By Suleiman G. Gathuo
Published October 10, 2011
19th Century Romanticism and Traditional Renaissance Illusionism
19th Century Romanticism
Romanticism which was a style in art that was began during the 18th century and spread all the way through to the mid 19th century began basically as both an intellectual and artistic revulsion that was directed against religion and social order. It was through the art works that were created during this period that subjectivism, imaginations, individualism, nature, irrationalism and emotions were highly exalted (Blayney, 2001). Emotion was highly ranked than was reason while senses also had an upper hand at the expense of intellect during this period in time.
It is due to his open attitude that was tagged on art that artist during this period in time were highly fascinated by their inner struggles which also coupled with moods, passion and nature in influencing the direction that was taken by the art work that they produced. It is from the boundaries that have been discussed above as being offered by works that were released during this particular period that works by Francisco Goya and Joseph Mallord have been exclusively analyzed in the following part of the paper.
Francisco Goya; The Third of May, 1808
Goya used the art work to completely display his intention of exposing and commemorating the resistance that the Spanish weighed against the Napoleon’s armies during 1808 (Boime, 2008). It is due to this reason that the picture has been referred by many art analysts as the very first great piece of work in form of picture that has been successful in being a piece of revolutionary in all its aspects which are style, subject, the sense of word used and the in intention. The image which basically displays the horrors that were brought about by the war sharply diverges from the Christianity traditions and also the deceptions of war that were used in the traditional days.
Set in the early hours of the morning, The Third of May basically is centered on two groups of men. One of them is in firing squad that has been rigidly poised while the other group of men is a group of disorganized captives that has been held at gun point (Boime, 2008). The painting which is considered to be a deception of the popular insurrection is very objective and straight in addressing the min theme and subject of the matter which is revolving around the main negative effects that were being brought about by the war. Emotions and nature have been used as the main style of romanticism to effectively communicate the main idea that Goya is fighting against in the piece of art.
Mallord Joseph Turner William; Snowstorm: Hannibal and His Army Cross
Joseph Turner has been very effective in developing the Hannibal or the solo horn who is urging his army to go a head despite the fact that a snow storm is highly developing in the very same direction that they ought to be going to. With the snow thickening more and more as they proceed with the journey, the journey consequently becomes more arduous (Blayney, 2001). The soldiers though triumph through the difficult conditions and as has been clearly indicated in the piece of art, it is clear that a distant sunny Italy can be seen ahead. Being a perfect example of the hardships that surrounded the people during the periods, it is clear that during wars, soldier shad to sacrifice a lot for a worthy course.
On the other hand, it is also an indication of the spirit that the leaders of the army troops ought to have while leading their troops to the war front. It is due to this that it is always assumed that the painting by Turner may have been heavily influenced by the descriptions of the trek that the Carthaginian had to Italy. As indicated in the art work, the hero who is riding on a horse has to cope with not only maneuvering the large troop of soldiers into the mountain passes but also pass through the black and thick clouds (Blayney, 2001). Nature has been clearly depicted in the art work as being both a negative and positive reinforce for the armies during the war. In this case though the troops is motivated towards overcoming the bad weather hence forge a head to meet the enemy in a successfully manner.
Artists Challenging Traditional Renaissance Illusionism
In the European history, renaissance was a very important time in history where the mark was made for the closure of the Middle Ages and the new dawn for the Modern World. Just as the term renaissance indicates, rebirth was found in the field of art. A very broad cultural mileage was gained since more renewed interest was developing in relation to the classical arts and also the ideas of Rome and Greece during the ancient times (Marlena, 2007). Rebirth in art was being acquired at this time in history mainly because of the fundamental idea that through the study of intellectual treasures and treasures in art too that related to the Greeks and Romans, could reach people to greatness, enlightenment and wisdom in relation to the artistic works that were being formed.
Painting art was extremely affected by the radical rediscovery of the classical world. Ancient content and forms in art were being rediscovered by this time in history and it is true to indicate that by the time the year 1500 was reaching, ancient content and forms in art had already been fully revived. Roman history together with the mythology involved in the culture were heavily borrowed in the artwork and this meant that slowly by slowly, the spiritual contents that had deeply rooted themselves in art were loosing ground. Harmonious proportion, rational postures together with realistic expressions was heavily linked with the art work that was involved in this particular period of time. Italy was the region where this form of art was heavily pronounced in the whole of Europe by then.
Five main techniques were heavily used in the art works that were present at this particular time in history. Perspective was used in a great extent in the art works during this period as it was very helpful in making art work look more real. Foreshortening (involved drawing lines in a shortened manner with the intent of creating depth illusion) formed the other technique used. Sfumato where in paintings, sharp outlines are softened using gradual blending of a tone before leading it into the other was very integral not only in creating the illusion of depth but also helped create the 3-dimension aspect about the piece of work (Marlena, 2007). Chiaroscuro whereby a high contrast of colors was used with the intention of creating the much needed 3-dimension aspect and creating the illusion of depth was also used together with the aspect of balance and proportion. A combination of two or more of these aspects in a piece of art was what was mainly leading into the form of art that was dominant during this period of Renaissance.
Several artists though tended to deviate from the strict guidelines of art that were prescribed by the period either in terms of the themes that they addressed or the techniques of painting that they used in their pieces of art as is indicated in the below three pieces of art.
Hieronymus Bosch: The Marriage Feast at Cana
Bosch was by a large extent attempting to beak the rules that were basically shaping the direction taken by the world of art during this period of renaissance. As a mater of fact, artists were diverting the themes of painting away from the religious backgrounds and leaning more on the classical issues of the society. Bosch totally deviates from this aspect as the theme of the work he presents in the painting still borrows heavily from the biblical story of the wedding at Cana. The techniques used by Bosch do not do any better to promote the direction taken by art during the renaissance (Boyle, 2001). Although color has been heavily used as is the case during the renaissance, depth which was a major issue in the art works during this period heavily lacks in this particular art. The main reason though for not creating depth by Bosch is to ensure that the whole piece of art has a uniform attention as it wholly creates the desired meaning. Drawing attention to a specific point has been seriously avoided by Bosch.
Pieter Bruegel: The Beggars
Bruegel comes in as one of the most successful artists that lived during this period in artistic history. The piece of work that comes in as a very simple but very important in the life of Bruegel indicates by far a great source of dedication to rebel against the standards that were set for the renaissance art. The theme sin the art starts off as one that is not in line with the classical mythology of the Greeks or the Romans as was to be the case in the art works done during this time. Instead he addresses the current situations of poverty that are striking the society with the sole purpose of giving hope to the less advantaged and bringing people’s attention to the real issues facing the society. on the other hand, the less use of color in his work as opposed to the much used color in renaissance art for the purpose of creating depth has been very effective in helping make the art look as simple as the possible and present the message home in the best manner (Marlena, 2007).
Van Eyck: Annunciation
Eyck is considered as one of the greatest painters that ever lived during this particular period in time. In this painting though, she went ahead to go against the standards of art that had been set to govern artist during the time. This can be clearly seen right from the theme that he decides to address for the work. Although it is clear that religion ought not to form the themes that were preferred for painting during this time, he goes ahead to paint a biblical context. The context of the announcement to Mary by Angel Gabriel has been strategically chosen by Eyck so as to reveal the level of artistic development that had reached in the church buildings (Boyle, 2001). The Gothic and Romanesque architecture was the main purpose as to why Eyck painted the picture abusing all the standards of renaissance period where the theme and color differentiation was sacrificed.
References
Blayney, D. (2001). Romanticism. California: Phaidon.
Boime, A. (2008). Birth Of Abstract Romanticism, The: Art For A New Humanity, Rumi And The Paintings Of Kamran Khavarani. Boston: Sybil City Book Company.
Boyle, D. (2001). Renaissance Art: A Crash Course. Chicago: Watson-Guptill.
Marlena, V. (2007). Renaissance Art. Illinois: Sirrocco - Parkstone International
N/B: All sources referenced in APA 6th Edition
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