Romanticism vs Impressionism Art

 

 

    The Romantic era is unique compared to the previous era because it inspired artists with vast ideas, which is why different art styles flourished during this time. Romantic and Impressionism art are two of the few painting styles introduced at this time. Romantic art is more subjective and focused on emotions, while Impressionist art emphasizes light and brush strokes.

Romantic Art

 Juan Luna, Spoliarium, 1884, oil on canvas, National Museum of Fine Arts, Manila

    Romanticism is an intellectual movement that began when people explored artistic ideas and expressed their strong emotions through art. One example of a romantic art style is the "Spolarium" painting by Filipino artist Juan Luna. Spoliarium is important in our history. Our history class taught us this painting to remind us how Filipinos rose against political oppression during the Spanish colonial period. The painting shows gladiators dragged by Roman soldiers into the arena. It depicts the Roman history of enslavement as it illustrates humans' helplessness because they lack power. This painting is inspired by the events when Spain colonized the Philippines for hundreds of years. It is a symbol of oppression and misery. Juan Luna used warm colors for this piece. He highlighted the red in the middle of the painting. He also used significant proportions of muscle with curved lines like in renaissance art. You can feel a lot of emotions in the painting. It screams misery and injustice. It tells a story of oppression and suffering.

  Théodore Géricault, Raft of the Medusa, 1818–19, oil on canvas, Musée du Louvre, Paris 

    Another Romantic art style is the “Raft of the Medusa”, which Theodore Gericault made in the 1800s. It was a controversial painting because it was based on a naval boat that went through a shipwreck. Of the 150 passengers on the ship, only ten survived, consisting of lower-ranking personnel (McCoy). You can see intense action because the people went through hardship, starvation, and cannibalism before being rescued at sea. Gericault used Chiaroscuro in this painting, highlighting the people's emotions of fear, pain, hope, and madness. The painting shows the hue's lightness and darkness, which is an element of Value. 

    Both of the paintings above have similarities in going through Hardships and misery. The authors did a great job telling a story through the representation of art. I am in awe of how you can already feel the true story of tragedy just by standing and looking at the painting. 

 

Impressionism

 Claude Monet, Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare, 1877, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago

    Impressionism is a modern style of art that is simpler and more relaxing when you see it. The paintings are more realistic that can be seen in our daily lives. Claude Monet's painting "Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare" is a painting of Impressionism through his small elaborate brush strokes that creates dark and light tones to show the streets of Normandy and Paris. Monet likes to draw paintings based on nature and landscapes. He coordinated blue, light blue and green colors in this painting. He also used complementary colors like blue and orange. The brush strokes give it a texture and a clouded effect. Monet helped start the movement of Impressionism. I like how modern looking the painting is compared to the previous era. Monet initiated Impressionism which greatly inspired other artists as well. An impact to change a kind of art in this period.

 

         

Edouard, Manet, Woman Reading, 1880–81, oil on canvas, Art Institute of Chicago 

   This is also an example of impressionism art. The painting is made by Edouard Manet. Manet also influenced the impressionism movement. Most of his paintings dont show what happened in the past, but he creates artwork depicting daily life. This is a simple but elegant scene that shows the early modern life of a middle-class woman. The woman is in a café reading a book, indicating that he probably took the idea when he was in an urban area. Manet chose a great choice of colors in this painting. He used light and dark palettes and loosened brushwork that made the picture look livelier. Unlike most of the paintings, He used black as a color but not a tone in his subject.

    Overall they are both unique styles of art. Both types are highly valued for their beauty, originality, and innovation in art and art history. I am fond of Impressionism because of its abstract art and simplicity. However, I still appreciate the romantic style of art because of its perfect blend of reality and fantasy. You can reflect by looking at the images on why artists made the painting. In the two romantic art paintings above, the artist tries to conceal the wrongfulness people have been through so the audience can look back and appeal to what's right. Impressionism is simple and calming, which is my kind of art because an artist can draw it easily, and it is less time-consuming. However, it is in a romantic style of art that I go look for intense meaning and purpose.

Works Cited 

McCoy, Claire Black. Géricault, Raft of the Medusa (Article) | Khan Academy. https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-france/a/gericault-raft-of-the-medusa.

Manet, Édouard. “Woman Reading.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14591/woman-reading.

Monet, Claude. “Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazare.” The Art Institute of Chicago, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, 1 Jan. 1877, https://www.artic.edu/artworks/16571/arrival-of-the-normandy-train-gare-saint-lazare.

“Spoliarium by Juan Luna Analysis, Description, and Real Meaning.” corner4men.Com, https://corner4men.com/lifestyle/spoliarium-by-juan-luna-analysis-description-and-real-meaning-ar229.

 

 

Morality and Art during the Classical Era

 

    Classical Art, or Classicism, is artwork that draws inspiration from ancient Roman or ancient Greek culture, architecture, literature, and Art. During the Classical era, human achievement thrived through the growth of the middle class, music, and scientific discoveries. It was a period of aristocrats and monarchs filled with fun and lavish styles and a profound change of customs of ways of Art when the Economic Revolution hit. In the early times of the classical era, the upper class greatly influenced the Classical Era's Art, especially the Rococo style. The famous artists of the classical period, like François Boucher and Jean-Antoine Watteau, worked for the monarch and aristocrats that helped promote the Rococo painting style. In the Rococo style of painting, you can see soft colors and decorative styles of dresses. The Rococo style of painting is more mischievous and more pragmatic. However, compared to the previous era, it is not overdramatic but still has a bit of baroque style left in them because of the light and dark colors.

 

                   François Boucher, Madame de Pompadour 1759, oil on canvas, The Wallace location, London 

    This painting is a portrait of Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, commonly known as Madame de Pompadour. It was made by François Boucher in 1759. Boucher has a close relationship with her until her death. She is one of the most powerful and influential people in the 1700s who inspired the Rococo style painting. She is the mistress of the late king John Louie the XV. During his reign, he kept Madame de Pompadour as his mistress. So, she had a place in court and upheld the fine artworks during her time. She is into love and pleasure art which inspired Rococo-style paintings. She is wearing a fancy dress and gazing blankly into the distance. This painting focuses on the woman seated with her exceptionally sophisticated dress and hairstyle, contrasting the plain dark background. I like how decorative her dress is in this image, especially the brush strokes on the laces. The laces gave a texture to this piece, and I like how he used great contrast of dark and light colors to emphasize Madame de Pompadour in the painting. Her skin and the elegant dress were illuminated in this piece. Most Rococo-style paintings depict the aristocrats' extravagant life and leisure time activities. You can see that the morals changed from the Baroque painting to the Rococo style because they are not theatrical but have more sense of lightness.

                   Jean-Honoré Fragonard, 1767, The Swing, oil on canvas, The Wallace Collection, London 

    One of the great examples of the Rococo style painting is "The Swing" made by Fragonard. This is a mischievous painting of a girl in a pink dress trying to impress the guy underneath her by showing off what's under her skirt. Fragonard's images depicting erotic and fun scenes are famous among upper-class buyers. (Bruckbaue) The morals around the time of the aristocrats and monarchs were naughty and fun. Hence the king kept Madame de Pompadour in the court as his mistress, showing that infidelity is still tolerable due to the high quality of life that they can do whatever pleases them. The theme here is sensual, but the detail of the curve lines and the choice of pastel colors are impressive. There are plenty of stories and intrigue surrounding the painting; however, The Swing ultimately revels in fun, fantasy, and a continual source of creative inspiration and visual enjoyment.

 

            Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1784, oil on canvas, Louvre Museum, Paris

    In the Classical era, two known painting styles differ from each other: Rococo and Neoclassicism. The values and culture helped shift the Rococo painting style to the Neoclassical style because of the French and American Revolutions. You can see in the painting above that there is a profound change in personality and how people dressed in the Neoclassic style of paintings. It is more serious compared to the Rococo style of painting. Roman towns were rediscovered, and that inspired the paintings of the Neoclassic style. Similarly, Rococo uses light pastels, ivory, white, and gold, and frequently used mirrors to enhance the sense of open space. Neoclassical painting, like the painting above is marked by using light tones, less color, straight and horizontal lines, and concise forms.

    All three paintings have contributed to a great past and history of depicting Art in the Classical era. I wouldn't want to have it hung in my home because it can have a sensual meaning or a story behind it. They are best displayed in a museum where people can differentiate the types of painting styles of Art in different eras, and people can reflect because of the emotions shown in these paintings.

 Work cited

Gersh-Nesic, Beth. “Neoclassicism, an Introduction.” Smarthistory, 2016, https://smarthistory.org/neoclassicism-an-introduction/.

“Madame De Pompadour.” Madame De Pompadour | Art UK, https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/madame-de-pompadour-209442.

Bruckbaue, Ashley. “Fragonard, the Swing (Article) | Rococo.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-reformation/rococo-neoclassicism/rococo/a/fragonard-the-swing.

 

Elevation of the Cross

 

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, from Saint Walburga, 1610, oil on wood (Antwerp Cathedral)

        In the Cathedral of our Lady in Antwerp lies a triptych painting displayed inside the church, the majestic image called the "Elevation of the cross." It is a painting made by Peter Paul Rubens, a Flemish artist known for his diplomatic and religious painting style. It is called a triptych painting because it has three hinged panels, and the two outer panels can be folded towards the central one. All three sections of the image relate to the events that occurred during the crucifixion of Christ but in more expressive, dramatic poses and elaborated ways to persuade the audience. 

Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross, from Saint Walburga, 1610, oil on wood (Antwerp Cathedral)

       I have seen a lot of painting versions of the crucifixion way back in the Philippines and here in the US. Still, this one strikes me the most because of the incredible detail of the painting and the interpretation that comes to my mind when I see the historical figures in the image. I am so impressed by how Reubens put his thoughts into colors and figures and placed them in relation to one another with every space in the painting. In the middle, you can see muscular people lifting the cross, signifying our sins' heavy weight, which made me reflect on how great the love of Christ is to die for our sins. On the left side, you can see the faithful people devoted to the Lord; Mary, the mother of Jesus, St. John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, and a group of women weeping, seeing Christ being elevated on the cross. (Pritchard) You can see a touch of Caravaggio style of painting on the left side of the section, which includes a strong contrast between light and dark colors above John and Mary. On the right side is a group of Roman soldiers directing the thieves to be crucified like Jesus, that is nailed on the cross.  There are a lot of emotions in this picture. The way he did the muscle proportions and flesh is so realistic and thorough that you could feel people's movement. Reuben was successful in not using a lot of colors in this painting which reminds me of Chiaroscuro, which gives it a striking effect that shows a feeling of sorrow and tragedy. I was looking closely at the exaggerated muscled bodies and the expressive faces; all this tells us that Michaelangelo and Italian Mannerism greatly influenced Rubens. 

        In the renaissance period, many artworks became controversial. They helped spark the Counter-Reformation, like the Allegory of Law and Grace by Lucas Cranach, which showed different sides of achieving God's grace. Catholic churches were reformed, and Christianity was divided into groups. Decades later, Pope Paul III initiated a council meeting consisting of church members and religious leaders in the north Italian city of Trento, known as "The Council of Trent."(Kilroy-Ewbank) In this meeting, they discuss artworks that need to be appropriately depicted. A lot of artworks were destroyed during the baroque period. But Reuben's painting was different. We can see that Paul Reuben's painting complied with the guidelines because it showed accurate events that happened during the crucifixion of Christ. So it was displayed in the church during the critical period when Art greatly influenced the Catholic church.

Works Cited

Kilroy-Ewbank, Lauren. “The Council of Trent and the Call to Reform Art (Article).” 

                Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/renaissance-       reformation/reformation-counterreformation/beginner-guide-reforrmation/a/the-council-of-trent-and-the-call-to-reform-art.

Pritchard, Shannon. “A-Level: Peter Paul Rubens, Elevation of the Cross.” 

            Smarthistory, https://smarthistory.org/peter-paul-rubens-elevation-of-the-cross-3/.

“What Is Triptych?” ArtIconog, 22 Dec. 2019, https://www.articonog.com/2019/12/what- is- triptych.html.