Artists' Colonies

Artists'colony is a loose term that refers to a place where a group of artists congregate and work. Artists live in close proximity to one another, yet the circumstances under which they live can vary significantly. They might live communally, sharing expenses and dividing chores, or they might remain individually responsible for their personal expenses and day-to-day tasks. In some cases, artists gather and work under the auspices of a wealthy patron. Today, an artist colony can connote a greater community, in which artists and their art play a vital force in the area's economy. It can also signify a particular area of a town or city in which artists and art galleries are located.

Artists'colonies flourished in the late nineteenth century in rural areas of Europe and the United States. Originally, they were established by young painters in France to meet the growing interest in plein air (openair) painting and the portrayal of peasant life. Throughout the early part of the nineteenth century, Westerners perceived Rome, with its rich history of classical and Renaissance art, as the art capital of the world. Art students were taught that historical, mythological painting was the most essential style to master, and they worked exclusively inside the studio, relying mostly on artificial light to paint the classical scenes preferred by their teachers. Gradually, however, dissatisfaction with conventional academic art training grew, and young painters rebelled against the classical tradition by painting landscapes in the open air and by portraying unknown people, often from the lower classes. As a result of this shift in aesthetic interest, Paris gradually replaced Rome as the mecca for Western artists.

As early as 1820, the first plein air painters departed Paris during the summers for the hamlet of Barbizon near the forest of Fontainebleu. Here they lived among [Page 58]the peasants, found cheap lodging and food, and depicted with realism the countryside and rural figures that intrigued them. Jean François Millet (1814–1875) and Charles Émile Jacque (1813–1894) were two residents who became legendary for their moving representations of peasant life. By the mid-1850s, Barbizon had developed into a colony of international renown, attracting numerous Europeans and Americans. Within two decades, similar colonies were flourishing in other parts of France and throughout Europe. These included Grèz-sur-Loing, also located near the Fontainebleau forest; Pont-Aven in Brittany; Giverny, outside Paris; Worpswede, in northern Germany; St. Ives, at the southwestern tip of Great Britain; Skagen, in northern Denmark; and Nagybánya, in central Hungary. Many American artists who had lived in European art colonies were inspired upon their return home to establish comparable communities in the United States. By the early 1900s, the United States boasted art colonies of its own, most notably Woodstock, New York; Provincetown, Massachusetts; Laguna Beach, California; and Taos, New Mexico.

By the early part of the twentieth century, critics of modern society had established numerous cooperative communities that became more far-reaching in scope, both artistically and ideologically, than the painters'settlements of France. These colonies shared the goal of incorporating nature into everyday life, thereby resurrecting a long-shunned connection between the human being and his or her natural surroundings. Disconcerted by the alienating aspects of urban modernity, inhabitants believed that through creativity, collective work, and economic self-sufficiency, one could live well and fully independent of the pressures of fast-paced industrialism. These colonies became an attractive sanctuary for poets, writers, and dancers, as well as painters, and often reflected the political and social mores of the residents. Monte Verità (1900–1920) in Ascona, Switzerland, for example, offered a vegetarian, free love, backto-nature way of life for resident artists, while simultaneously serving as a haven for conscientious objectors during World War I.

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