Romantic Era

     From the many styles that are in the Romantic Era my favorite is the Realist style. I love that Realism depicts ordinary everyday experiences and through those depictions there is an authenticity to the subject matter shared. Realism developed after, and in a reaction against the next style I am going to share, Romanticism. I personally and not a huge fan of the Romanticism style. Romanticism was created to elicit emotions and feelings, and that is not what I feel when looking at this style. I do find it to be enchanting and very beautiful landscapes in some cases but the style would not be my first choice.  I am going to be examining two paintings that depict Romanticism compared to two pantings that are of the Realist Style.  

    The first painting is The Nightmare done by Henry Fuseli in 1781 on Oil on canvas but I am unsure of where. This odd and erotic piece by Fuseli portrays a woman covered in white light laying across a bed with her limbs hanging partly off. There is a creature like figure sitting on the torso of her body while a horse with daunting eyes appears from the shadows. The Nightmare became an icon of Romanticism. I can see why with the striking bold characteristics it holds. Instantly when looking at I was drawn in to its theatrically. The single light shining over the woman and the stage-like foreground of the setting really drew me in and heightened the drama of the setting. This painting is suggestive but not explicit. The figure on her chest is often described as an Incubus- which is a spirt that is said to lie on woman in their sleep. Though, Fuseli leaves open the possibility in the title that the woman is just dreaming. This painting was done in the height of the Enlightenment but it does make me wonder what personal feelings of Fuseli were involved in the creation of The Nightmare.

    Next we are looking at Olympia by Edouard Manet in 1863 on Oil on canvas. In Olympia, Edouard Manet Depicted a woman in the nude, with a servant behind her, a cat at her feet, positioned like Venus in the famous “Venus of Urbino”. In sharp contrast, to the original and familiar scene, Manet’s depiction in Olympia, was seemingly flat. He didn’t depict his subject with the same illusionism as those who came before him. In a rapidly urbanizing France, he depicted a shockingly real and expressive image. He didn’t express her nudity in the refined and idealized vision most artists had before. He followed more along the stylings of the Realism, using sharp lines and contrast, seen very well by his outline of her body and the wash of her pale skin against a dark background. This picture was provocative for its time because it was almost a mockery of previous art. It was also shocking and drew fear and angst from Parisians settling with a rapidly urbanizing population and the problems that can bring. Manet was truly pushing the limits when it came to acceptable artistic expression, setting the stage for many artists to follow.

   Here we have Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl painted by James McNeill Whistler was painted for 1862 Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition on Oil on cavas. The exhibition was an juried event, and after being rejected by the jurors in 1862, most likely for its odd style and riskay subject for the time, it traveled around eventually gaining notoriety at an exhibition of rejected paintings. Many other artists featured in this exhibition of paintings rejected at similar juried events, went on to be notable as well. After gaining notoriety, he added the “Symphony in White No. 1.” portion to the original title, making it part of a three part series, to highlight the technique and style he used to shade and texture the white in this painting. Part of what makes this painting so incredible is his use of texture. If you look closely you can see the pattern in the backdrop, looking almost etched into painting, giving the illusion of the shiny embroidery that probably adorned it. The dress itself is seemingly more detailed than the model's face, again using the thick texture and shading to create detail in a new way. His model was a mistress, and she was wearing a dress usually worn in private. She is standing kind of aloof, not giving much expression or form. She stands atop a wolf rug, flowers freshly fallen from her hand. Overall it is almost confusing, the model is almost sad, but more absent, leaving you to wander up and down the picture. It has an eerie sense about it like much of his work and that’s why I enjoyed this piece.

    The last painting were going to look at is The Slave Ship created by J.M.W. Turner on Oil on canvas but I am unsure of where. Turner painted this piece after reading Thomas Clackson's The History and Abolition of Salve Trade (1808) that tells the story of the captain of the slave ship ordering 133 slaves thrown overboard giving himself the power to collect the insurance payments. This was painted as a propaganda piece hoping it would catch the attention of Prince Albert at the British Anti-Slavery Conference. This painting depicts a spiral of ocean waves with scattered human debris, surrounded by a lit up sky. Meeting the horizon is a ship heading straight into the rough sea. Now this is a Romanticism style piece I really feel the emotion when looking at and would even own. I even do see some Realism in this as well with painting the truth. The sunset is area of the painting that drew me in, the thick sensuality of the paint shows the dimensions of the scene.  It was not long before my feeling switched from beauty in the colors of the sunset to horror in noticing the limbs in the water. Turner's use of texture in the water really creates a feel of presence of the human corpse in the sea and its power in this painting. This painting by Turner really speak volumes to his subjective feelings of the experience. 

Work Cited 

“National Gallery of Art James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1862.” James McNeill Whistler, Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1862, www.nga.gov/collection/highlights/whistler-symphony-in-white-no-1-the-white-girl.html.

“The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli (Article).” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-england/a/henry-fuseli-the-nightmare.

“Realism, Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/avant-garde-france/realism/a/manet-olympia?modal=1.

“Romanticism - Important Art.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/romanticism/artworks/.