Sara Valenzuela Art261 Exam 3
1. Compare the Romantic movement with Neoclassicism. How are
they similar? What are the differences?
Neoclassicism is a type of art style, which developed in France
at the end of the 1700's. Neoclassicism developed in reaction to
the lighthearted quality of Rococo art. Neoclassicism dominated
French art from about the late 1700's until the 1800’s. It also
signaled a return to the art of Poussin. Neoclassical artists valued
the ceremonial elements of line and form over color. The artists
also considered the proper subjects for art to be moralizing
themes of grand historical significance.
In addition to the influence of Poussin, Neoclassical artists
were inspired by the discoveries of specific ancient Roman cities.
Neoclassic art style also tended to depict heroic action. This art
form was a direct consequence to Rococo style. In comparison,
Romanticism is a style, which emphasized passion rather than
reason. In addition it recognized imagination and intuition instead
of logic. Romanticism favored complete expression of emotions,
and free, unstructured action rather than restraint and order.
The Romantic Movement usually refers to the period from the
late 1700's to the mid-1800. Romanticism artists yearned for the
infinite. Romantic painters viewed nature as somewhat of a living
spirit who was attuned to human feelings of love and kindness.
Romanticism stressed freedom for the individual and rejected
restricting social conventions and unjust political rule. Romantic
painters often used intrepid lighting effects as well as a deep
shadow effect to cast a visionary gleam over their subjects.
Romanticism was the major new trend in the arts of the early
1800's. In contrast to Neoclassicism, Romanticism in art was not
by any means linked by subject matter or style. The unifying
component among Romantics was a common desire to articulate
the individual's innermost beliefs, feelings, and emotions. The
search for a personal inner voice was often expressed in selfportraits.
2. Using the examples in your text, compare Realism with
Impressionism from the point of view of style, social or
theoretical intention, and subject matter.
Realism, in the arts, is the endeavor to portray life as it truly
is. In Realism, the artist's main purpose is to describe as
accurately and as honestly as possible what is being observed
through the senses. The Realism movement in the arts began in
the 1700's. By the mid-1800's, it was a prevailing art form.
Realism was in essence a rebellion against Classicism. The realist
artist and painter strove to be as objective as possible. The
artists attempted not to distort life by forcing it to assent with
their own desires. Furthermore in selecting and portraying their
material, it also showed that they were influenced by what they
feel and think. In viewing Realism art it is easy to notice the
result of observation and personal judgment.
Realistic painting developed as a reaction to two influential
styles of the early 1800's-Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
Aspects of Realism can be seen in the work of Spanish painter
Francisco Goya in the 1700's. Realism gained dominance in
European painting in the 1800's with the work of some French
artists like Courbet and Daumier. The French impressionists of
the late 1800's developed a modified form of Realism. In their
paintings, Realism was narrowed to the brilliantly lighted but
restricted truth that can be seen at a momentary glance. In
Realist painting we can view scenes, portraits, and landscapes.
The realist movement in painting of the middle 1800’s influenced
the French Impressionists as well because of the scientific study
of light and color, which at that time had become quite
significant. In addition Impressionists artists focused on the new
science of photography, along with the colorful Japanese prints.
Both these art forms showed the Impressionist artist how to
frame and employ space differently in their compositions. The
Impressionists definitely favored compositions that seemed
informal and spontaneous. They favored natural light and usually
created a painting in the outdoors. One grand example is that of
Monet, he habitually painted the same subject numerous times in
different atmospheric situations to demonstrate how colors and
surface effects change at various times of day. Most art writers
of the time strongly criticized Impressionist techniques. They
considered Impressionist art as direct evidence of sloppy
workmanship. Additionally they considered Impressionist
paintings an insult to viewers because they were expected to
accept apparently unfinished art as a "real" painting. The
sketchiness of Impressionist painting, with its visible
brushstrokes, draws the viewer's attention to the surface and
modus operandi of the artwork. The viewer thus becomes aware
of the painting as an object in itself, rather than a "window" onto
the subject being portrayed.
Impressionism prepared the way for much abstract art of the
1900's. One of the notable features of Impressionist painting
was its attention to the life of its time. Impressionist painters
depicted sunlit landscapes and rural scenes. These artists also
portrayed the industrial developments happening around them.
These subjects included railway trains and stations, iron bridges,
barges, and factory buildings whose smoking chimneys often
formed part of the landscape. They painted city life in Paris,
showing people in everyday dress.
3. Compare Impressionism with Post-Impressionism. Consider
style and iconography.
Post-Impressionism is the name given to several styles of
painting that arose in Western Europe, most typically in France,
in the 1880's and 1890's. Post-Impressionism followed the art
movement known as impressionism.
Impressionist painters put their emphasis in capturing an
unswerving experience of their natural world. Impressionist
painters also rebelled against the idealized and carefully finished
paintings of the prevailing academic style. In contrast to the
academic style, the impressionists did not try to give their art a
speculative, moral, or emotional significance.
On the other hand, The Post-Impressionists artists attempted
to shift beyond the ideas and techniques of impressionism. Postimpressionist painters added emotional as well as symbolic
meanings to their work. In doing so they helped to bring about
the transition from impressionism's faithfulness to nature and to
Fauvism, cubism, and the abstract styles of the 1900's.
Unlike Impressionism, Post-Impressionism was not a movement of
artists working toward similar goals. The most influential
Postimpressionists were Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin, Georges
Seurat, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Vincent Van Gogh.
Impressionism is an art style that illustrates a direct impression
of an object or event. Impressionist artists were successful in
depicting the world as what the eye sees at a glance, instead of
their knowledge or personal feelings towards the object or
occurrence. Impressionist artists also strived to reproduce light
as it actually appears to the naked eye when reflected from the
surface of things. For this reason, many Impressionist paintings
have an effect of vibrating brilliance. Some painters achieve this
effect by applying paint in small individual strokes of pure color,
instead of mixing it on the palette.
Impressionist painters were directly influenced by the realist
movement in painting of the mid-1800's, and by the scientific
learning of light and color, which happened to be gaining some
importance in this same time period. In Impressionism we see the
new knowledge of photography and the newly introduced
Japanese prints. These two new art styles were great tools in
teaching Impressionists on framing and using space in a different
way in their compositions.