Impressionism
Impressionism is a style or movement in painting originating in France in the 1860s. In my opinion, I would prefer Impressionism over Romanticism due to the fact that Impressionism uses playful use of color and brush techniques. The visual impression of the moment, especially in terms of the shifting effect of light and color that are present in Impressionism paintings are what caught my attention. Likewise, the fact that it seeks to capture a feeling or experience rather than to achieve an emphasis on the imagination and emotions in Romanticism seems more appealing to my standards.
Starry Night, created by Vincent van Gogh in June 1889 is one of the most well-known and sought out painting in modern culture. It has also been one of the most replicated and sought after prints (Van Gogh Gallery). This painting depicts a night sky that is illuminated with stars, a crescent moon and swirling clouds. The swirling clouds give this painting a sense of movement and the stars dazzling in the sky are magnified by a bright halo. In the background below the moon, near the hills you can see the town with a church. On the left side of the painting there is a massive dark structure that looms over the painting. This is an Impressionism painting that captures the experience and feeling of this “starry night” by manipulating light and color to give it that sensation of standing high on a hill looking out at the sky and at the town below it.
Another work that would represent Impressionism would be by Claude Monet circa de 1873 called, Impression, soleil levant, which translates to the impression of a sunrise. Monet painted this scene in the harbor of Le Havre in Paris, and this famous painting first started as a sketch. Monet wanted to capture this moment. Although there are other art pieces from this time period that are a better example of this style, Impression, soleil levant is still one of the visual examples of what Impressionism is based off of. It is a colorful view of a harbor, painted in contrasting colors of orange and blue. The sun is a bright orange circle that is reflecting semlessly through the waves. The warmth of the orange in the sky and the sun melt delicately with the cool blue foreground, and the boats are no more than silhouettes. This painting has a distinct feel of serenity and calmness, which depicts what Imperssionism is.
Romanticism
During the Romantic era, Romanticism includes subjectivity and an emphasis on individualism, spontaneity, freedom from rules, solitary life rather than life in society, the beliefs that imagination is superior to reason and devotion to beauty, love of and worship of nature. The Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds by John Constable is a great example of worship of nature in romanticism. This painting focuses more on the details rather which is not present in Imperssionism it also focuses more on the beauty and of nature. Constable visited this cathedral twice and took sketches and drawings that he could use later to paint. This painting is very detailed. The cathedral is stunning and is drawn very accurately. The couple in the left side of the painting is the Archdeacon John and his wife admiring the cathedral. The trees are very detailed; you can see every branch that leads away from the tree. This is actually the third and final version of this painting. Constable actually changed this painting from the other two by removing the arch of trees over the spire. This allowed for more light to appear in the painting and give the illusion of a larger and brighter sky. This painting is a perfect example of romanticism since it enovoles so much detail and nature as well as imagination since the original painting had an arch of trees and the final version does not have it.
Another example of romanticism art would be the painting, The Ballet Class (Degas, Musée d'Orsay) created by Edgar Degas, which was painted between 1871 and 1874. It is in the collection of the Musée d'Orsay, Paris, France It was commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Faure. Degas temporarily abandoned work on this painting. Nonetheless, this painting has as much detail as The Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds. However, what makes this painting different however, is that, The painting depicts dancers at the end of a lesson under ballet master Jules Perrot. Perrot and Degas were friends, and Degas painted the dance class in the Paris Opera a year after it burnt down. What makes this painting a romanticism art is that it has a tragic background and becasue romantic era included anyting with emotion this painting earns its spot. Not only does this painting have a tragic background, it also explores subjectivity since this painting was based on personal feelings and was drawn after this place was burnt down.
Aesthetic View
In my opinion I would own the painting The Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds by John Constable since it has a very beautifully detailed painting of nature and individualism however, personally I like how Impressionism uses color and manipulation of light to capture the experience and feelings that aren't as portrayed in romanticism.
Citations:
“The Ballet Class (Degas, Musée D'Orsay).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 13 Jan. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ballet_Class_(Degas,_Mus%C3%A9e_d%27Orsay)#/media/File:Edgar_Degas_-_La_Classe_de_danse.jpg.
British, John Constable. “John Constable: Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop's Grounds.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/435922.
“Monet, Claude.” WebMuseum: Monet, Claude: Impression: Soleil Levant, 19 Sept. 2002, http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/monet/first/impression/.
Tate. “Impressionism.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/i/impressionism#:~:text=Impressionism%20was%20developed%20by%20Claude,artists%20from%20the%20early%201860s.
Tate. “Romanticism.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/r/romanticism.
“Vincent Van Gogh. the Starry Night. Saint Rémy, June 1889: Moma.” The Museum of Modern Art, https://www.moma.org/collection/works/79802#:~:text=In%20creating%20this%20image%20of,expression%2C%20symbol%2C%20and%20sentiment.
Hello Rodric! Thank you for sharing your Romanticism vs Impressionism blog. I enjoyed the four pieces you shared and learning the history of each piece. I personally prefer Romanticism over Impressionism…sorry! I agree with you that, “Impressionism uses color and manipulation of light to capture the experience and feelings.” (Rodric Laxina) However, I find a much higher regard for the skill required to create a Romanticism piece. Sometimes I look at Impressionism and think it looks like finger painting.
ReplyDeleteIn direct contrast to my previous statement, I do like Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. I like the movement in the clouds. For the perspective of this piece…I’m not really sure…was van Gogh trying to portray a certain emotion with this piece or just capture a moment in time? One critique I have of this piece is the scale. I do not like the large tree on the left. I would prefer the skyline to be uninterrupted.
The Impression, soleil levant strikes me as Impressionism because of the blurred brush strokes. The orange sunlight is very striking against the blues used in the piece.
Great research on the Salisbury Cathedral from the Bishop’s Grounds! I find this artwork beautiful and serene. I like the balance of this piece with the tall trees and tall Cathedral…makes the eye scan the entire piece.
The Ballet Class has beautiful detail. I can’t imagine how time consuming it would be to paint tulle. I find myself wanting to know the tragic story of this piece.