| Romantic Era Comparison (1800’s) | Romantic vs. Impressionist

| ROMANTIC |

The Romantic Era (1800’s) was created in rejection of Neoclassical art (1760 – 1840). The social climate and warfare of the times greatly influenced Romantic art. European nations are growing strong. Britain is expanding its empire into India and China. The French Revolution just shook the world because the monarchy was overthrown and set-up a government for the people. The United States is growing. There is a huge rise in national pride during this time. “Romantic art used the sublime to capture individualism, imagination, and unconstrained emotions.” (Study)

 

Instead of creating a very direct message, Romantic painters tried to create a more subjective experience for the viewer. Like the artists of the Baroque era, they wanted to elicit emotions and feelings and engage the viewer into creating their own story to accompany what they were viewing. 

 

Not all paintings of the Romantic era were dreamy escapes for the viewer. Some of the most famous works from this era depicts horrible tragedies brought about by politics. They were intended to shock the viewer and to educate them about the horrors of war and corrupt governments. It’s hard to pin an exact style on the Romantics because it’s more of an attitude rather than a specific technique. One of the attitudes that persisted in the art world was that the artists was a creative genius who received a God given talent and utilization of that talent was a manifestation of the power of God.  (Lisa Kljaich)

                             | ROMANTIC SAMPLES |

The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli (1782)

In this artwork, a woman bathed in white, stretches across her bed. A demon sits upon her chest while a horse with glowing eyes and flared nostrils emerges from the shadowy background. The ''inner world'' (visions, dreams, imagination, nightmares) German philosophies of Immanuel Kant, Karl Schlegel, and George Hegel inspired paintings such as The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli (1782) depicting a woman trapped in a nightmare about demon possession. Exploring the inner world of madness, the occult, and dreams is a common theme. (Study) The artist effectively used chiaroscuro to make this piece dramatic and to heighten the terror of this piece. The sleeping woman is bright and highlighted along her face and body. The upper portion of the piece is dark and terrifying. The ape like creature sitting atop the woman is dark and his shadow is eerie. The black horse blends into the dark corner. This piece is very striking; however, I would not own a copy of it. I found it interesting that Sigmund Freud allegedly kept a reproduction of the painting on the wall of his apartment in Vienna. (Paulson) I like that this is an example of a Romantic era piece that represents something dark…not quite a tragedy.

 

Wander Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich (1818)

I found this piece visually appealing when conducting the reading from this week’s assignments. I find it to be a dichotomy of beauty yet haunting. I am instantly drawn to the man, center frame with his back to us, creating an element of drama and intrigue. I want to know what he is thinking. I like how this piece gains brightness as one moves their eyes from the bottom to the top. The rocks are dark, and everything gradually gets brighter, lighter. I really like this piece and actually think I would own a copy of this. According to Artble, “Friedrich employs the Ruckenfugen technique in which he paints the figure with is back towards the viewer. This makes the figure something of a mystery to the viewer-they are unsure what he is thinking or his reaction to the landscape that they too are taking in.” It is believed that this piece is a self-portrait of Friedrich. The young figure standing in contemplation has the same fiery red hair as the artist. “The figure stands in contemplation and self-reflection, mesmerized by the haze of the sea fog as if it were a religious and spiritual experience. He wonders in that moment about the unforeseen future. By placing his back toward the viewer he is not shutting them out - rather he enables them to see the world through his own eyes, to share and convey his personal experience.” (Artble)

| IMPRESSIONIST |

The last quarter of the 19th-century ushers in impressionism. Impressionist disengages art from conventional roles and the way the painter worked became more important than the content of the painting. 

Painters strove to capture a fleeting moment, an impression which was open for huge subjective interpretation. It was characterized by sketchy loose brush strokes and lines, dabs of color that when viewed, blended to create a fusion of several colors. Impressionists did not paint grand history paintings, nor did they reference times from the past. (Lisa Kljaich) 

Early impressionists challenged the French Academy, initially struggling to have their art accepted. However, with public demand the Salon was created and impressionist art found a platform to gain popularity. 

                         | IMPRESSIONIST SAMPLES |

Mother and Child (The Goodnight Hug) by Mary Cassatt 1880

I absolutely love this painting. I do not think I would own a copy of it; however, I could see it be used in a book or hung it a little boys room. The emotion of a mother’s love is instantly personified. Loose brush strokes are visible in the wallpaper behind the mother and child. It is also apparent on the boy’s shirt. This is such a loving, tender, pleasant moment. I was not able to find any history on this specific piece. However, I was happy to learn about the artist Mary Cassatt who was an American painter who took her subjects almost exclusively the intimate lives of contemporary women, especially in their roles as the caretakers of children. (Britannica) She was one of few women artists involved in the Impressionist group. The asymmetrical compositions are also strongly influenced by the work of Japanese printmakers. Cassatt mastered the mediums of oil painting, pastel, and printmaking (especially drypoint with aquatint). The subject which most frequently captured her attention was that of the tenderness expressed between mothers and children. (Eyecon Art)

An Out-of-Doors Study by John Singer Sargent 1889

This is another piece that I love. I like how the “impressionism blending technique” is minimalized in this painting. I feel there is less subjectivity to this piece. I can see that the couple canoed to this spot along the river and is painting alongside the river.  I can see the loose brush strokes in the tall grass and some blending around the woman lying in the grass. I like how I am not able to completely see either person’s face. I can feel the grass and sunlight as if I am there with the couple. According to the Brooklyn Museum, “In the late 1880s, the American expatriate John Singer Sargent experimented with portrait compositions whose informality and naturalness stood in sharp contrast to his commissioned studio portraits of elegant society types. Inspired in part by the Impressionist works of his friend Claude Monet, this portrait depicts another French artist friend, Paul Helleu, and his young wife, Alice, at Fladbury, in England’s Cotswolds. Liberated from pictorial conventions, Sargent here featured the compositional asymmetry, natural light, and casual inattention of his “sitters.”

| CONCLUSION |

I enjoy the four pieces of art I used in my blog; however, I do prefer the Romantic art over the Impressionist art. I am a little shocked that I would say that especially since in our readings Lisa stated that impressionism is the beginning of art.