Romanticism and Realism: Contrast and Comparison
Following and mirroring social transitions through their crafts, artists reflect in their work their current reality. By comparing artwork from distinct time periods, differences in movements and styles become increasingly apparent, consequently demonstrating the close parallel between art and society. In this respect, the quick passage from Romanticism’s idealized vision of the world to Realism’s more true-to-life and relatable style could be due to nothing other than the 19th century Industrial Revolution and the major social and economic shifts it entailed.
Although visual representations of such drastic changes can be found in numerous art forms, I believe the high contrast between Henry
…show more content…
Fuseli’s The Nightmare (1781) and Henry Ossawa Tanner’s The Thankful Poor (1894) accurately illustrates the differences between the Romantic and Realist movements. As mentioned beforehand, 18th century Romanticism glorify and idealize their subjects. Artists dramatize their artwork, whether it be in the form of facial expressions, body positions or contrasts of bright and dark lighting. In this case, the dramatization observed in Fuseli’s The Nightmare is particularly evident; it is even considered to be one of the most historical and famous Romantic paintings. The first and most apparent indication of the painting originating from the Romantic era would be the lighting contrast. As soon as our eyes meet the canvas, they are drawn to a woman laying on what seems to be her bed. This universally-recognized observation is due to the whiteness of her skin and clothing compared to the darkness of the rest of the painting, therefore creating a contrast high in intensity and automatically catching the eye. The second indication would be Fuseli’s painting’s overall theatricality: the subject’s body position— draped across an unmade bed with an arm under her head; the subject’s facial expression—painful and unpleasant; the environment—drapes and sheets of rich colors and textures as well as a dress enrolled around her body; and the emotion the canvas conveys—fear and agitation. Every aspect in The Nightmare is acutely dramatized, which is a crucial component in Romanticism. On the other hand, 19th century Realism is entirely based on the Industrial Age’s repercussions on the working-class population. During a time where more than half the citizens were poor and lived in rural areas (303), it only made sense for artists to reflect the significant social change through their art. As specified by Gloria K. Fiero, “Realist painters abandoned the nostalgic landscaped and heroic themes of Romantic art in favor of compositions depicting the consequence of industrialization and the lives of ordinary men and women (302).” Henry Ossawa Turner’s The Thankful Poor depicts an everyday, relatable scene for working-class citizens.
The painting is composed of two African American men – an older man with graying hair, accompanied by a younger boy – giving thanks before a (very plain) meal. The painting’s theme, as mentioned in its title, is about being grateful for small victories, such as having a hot meal at the end of the day, even though extravagance is out of the picture, contrarily to the Romantic style. This display is simply Tanner’s way of “dignifying the people with whom he was raised (Susan Benford),” hence transforming familiar and relatable content with respect to the working class, into works of …show more content…
art. Moreover, solemn, austere displays as shown in the painting are pivotal characteristics when identifying Realist art. Only the bare minimum of objects, subjects and techniques can be observed in The Thankful Poor – even the lighting is reduced to its basics. Indeed, the combination of lengthy brushstrokes as well as the neutral and low in contrast color scheme does not make a specific part of the artwork stand out; in fact, everything seems to blend together. We can undoubtedly note that the lack of dramatization or embellishment in any way whatsoever in regards to both the coordination of color and the scene’s surroundings. To sum up, three noteworthy characteristics contrast Romanticism and Realism, as observed between Fuseli’s and Tanner’s artworks.
In Romantic art, theatricality and dramatization is crucial, while Realism opts for more matter-of-fact and common scenes, without any form of embellishment. This can easily be seen simply by comparing the woman’s pose in Fuseli’s painting to the men’s positions in Tanner’s artwork.
An additional difference between the two movements would be the lighting styles. Romanticism favors a high intensity lighting contrast, using bright colors on the foreground and dark colors for the background which immediately catches the viewer’s eye. On the other hand, Realism offers a very strict and neutral color palette, making both the objects and subjects blend together.
Lastly, the Romantic style conveys emotion, while Realist art usually exhibits simple tasks or common people, thus not exuding any particular emotion. This can be observed in the comparison between The Nightmare and The Thankful Poor; Fuseli’s painting evokes unpleasantness, irritation and fearfulness, while Tanner’s painting can arguably not be pinned down as a specific
sentiment. In short, both Fuseli’s The Nightmare and Tanner’s The Thankful Poor can be used by means of representing the changes consequential to the Industrial Revolution. These two contrasting paintings properly reflect the changes in society in their highly distinct techniques and styles.
The historical painting I chose for my final, is an illustration of Bret Harte’s novel, Her Letter, His Response, and Her Last Letter, creatively illustrated by Arthur Ignatius Keller in 1905. The historical painting I chose for the comparison of Arthur Keller’s painting is another painting done by Arthur I Keller; illustrated for 54-40 or Fight by Emerson Hough, in 1909. Arthur I Keller is a very natural, elegant style painter, with an eye for natural beauty. Keller’s many paintings express intricate detail, and genuine quality. Although I picked two water color paintings out of Arthur Keller’s many collections of paintings, he also uses charcoal, acrylics, oils, and pastels to create other works of art. In both paintings I chose, Arthur Keller uses water color and gouache to paint people. Arthur’s first painting I mentioned, illustrating “Her Letter” is a more detailed painting. Keller uses water color to create a graceful look to his painting; his delicate balance of color, keeps the viewer’s eyes wandering around the painting. The focal point in the painting does not catch the viewer’s eyes because of heavy, dark colors, but because of the proportion differences of the people he implies. The painting gives off a very old fashioned feel, in a tasteful way. Arthur Keller’s second painting, illustrating “54-40 or Fight” has a completely different color theme, and gives off more of a mysterious, dark feel to it. The painting is detailed, but in a more simple way, and there is less negative space. As to where Keller’s “Her Letter” painting had a lot of open areas on the canvas, this painting, displays two people in a small enclosed dark room. The focal point is more dramatic, and a lot more obvious because instead of using sizing,...
...elationship between the people in the composition and their feelings in each other’s company. The viewer is forced to think critically about the people in the painting and their feelings and body language.
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
Realism was a huge movement in the late 1800s to early 1900s. All art forms were influenced by it. Writers, artists, actors and more started taking a more simple direction and tried to depict life as it actually was. In visual art it was common for artists to illustrate ordinary people doing every day tasks, as opposed to elaborate paintings of holy and royal figures from the previous eras (Campell). In literature, the plots were simple and focused on common citizens of the lower and middle classes (Campbell).
The shift between the Middle Ages and Renaissance was documented in art for future generations. It is because of the changes in art during this time that art historians today understand the historical placement and the socio-economic, political, and religious changes of the time. Art is a visual interpretation of one’s beliefs and way of life; it is through the art from these periods that we today understand exactly what was taking place and why it was happening. These shifts did not happen overnight, but instead changed gradually though years and years of art, and it is through them that we have record of some of the most important changes of historic times.
For example, the pastel painting of “The Kiss,” depicts a man embracing a woman tightly. The woman drops the bouquet of flowers and bends slightly backwards as she receives the man’s kisses and adoration. The pastel color and blurry texture reveals the figure’s intense emotional expressions. His other famous painting “Il Convegno” or “the conference,” illustrates the emotional reunion of lovers. In the portrait, the woman places her arms on the gate in an expression of relief, while the man pull himself against the gate to kiss the woman. “Il Convegno” reveals the longing and yearning between the two figures. One of his late pieces was a painting of his daughter Amelia and his mother, which shows the mother feeding his
“Philosophers, writers, and artists expressed disillusionment with the rational-humanist tradition of the Enlightenment. They no longer shared the Enlightenment's confidence in either reason's capabilities or human goodness.” (Perry, pg. 457) It is interesting to follow art through history and see how the general mood of society changed with various aspects of history, and how events have a strong connection to the art of the corresponding time.
...f Realism came about. Realism wanted to truthfully represent the circumstances and hardships of the deprived with hopes and dreams of altering the social order. In dissimilarity through Romanticism, which was fundamentally hopeful about humans and how they function, Realism presented a harsh idea of deficiency and misery. Likewise, while Romanticism overvalued life, Realism displayed life in the lowest position of an inner-city harsh environment. The Realism era opened the eyes of many people worldwide. Realism in fine art and writing correlates to the effort to be a symbol of recognizable and daily people and dilemmas in a precise, unpleasant approach. It is vital for readers to be familiar with and recognize the people and the humanity they dwell in. The realists wanted to admire what they thought was the honest self-respect of modest citizens leading plain lives.
A formal analysis of these works of art reveals style that is consistent throughout his pieces of arts. For instance, his arts use figures that have real life. For instance, these figures had natural faces and experienced real emotions. Besides, he has given the characters real space to move about and given them real life poses. H...
The fiscal boom of technology and merchandise of the Industrial age drove breakthroughs in science and industrial technology. During this time, realism; the truthful and objective representation of the social world, without illusion or imaginative alteration, was in full affect (pg 351). The Avant Garde art movement
For example, Perseverance, is a painting created by Gerald Brommer that although it shares similarities with Makenzie’s work like the color palette used, its rigid lines, and poor use of emotionalism, it was able to create its own mood by using a very distinct medium. One of the resemblances between these two pieces of art is the artists’ choice in colors. Perseverance, is also largely composed of neutral colors with a few darker objects that stand out. Both of the painters used the same technique with their color palettes to successfully draw attention to a certain piece in the painting. Another connection both pieces have is their poor use of the aesthetic theory, emotionalism. They both successfully create a meaning and connect with the viewers, but they do not appeal to the viewers in an emotional level. Not all works of art work towards appealing to its viewers in an emotional level, so it is not a lousy characteristic to miss. Perseverance also possesses the same kind of ridged lines throughout the painting. It contains geometric shapes that create a mood, similar technique used in Reverence. However, Brommers ridged lines helped create the mood of the whole painting, while Reverences ridged lines helped express the woman’s emotions. The moods of the paintings are very distinct. Reverence carries more of a sympathetic feel, while Perseverance carries a stronger more brutal mood. The mood created by Brommer was also acquired in a very contrasting manner. He used watercolor painting on paper in contrary of McKenzie’s oil on canvas. Although both artists prosperously created pieces of art by using similar techniques, they were able to have very unique moods by using distinct
In conclusion, the art of the 19th century was composed of a sequence of competing artistic movements that sought to establish its superiority, ideologies and style within the artistic community of Europe. These movements, being Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, ultimately spread far beyond the confines of Europe and made modern art an international entity which can still be felt in today’s artistic world.
Many believed that Modernist works were not “art” because they did not always look like real life. But what is “real life”? A new outlook on reality was taken by Modernists. What is true for one person at one time is not true for another person at a different time. Experimentation with perspective and truth was not confined to the canvas; it influenced literary circles as well.
In 1789, the French Revolution began. The Enlightenment ways of thinking, combined with a financial crisis and poor harvests left many ordinary French people both angry and hungry. The revolutions asked for a constitution that would limit the power of the king. Although the idea failed, the revolution entered a more radical stage (A beginner's guide to the Age of Enlightenment, n.d.). With the revolution, art took a turn from Rococo to Neoclassicism, which latterly competed with Romanticism. This essay will discuss the effect of the French Revolution on painting and sculpture during two artistic styles including Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
Realism was a popular theme among the 20th century Europe. Realism was an attempt to make theatre more useful for the society at the time (Trumbull). Realism was employed in order to add significance and meaning to the plays people wer...