Romantic Era Styles
The two styles within the Romantic Era I want to focus on are Art Nouveau and Realist.
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Realism was a style that came about in the 1800s, as a form of art against Romanticism (Realism Movement Overview and Analysis). These pieces often include very ordinary concepts such as livestock, daily tasks, and middle-class workers.
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Gustave Courbet: The Stone Breakers (1849-50) |
This piece was made by artist Gustave Courbet. I chose to share this piece because I liked how there is so much movement in this piece. The men's clothes tell a story of hard work with little reward. The clothes look loose on the men and it's very easy to tell from the artists' techniques and use of shadowing to create movement in the clothes that match the actions the men are doing. The background is also very neutral and bland leaving the main focus on the faceless men. According to an article by The Art story.org, Courbet intended to make the men faceless to give "More attention is given to their dirty, tattered work clothes, their strong, weathered hands, and their relationship to the land than to their recognizability ("Realism Movement Overview and Analysis").
Gustave Courbet was deliberately trying to tell a story of poverty, hard work, and strength with this piece and something I always look for is a piece with a story. I definitely believe he had a great execution of his message in this piece.
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| Jean-François Millet: The Gleaners (1857) |
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Art Nouveau was a style with the idea of modernizing design, using the movement of nature, organic and geometric design ("Art Nouveau Movement Overview and Analysis") Although it was a brief movement, lasting only about 15 years, it paved the way for other similar styles such as Art Deco.
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| Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo: Cover design for Wren's City Churches (1883) |
This piece is really striking to me. Only using black and white for this cover design by Mackmurdo really draws attention to the movement and linework. Using varying thickness for the lines created more movement and gives this piece a very organic flow. My eyes continuously are drawn to the bottom left side where the lines are extremely thick but spread farther apart. I love the way the lines curve and coil together towards the bottom center of the cover. The artist had great use of positive and negative space. Mackmurdo created this piece, which is woodcut on handmade paper, as imagery for 'experimental' nature ("Art Nouveau Movement Overview and Analysis").
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| Mucha, Alphonse: Zodiac (1896) |
This piece called "Zodiac" by Alphonse Mucha is probably one of my favorite pieces I've learned about in this course. This piece to me looks like something witchy and spiritual, almost as a back of a tarot card. I love how the colors in this are all very muted except for her hair, which is a super vibrant yellow color. Looking more at the details surrounding the woman, we can see the zodiac signs as a halo around her. Much like the previous artwork done by Mackmurdo, Mucha used negative space to create the illusion of an arch around the woman and her halo. Although there is no message behind this beautiful piece, it is definitely my favorite.
Muncha created this piece under contract for a company called Champenois and was created to be an in-house calendar ("Zodiac - Browse Works - Gallery - Mucha Foundation").
References:
"Art Nouveau Movement Overview and Analysis". [Internet]. 2022. TheArtStory.org Content compiled and written by Justin Wolf Edited and revised, with Summary and Accomplishments added by Peter Clericuzio
"Zodiac - Browse Works - Gallery - Mucha Foundation". Muchafoundation.Org, http://www.muchafoundation.org/en/gallery/browse-works/object/242/.
Hi Madison, You forgot to list where your paintings were created. Your two realism paintings were my favorite. I disagree with you that there is no light because the people depicted are poor. I see and feel proud people doing what they have to do to make ends meet. No job that requires hard work is dishonorable. I found both paintings interesting because both of the jobs the men and women are doing; I had no idea existed. The two Art Nouveau pieces do not appeal to me. They come off more as posters than my preferred paintings. I’d also prefer to see a realism painting where I can really see the past and learn about things I don’t know about. I don’t believe there are that many art elements talked about in your paragraphs. I agree with the muted colors in the realism paintings conveying the feeling of the people working hard. I don’t really like Art Nouveau but the Realism paintings of Gustave Courbet: The Stone Breakers (1849-50) and Jean-François Millet: The Gleaners (1857) excited me. I think it is exciting that not just wealthy people's stories were being told through art. Both of these artists showed the reality and beauty in working. Something we spend large amounts of our lives doing. The intention of both these artists were accomplished. To show the lives of everyday people. What I find fascinating about realism is why wouldn’t people want to see everyday people's lives. I'd rather look at paintings of things I can relate to. It was funny to find that Gustave Courbet was quite the daring artist to paint his famous painting “The Origin Of the World” vagina painting.
ReplyDeleteNossiter, Adam. “Riddle of a Scandalous French Painting Is Solved, Researcher Says.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 1 Oct. 2018, https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/01/arts/design/courbet-origin-of-the-world.html.
The two realism paintings you chose to analyze exhibit the style of realism excellently. Focusing on such poverty-stricken individuals goes against so many standards the art world at that time wanted to highlight. These are a glimpse into the world's history now, but what we are seeing is the modern culture of these people. Struggling to earn enough to ensure another day's survival, but not enough to afford new clothes or a surplus of food. The emotion that radiates from these pictures is so very depressing as well. There is no joy, no exhilaration, just the feelings of working to survive.
ReplyDeleteYour art nouveau pieces are interesting as well. I am really drawn to the second one. Her blonde hair draws my eyes in and even causes the darker red color to fade into the background. I loved how you mentioned the negative space being used to create an arch around her as well. Shape is so important in this picture. If the artist had chosen to use triangles or squares the piece wouldn't feel as calming as it does. I feel as I could see this piece being used in so many mediums even today. This shows how strong the style was even though it was so short-lived. While the use of lines and contrast are well done in your Mackmurdo piece, I can't say I care for it. Until I had found the two peacocks standing on the sides, I felt this eerie sense of death from the feathers in the center.
I love the second piece of your art nouveau collection, but I feel like the realism paintings are the stronger pieces to showcase the styles you analyzed.
Madison, thank you for sharing! Both styles that you chose within the Romantic Era are beautiful. I like how you included two realism paintings that were similar in style. Although the artists of both paintings decided differently regarding the execution of the art, they had identical elements. Looking at both images together, they have a simple color pallet with the same shades of colors. Also, both artists chose to hide the faces of the individuals they were painting. I agree with your analysis that shading was very influential to both images. This technique helps to create movement, therefore capturing the idea of realism even further.
ReplyDeleteThe second technique you chose was Art Noveau. Compared to the first style, this one was not my favorite. In the Cover Design for Wren's City Churches, the artist chose a straightforward color scheme so that the lines could be the focal point. It is too busy, and I am having a hard time focusing on one thing, which is why it isn't my favorite. However, I did enjoy learning about it!
You mention that the last painting on your blog is your favorite! Would you own a copy of this painting or similar pieces that Alphonse Mucha has created?
I've always been a fan of the realism style of painting because it feels so easy to connect with. The super formal and fashionable style of most other paintings with royalty or large heroic acts have never felt relatable and so it makes it harder to make a connection with them, but the realism paintings portray an attitude and emotion that many of us have felt in our lives. I love how you point out that the pictures reveal that there was also little reward for their actions. That fact was something I overlooked when looking into the realism style of painting.
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