began to include photography as a medium, and the lapse of the patent on calotypes in 1854 saw the process become more economical, with photography increasingly becoming used as a medium of art. [19] Indeed photography aided several naturalists such as Darwin and Russell, whose theories of evolution proved highly controversial upon publication in the late 1850s, though it would prove to be hugely influential in fields of philosophy. [20]

BRIEF NOTES

[1] Particularly in "the settler states" of Australia, Canada and New Zealand where looser restrictions on censorship allowed for a flourishing cultural scene. The British territories in South Africa, received more mixed influences from the local Afrikaner community, producing what has been termed an "Anglo-Dutch" cultural movement.

[2] "The Cologne School" was a broad grouping of writers, philosphers and economists who centred on the figure of Karl Marx, who had returned to Germany in 1851 and established a small publishing house in Cologne. The school was famed for their critiques of traditional economics and industrial society, positing radical theories that linked them to the burgeoning socialist movement. The Marxians as they were known had strong links to the Hegelian school of thinking, with members of the Young Hegelians such as Arnold Ruge becoming prominent members of the group.

[3] The term "Antiacademian" was coined as a description of the group in a review by John Ruskin, and while they referred to themselves as the "Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood" the name stuck.

[4] The blasphemy controversy would seriously hinder the group with numerous galleries refusing to exhibit their works. Their championing by Ruskin eventually allowed them to overcome the controversy.

[5] Schopenhauser's success allowed her to recover from the financial problems which had plagued her since a banking collapse in 1819. The novel's success also marked a certain stylistic change as she adapted Goethian influences into tale of contemporary realism.

[6] Liszt's experimentalism made him a divisive figure, though his influence would be heard in the next generation of German composers through his influence as a music teacher in Weimar.

[7] Poe would continue to write while working in the diplomatic circles of Frankfurt, which would colour his later writings.

[8] So much so that some critics started to ostensibly refer to a broad "Swiss Guard" of writers, though in reality the literary group who made Geneva their home were fairly disparate in their styles.

[9] This cultural conservatism saw Samuel Roberts, a contemporary of Wordsworth and Coleridge named Poet Laureate in 1849 following Wordsworth's death.

[10] The small retreat near the spa town of Harrogate was owned by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and hosted several writers during the English Summer.

[11] Dead Souls and it's pointed satire of the Russian government made Gogol persona non grata with the Romanovs resulting in his soujourn in Copenhagen turning into permanent exile.

[12] Tolstoy's collection of essays about his experiences in the war, and his novel Boyhood were published posthumously.

[13] The architectural group were led by Haussman, and concentrated on modernising the city centre to alleviate the poverty and poor living conditions that blighted the French capital.

[14] Feuerbach's explicit rejection of religion and promotion of atheism made him a controversial member of the group, though his views meshed with those of Marx.

[15] Courbet's pieces were viewed with disdain by the crowds, and when he tried to establish an open air exhibition he was roundly booed.

[16] Cuthwellis, real name Charles Dodgson, was a mathemitician and photographer who associated with the Antiacademians. His depiction of a surreal world under ground world, and rejection of an explicit moral lesson made him something of a pioneer in children's literature.

[17] Rodway's character would become popular enough that Collins began to write a series of stories with her as protagonist making her an early pioneer for female characters in detective fiction.

[18] The Geneva Review was edited by Mary Ann Evans, who helped promote realist fiction which fell foul of the authorities in countries such as France and Britain which had strict anti-obscenity laws.

[19] Photography began to be used by established artists as well as newspaper's, and by the mid 1860s was firmly esablished a medium.

[20] Darwin and Russell's theories of evolution were swiftly adopted by anti-clerical and atheistic thinkers, as well as the exitentialists such as Kierkegaard and the Cologne School thinkers such as Feuerbach.

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