Romanticism
Romanticism and Realism At the end of the Baroque Period in the eighteenth and nineteenth century art was divided into two distinct categories, Romanticism and Realism. Romanticism, the passion-filled works illustrating stimulating accounts of specific events with symbolic gestures emerging from the scene, separated itself from the more politically correct stance taken by Realists. A fine example of Romanticism is Gericault's Raft of the Medusa. The brutal scene, set afloat on the wild seas, is emphasized by the chiaroscuro modeling of the lump of figures in the center of the raft. The X form of the composition draws your eye all around the composition. The eye starts at the top right with the Revolutionary figure holding on to a piece of cloth in the colors of the French Revolution and then is drawn down the diagonal. Gericault then depicts the striving, the dying, and the dead as they overlap each other in a fierce struggle to survive. The eye is then drawn up and down the dark opposing diagonal. This whole scene is then placed on the mighty ocean to delineate the fact that the raft is a metaphor for France being on a hostile ocean of depravity. The Grande Odalisque also typifies Romanticism. Ingres, using example such as the Ma
"Unlike the superhuman or subhuman actors on the grand stage of the Romantic canvas, this Realist work move to the ordinary rhythms of contemporary life. The Third Day of May, by Goya is an example of a transitional piece which reflects both Realism and Romanticism. Courbet, considered by many the father of realism, also uses techniques of both schools. The awful scene depicted in Rue Transnonain. Daumier depict the social injustice of the innocent killing of all the workers in a housing block. The industrial revolution helped fuel the fire of the rivalry making the rich richer and the poor poorer; the art always reflecting the differences in the classes and their attitudes about the quality of life in their day and age. In this piece Goya depicts a specific incident in which a number a civilians in Madrid were rounded up in killed in retaliation for the deaths of French soldiers a few days before. The truly impassioned, yet somber, landscape draws out a heartfelt sympathy for loss that the mourners are feeling independent of any expression that a figure may have. Romanticism and Realism played a major part in the development of art and had a direct influence on one another. But Goya also uses the harsh reality of the dead body and the pool of blood accumulating on the ground to make a social commentary on the death of these men, drawing on the school of Realism. Goya also puts the victim of this murderous rampage in a white shirt to symbolize innocence, strongly drawing on the Romantic style. In contrast to the almost mystical passion and intrigue of Grande Odalisque is Rue Transnonain. There is a pool of blood forming from the baby which intends to play on the viewers sympathy eliciting violent emotions of hatred towards the butcher who took the lives of these innocent people who were obviously sleeping as indicated by the attire and disarray of the bed. Ingres also uses Raphael's typical female head and a gaze that says, "You have just interrupted me," but you don't know what you interrupted further intriguing the voyeur.
Common topics in this essay:
Rue Transnonain,
Parmaganino's Madonna,
Romanticism Realism,
Ornans Courbet,
Black Period,
Realism Romanticism,
French Revolution,
Raft Medusa,
Ingres Raphael's,
Baroque Period,
romanticism realism,
realism romanticism,
grande odalisque,
chromatic effect,
harem girl,
pool blood,
rue transnonain,
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Acceptance Essays
