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Romanticism as a negative reaction to enlightenment
Art and culture during french revolution
Causes and impact of french revolution
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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.
It was during the French Revolution that the classical art and culture of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome started to rediscover and drew inspiration on Western movement in the decorative and visual arts. Neoclassicism lasted throughout the 18th-century until the early 19th century. Neoclassical painters depicted subjects from Classical literature and history that used in earlier Greek art and Republican Roman art. As revolution neared, Neoclassical
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References
A beginner's guide to the Age of Enlightenment. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/rococo/a/a-beginners-guide-to-the-age-of-enlightenment
Neoclassicism, an introduction. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/monarchy-enlightenment/neo-classicism/a/neoclassicism-an-introduction
Romanticism in France. (n.d.). Retrieved July 16, 2017, from
By paying attention to elements such as subject matter, light, form, and placement of figures, we can see how these enhance the ideals depicted by each form of art. As a result, we can understand how Neo-Classical art is an attempt to counter the values of Rococo. Rococo is a form of art directly targeted to the privileged. Because not everyone in society belongs to the aristocracy, the Neo-Classicist wanted to impose order as an alternative to the frivolous life style. As a result, we have to works of art that challenge each other’s ideals. The theme of infidelity versus loyalty and how one arrives at the decision made is animated in the works of Fragonard and David. However, it is important to note that there is no right or wrong form of art, although it may seem that this was the common perception of the time. In conclusion, both works of are similar in one important aspect; they are both works of art.
The 18th century is well known for its complex artistic movements such as Romantism and Neo-classical. The leading style Rococo thrived from 1700-1775 and was originated from the French words rocaille and coquille which meant “rock” and “shell”; used to decorate the Baroque gardens1. Identified as the age of “Enlightenment”, philosophers would ignite their ideas into political movements1. Associated with this movement is England’s John Locke who advanced the concept of “empiricism”. This denotes that accepting knowledge of matters of fact descends from experience and personal involvement1. Locke’s concept assisted the improvements of microscopes and telescopes allowing art students in the French academy to observe real life1. Science and experience influenced painting more so in Neo-Classicalism. Locke fought for people’s rights and the power or “contract” between the ruler and the ruled. Reasoning that “the Light in Enlightenment referred to the primacy of reason and intellect…and a belief in progress and in the human ability to control nature”1. Hence, the commence of experimental paintings such as Joseph Wright’s (1734-1797) oil on canvas painting: Fig.1 An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump. This image was developed through science by placing a bird in glass container and pumping air to see the effects it would have on the bird (White cockatoo)1. Throughout the late 18th and early 19th century in Western Europe, Neo-Classical art became the “true Style” and was accepted by the French Revolution under Louis XIV. Neo-Classical art was a reaction to Rococo’s light hearted, humour and emotion filled pieces.
"Louis XIV." Arts and Humanities Through the Eras. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, Et Al. Vol. 5: The Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment 1600-1800. Detroit: Gale, 2005. 64-66. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.
Before Impressionism came to be a major movement (around 1870-1800s), Neoclassical and Romanticism were still making their impacts. Remembering last week’s lesson, we know that both those styles were different in the fact that one was based on emotion, while the other was practical and serious. However, one thing they both shared was the fact that the artists were trying to get a message across; mostly having to do with the effects of the French Revolution, and/or being ordered to do so. With Impressionism, there is a clear difference from its predecessors.
Ferguson, Carol. "LECTURE: THE ENLIGHTENMENT AND THE ROMANTIC ERA." The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. Web. 18 Aug. 2010. .
The Age of Revolutions was roughly the time period from 1750 to 1850. During this time there were many changes in society. The biggest revolution in this time was the French Revolution. This revolution really sparked change across Europe, which then eventually spreads across the globe. The effects that the French Revolution had were very important, shaping politics, society, religion, mindset, and politics for more than a century. It brought liberalism and the end of many feudal or traditional laws and practices. Two of the most important transitions in this time were the loosening of religious authority and also a cultural infatuation with science and technology to ensure human progress. Revolutionaries didn’t like how Christianity made
Neo-Classical and Romanticist art had become the prevalent style of mainstream art post Industrial and Enlightenment and gave birth to the famous artists of Jacque and Eugene Delacroix which in this case study, will be discussed. Romanticism became prevalent early eighteenth century, which was a large-span “enlightenment” or “intellectual movement” that had begun in Europe. Speaking of Enlightenment, Romanticism art had been heavily influenced by the Age of Enlightenment. Which had been a widespread philosophical movement spread across Europe. The Age of Enlightenment emphasized reason over topics such as church and state.
“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.
Language is the most powerful tool humans possess for influencing change. Throughout history, countless languages have disappeared, evolved, and emerged to keep pace with the changing world, reflecting the progress of human civilization. The relationship between the history of politics and linguistics of any nation is an intricate one, though the case of France is exceptional. French society has always supported the notion of prescriptivism, or the view that there is one correct way to use a particular language (Fagyal, Kibbee, & Jenkins, 2010). Accordingly, France has implemented and maintained, for several centuries, the strictest language policy of any country in the world.
In this essay, I shall try to examine how great a role colour played in the evolution of Impressionism. Impressionism in itself can be seen as a linkage in a long chain of procedures, which led the art to the point it is today. In order to do so, colour in Impressionism needs to be placed within an art-historical context for us to see more clearly the role it has played in the evolution of modern painting. In the late eighteenth century, for example, ancient Greek and Roman examples provided the classical sources in art. At the same time, there was a revolt against the formalism of Neo-Classicism. The accepted style was characterised by appeal to reason and intellect, with a demand for a well-disciplined order and restraint in the work. The decisive Romantic movement emphasized the individual’s right in self-expression, in which imagination and emotion were given free reign and stressed colour rather than line; colour can be seen as the expression for emotion, whereas line is the expression of rationality. Their style was painterly rather than linear; colour offered a freedom that line denied. Among the Romanticists who had a strong influence on Impressionism were Joseph Mallord William Turner and Eugéne Delacroix. In Turner’s works, colour took precedence over the realistic portrayal of form; Delacroix led the way for the Impressionists to use unmixed hues. The transition between Romanticism and Impressionism was provided by a small group of artists who lived and worked at the village of Barbizon. Their naturalistic style was based entirely on their observation and painting of nature in the open air. In their natural landscape subjects, they paid careful attention to the colourful expression of light and atmosphere. For them, colour was as important as composition, and this visual approach, with its appeal to emotion, gradually displaced the more studied and forma, with its appeal to reason.
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.
There are several events and movements within the Enlightenment that contributed to the rise of Neoclassicism. The expansion, evolution, and redefinition of the European standard classical education was one of the greatest causes, as well was the then recent archeological discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The rise in commissioned art and architecture and the refinement of art scholarship also gave rise to this movement. Finally, the general reaction to the exorbitant styles of Baroque and Rococo necessitated a return to the more orderly ideals of antiquity. The Neoclassical movement, for the purposes of this paper, can be defined as the movement that, from 1750 to 1830, looked back to the Greek and Roman artists, philosophers, and ideals as the highest point in artistic achievement and then attempted to combine antiquity's feelings of solidarity and harmony with new designs to create a vibrant and exciting, yet distinguished and restrained art form.
The French Revolution, indeed, changed the structure of economics and social sphere of the old regime, and also the ideology of that time. In the years that followed the Revolution, the always increasing senses of both freedom and individuality were evident, not only in French society, but also in art. As stated by Dowd, “leaders of the French Revolution consciously employed all forms of art to mobilize public sentiment in favor of the New France and French nationalism.” In between all the artistic areas, the art of painting had a special emphasis. After the Revolution, the French art academies and also schools were now less hierarchical and there was, now, more freedom of engaging into new themes, not being the apprentices so tied up to their masters footsteps, not being so forced to follow them.
The Enlightenment was a period of increased literacy and public interest in literature and arts that promoted learning through reason and logic (134). Romantic wr...
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.