Preferences and Perspectives - The Romantic Era

Impressionism Style

I personally really enjoy looking at Impressionism art, it's definitely one of my favorite styles. An old art teacher I had in high school always talked about how much she disliked Impressionism due to the chaos she felt when looking at it. While I do understand where he was coming from, I think there is a lot of beauty within that chaos and I personally find a lot of comfort from different colors and brush strokes. 

Impressionism began in Paris towards the end of the 19th century and what makes this style so interesting and different is the fact that the content of the painting wasn't important. In Impressionism art, the way the artist painted was more important. This is because the characteristics don't really have anything to do with the subject matter; Impressionism is characterized by sketchy lines, loose brush strokes, and dabs of color that blend together. Of course, there is a reoccurring theme of subject matter but it wasn't the most important thing. Such subject matter includes pleasant moments, transitory effects of light and weather, and the amusements and pastimes of the middle/upper class. As you can tell, this style of art didn't really focus on traditional subject matter like history and religion. 

"Water Lilies" by Claude Monet
France, 1906

Claude Monet's Water Lilies is an oil on canvas painting and it a beautiful example of Impressionism art. You may even be familiar with this scene because this piece is one of a whole series which he began painting in 1897. His entire Japanese-inspired garden composed of 17 different canvases can be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This particular painting, however, is one of my favorites from his series. The painting itself is so serene but his loose brush strokes and dabs of color make me feel like melting into the entire painting. Monet used his paint ever so lightly and delicately that the piece gives off a dream-like feeling. He also seemed to be able to do this painting without putting much detail into any one place; every detail is equal in a sense of light and color. I believe Monet's intention was to capture this peaceful environment while portraying how he felt about it: dream-like serenity. Since the whole concept of Impressionism is to pay more attention to how the artist felt while painting, Monet does a wonderful job evoking a sense of peace with the use of composition, stroke quality, and color. 

"La Grenouillére" by Pierre-Auguste Renoir
France, 1869

Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Claude Monet were actually very good friends and spent a lot of time together painting the same subject matter and "[would] compete to see which of them could most rapidly capture his subjective impressions of what he sees [and paint it] on canvas" (Arts & Culture). I chose Renoir's version because I believe his colors are much brighter and his paint strokes are just so beautifully done. Renoir's dabs of color blend together so smoothly and delicately while his brushstrokes are very short and rapid; it's just a very nice balance of chaos and simplicity. There is an exciting emotion/appeal within this painting, it makes me want to jump into this space and see what these people are up to. I believe that was actually Renoir's intention, to create an environment worth experiencing. 

Impressionism Elements of Art

Impressionism art is a beautiful style of art and it seems so simple at first, but in reality, the brush strokes and sketchy lines make it kind of chaotic. This style of art utilizes organic shapes with a two-dimensional form. Impressionists use curved/sketchy lines and loose/broken brushstrokes to help create these organic shapes and 2D forms. In addition, these lines and brushstrokes along with dabs of color help illustrate optical texture. These textures really emphasize that dream-like feeling we can see in Water Lilies and La Grenouillére.

Realist Style

Realism was developed in the mid 19th century and was a reaction again Romanticism. I personally am not a huge fan of the Realist style because I see it more as a snapshot of life rather than an adaptation of life. Does that make sense? Realism, to me, is a realistic painting of life. Why would that interest me when I can view the same thing with my own eyes? Unlike Impressionism, Realism focuses on ordinary subject matter like the middle class doing ordinary activities, farmworkers, nature, and livestock. This style of art is a real depiction of models and there is careful attention to detail. 

"The Gleaners" by Jean-François Millet
France, 1857

Jean-François Millet's subject matter in almost all of his paintings was peasant life. There is a lot of detail in this piece and it really captures the backbreaking lifestyle of bending over, picking, and standing back up again. There is also a very quiet contrast of depth showing the abundant harvest in the distance. The background is almost smudged into the painting with a gentle haze. I believe Millet's intention when creating this piece was to capture the hard life of the working class and how isolating it can be. I can definitely feel that as well when I look at this piece. It's almost a depressing feeling of repetitiveness; having to do the same thing over and over until the day is done. 

"Snap the Whip" by Winslow Homer
Ohio, 1872

After the brutal and depressing Civil War, children became the subject matter of many Realists because they embodied innocence and were the promise of America's future. There is obviously a lot of attention to detail here and is a true depiction of the middle class. However, I personally am more interested in the artist's intention. As I mentioned, America was just getting over the events of the Civil War and change was in the air. Homer's oil on canvas painting really expresses this emotion of freedom and that change. These young boys embracing each other barefoot creates such a care-free and happy spirit within. Unlike our previous piece by Millet, this piece makes me feel happy. 

Realist Elements of Art

Realism is obviously a very realistic depiction of life through art and the elements of art seen in this style help with this depiction. There are very sober colors used throughout this style of art and this makes sense because life itself isn't very bright- unless you put a filter over it. The whole concept of Realism is to capture contemporary life and in order to capture that correctly, you need sober colors. These colors also help spark emotion. Since we are trying to capture real life in this style, there is no limit to what emotions you can feel- because life entails many different emotions. For example, in Millet's piece, his sober colors and subject matter made us feel depressing emotions. If he were to use brighter colors, we may have felt something different. In addition to color and emotion, Realism uses horizontal lines to define its form. 

Impressionism and Realism

I'm a big fan of abstract art, and while Impressionism has a defined subject matter, there is something abstract about the painting thanks to the dabs of color and brushstrokes. The use of colors and loose brushstrokes create a captivating painting that makes you want to jump in and experience it. Realism, for me, is too realistic and is a bit more boring to look at. The main difference between Impressionism and Realism is the subject matter. Impressionists don't focus on traditional subject matter like Realists do. Instead, Impressionists' focus was to depict the fleeting moments of nature especially through the transitory effects of light. There was also more attentiveness to how the artist was feeling while painting.  Realists on the other hand were more focused on the details of their subject matter and telling the truth as a perfect ideal.  

Work Cited. 

“La Grenouillère - Auguste Renoir - Google Arts & Culture.” Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/la-grenouill%C3%A8re-auguste-renoir/HgHrOyFUfcFtLw?hl=en.

“Realism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/movement/realism/.

Samu, Margaret. “Impressionism: Art and Modernity.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Oct. 2004, www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/hd/imml/hd_imml.htm.