Preferences and Perspectives - The Romantic Era

 Preferences

Among the many styles that emerged from the Romantic Era, the two that stuck out to me the most were Impressionist works and Realism. While Realism has its moments and can be powerful pieces, I prefer the dreamlike works of Impressionism. Looking at an Impressionist painting it feels like I am being transported into someone's dream, filling me with a sense of wonder. However, in a Realism painting, I feel like I am forced to feel a specific way about it and interpret an exact meaning. This causes the overall appeal of the artist's work to be ruined for me. 

Impressionism vs Realism

Realism began in France in the 1840s, and revolutionized painting, expanding conceptions of what constituted art. Idealistic images and literary conceits of traditional art were replaced with real-life events, similar in weight to grand history paintings and allegories. It was an early manifestation of the avant-garde desire to merge art and life and is widely considered the start of modern art.

Realism focused on how life was structured socially, economically, politically, and culturally in the mid-19th century. Realism was also the first explicitly anti-institutional, nonconformist art movement. (Art)

Impressionism began in the 19th century and also in France. It is based on painting outdoors and spontaneously 'on the spot'. Paintings are conducted outdoors instead of in a studio and primarily were landscapes and scenes of everyday life. It is said that the process of painting 'on the spot' was pioneered by British painter John Constable around 1813-17 through his desire to paint nature realistically. (Tate)

Brushstrokes become more rapid to keep up with the fleeting natural light. 

Impressionism

Impression, Sunrise
by Claude Monet (1840-1926)
Created: France 1872
Located: Musee Marmottan Monet (Paris, France)

Reading
by Berthe Morisot (1841-95)
Created: France 1888
Located: Museum of Fine Arts (St. Petersburg, Florida)

Art Elements

Color: Both paintings use color to their advantage to create details, instead of black lines. In Impression, Sunrise the color palate is limited compared to Morisot's Reading, in fact, the limited palate works to complement the sunrise harbor scene. It adds to the dreamy, just waking up feeling, that is a sunrise over water. Morisot's use of color adds light to the room and the girl reading, giving off the warmth of sunshine coming in over the fence rails through the foliage. 

Tone: Both artworks have a peaceful tone that promotes serenity throughout. Monet effectively makes use of tone to add shadow throughout his work, which aids in the dreamy, illusion of the sun rising over the harbor. 

Lines/Form: Expressive, loose brushstrokes are used in both paintings, making them come to life but still keeping an airy feel around them. The loose lines come together to form furniture shapes in Reading, such as the chair the girl is sitting on and the fence railings.  

Texture: The application use of the brushstrokes adds an airy, or hazy texture over the paintings. Giving them that 'scene from a dream look'. In Monet's painting, it feels and looks like the smoke from the smokestacks has spread over the canvas. 

Shape: In Impression, Sunrise, a circle is used to represent the sun and loosely shaped rectangles are used to represent row boats. In Reading, we see lines collide together to form the rectangular shapes of the door frame, fence, and chair.

Perspectives

Claude Monet: Monet's interest in light, color, and spontaneity, is greatly shown in his work Impression, Sunrise.  While Monet did add the details of the smokestacks, rowboats, and ships, his main emphasis was the emerging sunlight and its reflections on the Port of Le Havre. This is true to his nature in other works, where Monet opted to focus on the sunlight's ephemeral effects on the water. (Modern Met) 

Monet strives to give an 'impression' of his surroundings, an emotional capture, which can be seen in the multiple series he has created focusing on light, atmosphere, and seasonal changes.

This painting was originally heavily criticized and is what kicked off the Impressionist style. It was criticized for its 'lazy' brushwork and not being an ideal landscape. 

Personal: Monet's Impression, Sunrise is perfectly titled, because it is exactly that, no sugarcoating about it. It gives you the emotional feeling of waking up to a beautiful sunrise over the port with sleep still in your eyes. To where the sun shines out to you, greeting you, and wrapping you in its orange warmth. 

I would own a copy of this painting, and display it where dawn and dusk light could sweep across it. I feel like this type of lighting would properly accentuate the sunrise in the painting.

Berthe Morisot: It is believed that Morisot was starting to detach herself from the immediacy of the quick impression to achieve a new 'interiority' towards the end of her career when Reading was created. (Apollo) In her painting, tranquility appears to be the theme Morisot was going for, as a young girl peacefully enjoys a read for pleasure on a summer afternoon. She is known for painting friends, family members, and females in peaceful settings in nature. 

Personal: The colors and use of light throughout the painting, give the feeling of a warm summer day where you want to enjoy a good book that you can't put down no matter what. 

I do not want to own a copy of this painting personally, because it is an activity and warmth I can do and feel at any time. However, I would enjoy seeing it in person on display at the Museum of Fine Arts. 

Realism

The Stone Breakers
by Gustave Courbet (1819-77)
Created: France 1849-50
Located: Destroyed during World War II

Song of the Lark
by Jules Breton (1827-1906)
Created: France 1884
Located: The Art Institute of Chicago

Art Elements

Color: Courbet uses color to highlight the laborers working to clear the jagged rocks. While Breton uses color to create a harmonious piece throughout. Both use simple color palettes.  

Tone: Tone is used to separate the hill from the workers, isolating them, and making them the main focus of the painting in The Stone Breakers. In Song of the Lark, earthly tones are used adding to the harmonious feeling, as they are used in perfect balance. 

Line: A mix of sharp and soft lines can be seen in The Stone Breakers, the sharp lines are used mainly to accentuate the laborers. Soft lines, that feel like they flow as one are used in Song of the Lark, adding to the peaceful flow of the painting. 

Shape: Shape can be seen in The Stone Breakers in the bodies of the laborers. Upon inspection, you can clearly break the bodies down into rectangles and circles. Shapes are prominent in the background of Song of the Lark through the sun, buildings, and grass.

Perspectives

Gustave Courbet: Courbet's intentions were to depict the real life of workers in the countryside. The faces are purposely left blank and turned away, so to draw more focus to the work at hand, the jagged, rough rocks, and the torn, old clothes of the workers. Courbet created an isolated scene for these two workers on a rural hill in Ornans, France, to create the feeling of being trapped both economically and physically. (Khan) This helps fully depict the harsh life of the laborers. 

Personal: I think the shadow on the hill represents a foreshadowing of upcoming dark times for the laborers. Possibly bad weather will ruin their hard work, causing them to start all over again. Hard, ragged work showcases what rural life was like in those times. 

If it was available to own, I would choose not to own it since it isn't in my taste preferences. However, I appreciate how well done this painting is, and that Courbet gave laborers their time to shine.

Jules Breton: Breton's intention was to glorify hard work which resulted in a less confrontational realist painting compared to others of the time. It was highly praised and has had many copies made. (Art)

Personal: I see a hard-working farm woman surveying her field, the sun is rising creating an orange glow over the land and woman. There is a feeling of accomplishment that can be felt as a hard day's work is about to be started. 

Works Cited

Cohen, Rachel. "Berthe Morisot Comes Into Her Own." Apollo Magazine, 6 Oct. 2018, www.apollo-magazine.com/berthe-morisot-comes-into-her-own/.

Harris, Beth, and Steven Zucker. "Courbet, the Stonebreakers." Khan Academy, 2014, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/later-europe-and-americas/modernity-ap/a/courbet-the-stonebreakers

Richman-Abdou, Kelly. "How This Claude Monet Sparked The Impressionist Movement." My Modern Met, 24 July 2023, https://mymodernmet.com/claude-monet-impression-sunrise/

Tate. "Impressionism." Tate, 2018, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/i/impressionism#:~:text=Impressionism%20developed%20in%20France%20in,and%20scenes%20of%20everyday%20life

The Art Story. "Realism." The Art Story, 2015, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/realism/

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