Preferences and Perspectives- The Romantic Era
The Raft of the Medusa (C.1818-19)
By: Theodore Gericault 16’1 x 23’6 on oil canvas
Louvre Paris
The Kiss (C.1859)
By: Francesco Hayez 43 in x 35 in oil on canvas
Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan
Romantic Movement style: Intentions and Analysis
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, a new artistic movement, Romanticism, emerged in Europe and the United States. This movement, in stark contrast to the rational ideas of the enlightenment, championed the belief that sense and emotion were not simply subordinate to reason and order, but equally vital in understanding and experiencing the world. Romanticism celebrated the individual imagination and intuition, and was a quest for individual rights and liberty.
Artists of the Romantic era, in a deliberate departure from logical thought, embraced individuality and subjectivity. Their aim was to delve into the depths of human emotion and explore various psychological states and moods. The Romantic Style, characterized by its emotional depth, saw painters focusing on man's relationship with nature and his natural emotional response to it. Their works, based on close observation of the landscape, the sky, and the atmosphere, elevated the natural world to a new level of significance.
The Raft of Medusa depicts the aftermath of the French naval wreck. All but 15 people survived in 13 days before their rescue, and the ones that did survive endured starvation and dehydration and were forced to practice cannibalism. The artist carefully arranged the figures on the raft to create a balanced composition, leading the viewer's eye to the foreground-background. Light and shadow in this piece add depth and dimension to the artwork; this creates a scene of drama and realism. Gericault used brushstrokes and varying applications of paint to make such an intense scene of texture; this is noticed in the waves and their tattered clothing. I enjoy looking at this piece as I love water scenes and find the story behind it very interesting, but this piece is not meant to be hung anywhere besides a museum.
The Kiss was shown at the Brera Exhibition 1859, held a few months after Victor Emanuel II and Napoleon III entered Milan. It is one of the Emblematic images of Pinacoteca and perhaps the most widely reproduced Italian painting of the entire 19th century. This piece was meant to symbolize the love of the motherland and thirst for life on the part of the young nation that had just emerged from the Second War of Independence. Hayes uses a rich, warm color palette. The figures' blue and red clothing contrasts sharply against each other, and the muted background emphasizes their embrace. The use of color enhances the romantic and dramatic scene of the painting. I find this painting very beautiful. My eyes are drawn to the contrasting colors. I would love to own a piece of this, but unfortunately, I cannot put it in my house.
Starry Night Over The Rhone ( C.1888)
By: Vincent van Gogh 2’5 x 3’0 oil painting
Musee Orsay
The Large Bathers ( C.1898)
By: Paul Cenne 6’11 x 8’3 oil painting
Aix-en-Provence and Paris
Post impression in Western painting, movement in France that represented an extension of Impressionism and the rejection of that style's inherent limitations. Impressionism was based, in its strictest sense, on the objective recording of nature in terms of the fugitive effects of color and light. Instead, they focused on the optical effects of color to describe the world around them. Artists sought to build on Impressionism but with greater emphasis on structure, form, and emotional expression. As we view pieces from this era, we view them through the artist's soul and emotional state. Unlike the impressionists, who aimed to capture the visual experience of a moment, post-impressionism sought to convey deeper emotional and psychological truths.
Van Gogh was always preoccupied with the appearance of night effects; in 1888, he wrote to his brother and said, "I need a starry night with cypresses or maybe above a field of ripe wheat." Months later, we began to paint three pieces that appeared nighttime. Theo van Gogh often described objects in his paintings in terms of colors. We see this in the piece I presented, which shows the importance of capturing the sparkling colors of the night sky and the artificial lighting that was very new to this era. The glittering stars and wavy reflections in the water could scarcely cater better to Romantic taste.
In Starry Night Over the Rhone, I see the light as the most apparent art element. Light plays a crucial role in composition. The stars and gas lamps provide sources of light that reflect off the water, giving us a warm, magical night feeling. This use of light enhances the nighttime atmosphere of the scene. The swirling lines of the sky and water create a sense of energy and movement. Van Gogh's brushstrokes are evident in the flowing lines that give the painting a dynamic effect. Shape and form are very well presented to define different elements in the painting. We see this through the stars' circular glow while the buildings and the bridges glow vertically. Though small, the figures in the foreground add a human element to the scene. I would love to own a small copy for myself, but I'm not 100% sure where I would put it. Next to my nightstand, I sincerely appreciate the water and the magical lights.
The male nude in The Large Bathers returns to an essential part of Cezanne's boyhood, which he often returns to in memory. He and his friends would sit by the riverbank, where they would talk, play, and swim. The group of females whose postures reproduce the poses models as had been drawn in art school, these figures suggest in their extreme formality and closure an intense constraint, which is unique in his art. Cezanne employs a muted yet colorful piece dominated by blues, greens, and earthy tones. The colors are broad and often overlap in patches. Cezanne's brushwork creates the texture of this; the brushwork is visible by the layering of paint, which adds a tactile quality to the canvas, which gives the piece more depth. The figures we are shown are characterized by how simple yet complex they are, as they are simply geometric shapes. Cezanne's goal here was to capture the essence of figures instead of having precise details. I would not own this. I do not care for the back story and find the piece disturbing.
Comparison
Both movements emerged as reactions against the dominant art styles of their times. Romanticism reacted against Neoclassicism and Post-Impressionism against Impressionism. Both movements sought to convey deeper emotional experiences, though in different ways. Romanticism focused on intense, dramatic emotions, while Post-Impressionism sought to capture more complex emotional states through structure and form.
My Sources
“The Kiss - Francesco Hayez.” Pinacotecabrera.org, pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezione-online/opere/the-kiss/.
“The Large Bathers, 1898-1905 by Paul Cezanne.” Www.paulcezanne.org, www.paulcezanne.org/the-large-bathers.jsp#google_vignette.
Hi Brayden! Great post! I would say the Post-Impressionism pieces you picked out where my favorite as they definitely caught my eye the most with the contrast of colors used. As when I looked at your Romantic Movement pieces they were very "neutral," if that makes sense. I really like how you first gave a discussion on what era these pieces were in and the background of it and then went into deeper detail of each piece themselves. Looking at the intentions of both of your first 2 pieces- it screamed the romanticism of the beauty of life. As for the intention of the artist of the second 2 pieces, scream subtle but deep meaning behind the pieces, to me at least. Overall I really enjoyed the pieces you chose as they both did show the correlation of the times these pieces were made.
ReplyDeleteHi Brayden!
ReplyDeleteI definitely prefer romanticism over the post-impressionist eras of art, although you picked some of the best pieces, which makes that sentence more difficult to say with confidence! While post-impressionist art can be fantastic, romanticism seems to more consistently display an interesting/captivating sense of drama! I really enjoyed your choices of pieces, given the hesitation I felt in replying with conviction! Maybe I am not as set in my preferences as I thought!
Great post! I really like the Post-Impressionism pieces you chose; they stood out the most to me with their vibrant colors. In contrast, the Romantic Movement pieces felt more "neutral," if that makes sense. I appreciated how you first explained the era and background of each piece before diving into the details. The first two pieces beautifully captured the romanticism of life's beauty, while the latter two seemed to convey subtle but profound meanings. Overall, I really enjoyed the pieces you selected and how they reflected the times in which they were created.
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