Date of Defense
Fall 11-23-1971
Department
Art
Abstract
Samuel Green in his book American Art: An Historical Survey, has defined zeitgeist as that "mysterious force which brings about contemporaneity of attitude and creation in various separate instances where there is apparently not any cross-fertilization." The word zeitgeist is of German origin and means "spirit of the time." It can be explained by its manifestations but the reason for these manifestations is mysterious. During the nineteenth-century the artists Gustave Courbet, of France, and Winslow Homer, of America, best represent examples of the manifestation of this zeitgeist idea. Suggested are many parallels in both artists.
Recommended Citation
Brown, Caroline Ann, "A Comparative Zeitgeist of 19th Century American and 19th Century French Painting Through Winslow Homer and Gustave Courbet" (1971). Honors Theses. 318.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/honors_theses/318
Access Setting
Honors Thesis-Campus Only