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Romantic


 Romantic Era Styles

My favorite art style of the Romantic era are of the Realist variety. Art Noveau, in my opinion, lacks the emotional intensity I crave in paintings. This is an aspect of art that the Realist style provides at the forefront.

Realist

 

Illia Repin, Barge Haulers on the Volga
 
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
 
Oil on canvas
 
 Illia (or Ilya) Repin presents Barge Haulers on the Volga. Illia paints a desolate scene in which people are fastened to a barge to pull it into the bay. The landscape format of the painting creates the sense of a large landscape as the observer's eyes move from left to right scanning the piece. The lines emphasized by the ropes takes the observer to each barge hauler and the shared grimaces they hold. It is clear by the tans Illia paints on each of the haulers that some are newer to the routine while others are bent over in anguish as if they are in an endless cycle of barge hauling. The piece is incredibly striking and each details depicts a sense of desolation.

Illia Repin was born July 24, 1844 in the Chuguev Russian Empire. Repin is known as a leader of the Realist movement. His many paintings were a commentary on the mankind. He was known to be "highly critical of Tsarist oppression" ("Ilya Repin Paintings, Bio, Ideas"). Repin was a champion of the suffering lower class and brought his artwork as a means of revolt against upper class oppression. The scenes depicted in the piece are inspired by things he saw directly during his time at Volga (“Barge Haulers on the Volga”).
 
Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners
 
Musée d'Orsay, Paris
 
Oil on canvas
Jean François Millet presents The Gleaners. Three peasant women are shown gleaning a field of wheat stalks that were not harvested before. The image is entirely Realist in its depiction of lower class workers in rural society. In the background, we see large stacks of wheat that were gleaned before. The large stacks reinforce the extent of the work the gleaners must do to catch what was not caught. A person on a horse is seen in the background on the right side observing the fields. The class distinction is brought to the observer's eye in such a subliminal way that one forgets that this is a painting that holds commentary on society and class distinctions. We see the two peasant women on the left working steadily. Their right hands are for picking while their left hands hold the wheat. The way they hold the wheat is subtly different, yet distinct. One holds it on her back, while their other at her knees. These small differences show the individuality of the peasant women despite their title as gleaner. The third peasant woman on the right is seen taking a break from the extensive labor with one hand on her knee.

Jean François Millet was born in Normandy, France on October 4, 1814. Millet is best known for his paintings of peasant farmers on vast landscapes like The Gleaners. He found the theme of "poor women and children to remove the bits of grain left in the fields following a harvest" an "eternal one" (“The Gleaners”). Millet was surrounded by scenes of repetitive, backbreaking labor and was inspired by those very scenes to create The Gleaners.

Art Nouveau


Aubrey Beardsley, The Peacock Skirt

 Unknown

Oil on Canvas

 Aubrey Beardsley presents The Peacock Skirt. The piece shows two women interacting, one in emboldened in peacock fashion and the other in multilayered robes. There are, I believe, three peacocks in the image: one on the brim of the skirt, over the left shoulder of the woman on the right, and on the same woman's headdress. I find it a bit ironic for the printed image to be in black and white when a peacock is typically known for its brilliant display of feathers. I do not enjoy the lines used to capture the woman on the right. They appear lazily put together and sloppy, yet the woman on the left is captured in broad swooping curves and in dots and patterns. The different techniques used to paint each subject were likely purposeful, but does not provide me any more information to draw a deeper conclusion of the work.

Aubrey Beardsley was born on August 21, 1872 in Sussex, England. Beardsley is known for his black ink drawings that were inspired by Japanese art. He self-described himself as grotesque and found joy in creating erotic art. Beardsley created The Peacock Skirt using the inspiration from Oscar Wilde's one-act play Salome (“The Peacock Skirt”). Oscar Wilde and Beardsley are known for pushing the British Art Nouveau style.

Hector Guimard, Entrances to Paris Subway Stations

Paris, France

Mixed Media

 Hector Guimard presents Entrances to paris Subway Stations. The stations have a unique fish bone-like appearance to them. I am reminded of Halloween cartoons when reading the font and seeing the stations in its entirety. I enjoy the dark green appearance of the station. I imagine the color was a byproduct of the material chosen to construct the station and the natural weather it has undergone over the years.

Hector Guimard was born on March 10, 1867 in Lyon, France. He was French architect and designer known for his Art Nouveau style in his structures. Guimard was experimental with his work receiving many critics, some said the works were "un-French" (“Paris Métro Entrances by Hector Guimard”). However, he recieved many praises along with the critics, one of whom was Salvador Dalí.

Review

It seems to me that the Realist artists were expressing exactly that, realism. While the Art Nouveau wanted to explore and branch out and create ambiguity about the meaning of art. Art was to be distanced from the Fresco, statues, and oil on canvas. Art Nouveau was about experimenting with different mediums and breaking new ground about what art is about. However, I personally prefer the Realist style more. I enjoy the reflection on humankind as a whole and how art can be so captivating yet so damning at the same time.

Works Cited

“Art Nouveau - Important Art.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/art-nouveau/artworks/#nav.

“Barge Haulers on the Volga.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barge_Haulers_on_the_Volga.

“The Gleaners.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gleaners.

“Ilya Repin Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist/repin-ilya/.

“Paris Métro Entrances by Hector Guimard.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Feb. 2021, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_M%C3%A9tro_entrances_by_Hector_Guimard.

“The Peacock Skirt.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Peacock_Skirt.


Comments

  1. Katherine HumesMarch 25, 2021 at 5:28 PM

    I agree that realist style is more emotionally striking than that of art noveau. I think art noveau is supposed to be admired for its beauty rather than emotional context. I actually love the ornamental decor that is art noveau. The Peacock Skirt by Aubrey Beardsley is amazing! I liked the used of thin line pattern of the woman's dress. Her dress was very unconventional but striking. Eventhough, there's no real emotional value it is still a beautiful piece. Realist artists have an amazing eye for detail to capture real life scenes and play on the viewers emotions. Artists"felt increasingly free to depict real-life situations stripped of aesthetics and universal truths"(Unknown). It shows in their work. The artists depiction of real life scenes are raw, can be unpleasant, but true. In the piece Barge Haulers on the Volga by Illia Repin, the artist really showed the tiredness and pain of the men pulling the barge. The artist captured what I believe to be the dirtiness of some of their faces with this dark brown shading. The color pallete used makes me believe that where ever they are it must be hot as well. I came to this conclusion from the use of warm colors over the cooler tones. Realism "reflected a progressive and highly influential shift in the significance and function of art in general, including literature as well as fine art"(Unknown).
    References:http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/realism.htm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Daniel Luna-SánchezMarch 25, 2021 at 8:28 PM

    Realistic art is so much more captivating to me than art nouveau. I agree with you in that I also think that art nouveau is trying to explore a completely different angle as to what art is. While this is by all means an admirable venture, I personally think that the reflection that is provided by realistic art is so much more filling than what comes from art nouveau. We will all end, at some point in time, and the introspection that comes from realistic art allows us to better appreciate the time we have. The raw emotion that stems from those pieces is unmatched with other art styles.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Robert StewartMarch 25, 2021 at 10:29 PM

    Art Nouveau, to me, seems to be to entertain for the most part. To bring an item to the eye that is appeasing and appealing. It is not there to bring issues to the forefront of cause some sort of agenda. Realism in the era of of Romanticism seems to want to drive home a point of how the average person was living. In a time when the wealthy became wealthier, the poor were staying the same. This was especially important for Russia. It seemed that while the Tsarist regime would continue to paper the upper class, peasants remained peasants. The political era of Russia was in turmoil for basically all of the 1800's, flipping from rulers who wanted to create reforms and others that wouldn't. Realism of the time period, I believe, is extremely important to paint the picture of real life in Russia.

    I honestly prefer Art Nouveau. I like things that are there to convey new ways of creativity and ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  4. IanMarch 26, 2021 at 9:23 AM

    I really like how you picked styles with such a contrast. I really like to see different art styles compared like this because it shows how much has changed. It is really cool to compare how art changed so drastically over time, from much more of a realistic point of view to something more abstract. I prefer the Art Nouveau style because of how different it can be. You never know what you are going to get with it, compared to some other styles where artists stick with more of a stereotype or common scene, like people working or eating.

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