Preferences and Perspectives - The Romantic Era

 Introduction

With new art styles emerging because there are reactions against the previous art style, in this case - Romanticism was a reaction against Neoclassicism, there were many styles that emerged off the Romanticism style, like the realist and impressionist styles. If we look at the quote of Charles Baudelaire

"Romanticism is precisely situated neither in choice of subject nor in exact truth,

but in a way of feeling"

We can understand that it is hard to clearly define what Romanticism is - in a way it had a bit of most styles, however it would be easier to define what it preferred. In a choice, Spiritualism beat Science, Nature beat industry and Instinct beat Deliberation. 

The two Romanticism styles that I chose to work on are Naturalism and Realism, I chose them, because of the ability to evoke real emotions in a person and some of the works seemed very powerful to me and even though the works might seem similar, because both of the styles try to depict things as they are in real life rather than idealize something, the difference is notable, with naturalism focusing more on the "how" a person is presented rather than "who". The artists I chose for this post are Grant Wood and Gustave Courbet for realism and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and Jules Bastien-Lepage for naturalism. 

Realism

First we will talk about realism, this style of art evolved, because of Romanticism, but the Realism painters were more focused on the actual things happening around the world and how people, mostly poor and working class, saw and dealt with the world, the main goal of the Realism art was to show things without adding anything imaginary and thus they informed the world about how the lower class actually struggles. It was not always about the struggle, but most of the artists chose to shine a light on that. The art style was prominent in the middle to late 19th century. 

American Gothic - Grant Wood

 

 

 

 

The painting above is one of the most popular Realism paintings created by Grant Wood, who was an American painter born in 1891 and took up the style of realism after a trip to Munich, Germany after inspiration from the Northern Renaissance. The work American Gothic was created, what I would say at the end of the popularity era of Realism - 1930. It became an iconic piece of American art and is currently a part of the School of the Art institute of Chicago collection, however the work has been displayed all over the States, which only helped to solidify its iconic status. 

The artwork itself depicts two people a farmer and his daughter, which were actually the artists Sister and Dentist, in front of a wood farmhouse. The people in this painting are shown to have long faces and give the sense of hardship and discipline, while the painting was often seen as a satirical take on the American Midwestern culture.
It is a colorful painting and does not evoke depressive or sad emotion, however I does not really give joy, which was the beauty of Realism - life to is just that - life. The depth to the picture is created by making the people in front of the painting bigger and the house relatively smaller, so it would seem to be further back, the shading on the people's faces suggests that the sun is shining on them from the left and this gives a sense of life to the painting. The lines of the painting are strict and show exactly how a person would look in front of a house, they are just like in a picture.
I do not think  I would own this piece myself, because I am a fan of more positive and dramatic paintings. 

 

The Stone Breakers - Gustave Courbet

This work of art was created by a French painter Gustave Courbet in 1849. It is not as popular of a piece as American Gothic is, but that does not mean it is worth less, if anything I would say this is a better representation of the Realism style, since this actually depicts two working class people -younger and an older man, hard at work, because it needs to be done. The painting shows that the two man have torn clothes, therefore we can assume that they are from the poorer, working class and do the work to make money and survive, which was the reality for people at that time. 

The original painting was destroyed in World War II, but many replicas have been made, with this being such a good representation of how life was for the working class at those times. 

The painting is not as detailed and clean as the American gothic was and that feed in to the feeling of struggle, when analyzing this painting.
The colors of the painting are darker and less lively, with brown and black dominating the painting. The depth in the painting is achieved by making shapes in front bigger and bolder, the fact that the people are outlined with a small black, kind of shading at the edges of their body lines also helps to bring them out.
If I would be asked if I want this paining I would say No, because just as with the American gothic it is not dramatic and energetic enough for my liking. 

Naturalism

The Naturalism art style, just like Realism evolved due to Romanticism and similarly tries to show people and nature just as it is, without unnecessarily added things. This style preceded the Realism style and started in early 19th century. Nowadays it would seem like a normal thing to see landscapes and realistic views of the world around us, but at the start it was viewed as a foreign style, since everything before had plenty of imaginary and mythical vibes added to the works. Naturalism was purer than realism with most of the works being truly like a picture captured work. Nothing else to it. 

View of the Forest of Fontainebleau - Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot

The work by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was created in 1830. Corot was a part of the Barbizon school of Naturalist painters and the scenery depicted in this work is a river near the place they were located during the 1820's and 30's. 

Corot was born in France in 1796 and grew up with Neoclassical traditions, however he did not fully accept that style of painting, so he moved and after finding like-minded artists, they started this new thing with painting life around them and exposing its beauty, while rejecting the mythical. 

The painting itself shows large oak trees at the beach of a river and in the forefront there is a girl laying on the ground reading a book. The painting is really detailed, showing everything that Corot saw when sketching this piece, all of the lighting and shading is perfectly depicted as it would have been in an afternoon. Lighting and shading is achieved by using darker and lighter shades of the colors used for the sunny side of the objects. The lines of the painting are strict and clearly defined, just as in real life and different depth between the trees in the back and the oaks in the front is achieved by bolding the ones in front and making them bigger. 

If I would have this piece offered, I would take it and I think it would compliment my collection very well. I like the subtle play with the lighting, which is the part that intrigues me in this work. 

Hay making - Jules Bastien-Lepage

This painting by Jules Bastien-Lepage was created in 1877 in France and shows to farmers a man and a woman taking a breath in a field of hay, with quite a lot of work left to do, the man is sleeping an the woman seems to be day-dreaming. The artist was born in 1848 in North-eastern France and most of his works were created there. He is usually made a part of the second generation Naturalists, however he himself never associated with any group.

The painting is considered one of the most iconic naturalist works and when compared to The Stone Breakers this shows much more emotion, with us actually being able to see the feelings of the workers. 

The dominant color in the work is gray and the paining does not have vibrant expression, however there are a lot of details and as a naturalist work, it shows everything as the painter saw it. there is much depth in the painting, since you can see hay stacks in the distance - small but this way they create the depth illusion in the painting, the lines are defined and the details of the work are easily seen, which is why the painting seems clean. 

I would own this painting, because I feel like it talks to me. I have been a part of the process of hay stacking and it is exhausting, but at the same time very peaceful. 

Sources used: 

Wood, G. (n.d.). American Gothic. The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.artic.edu/artworks/6565/american-gothic   

Wikimedia Foundation. (2021, September 19). The stone breakers. Wikipedia. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Breakers

Artst. (2021, June 30). Naturalism vs realism art - what's the difference? Artst. Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.artst.org/naturalism-vs-realism/

Naturalism - important paintings. The Art Story. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2021, from https://www.theartstory.org/movement/naturalism/artworks/