19th Century Art: From Romanticism to Post-Impressionism
Romanticism and Realism
Throughout the 19th century, the art world experienced major shifts, transitioning from Romanticism to Realism, and culminating in Impressionism.
Romanticism emerged as a response to Neo-classicism, emphasizing feeling and intuition over reason. Painting became a primary vehicle for artistic expression. It’s considered the first avant-garde movement, breaking with classical tradition by addressing contemporary issues.
Key features include the dominance of bright colors over precise drawing, loose brushstrokes, rough textures, and dynamic compositions. Subject matter expanded to include subjective landscapes.
English Romanticism significantly contributed to landscape painting. Prominent figures were Constable, who painted directly from nature with quick, color-based strokes, and Turner, known for his luminous watercolors and atmospheric mist effects.
French Romantic painters like Delacroix infused their canvases with political sentiment and nationalist fervor. Géricault’s dramatic scenes, featuring anonymous figures, are notable for their strong emotional expression.
Realism arose mid-19th century, reacting against Romanticism’s idealism. It focused on concrete reality, portraying everyday life and denouncing social problems.
Key Realist artists include Millet, who integrated peasant themes into landscapes, and Courbet, who depicted ordinary people with tenderness.
Impressionism and Post-Impressionism
Impressionism emphasized light and fleeting visual impressions, often depicting landscapes under specific weather conditions. The Industrial Revolution’s social and economic changes, particularly in France, fueled artists’ desire for greater freedom.
Scientific advancements, like Chevreul’s color theory, influenced Impressionism, leading artists to represent visual reality through broken color and fragmented brushstrokes.
Impressionism gained recognition in 1863 with the Salon des Refusés, but the term was coined in 1874 after Monet’s Impression, soleil levant was disparagingly critiqued.
Impressionist paintings are typically oil on canvas, characterized by loose, short, and quick brushstrokes. Color dominates over drawing, with light, bright, and pure hues favored. Traditional subjects (religious, political, social) are often abandoned.
Key Impressionists include:
- Monet: The quintessential Impressionist, focused on landscapes, light, and color, famously painting Water Lilies.
- Renoir: Concentrated on the human figure and the play of light, as seen in Bal au moulin de la Galette.
- Degas: Masterfully used pastels, combining loose brushwork with precise drawing, depicting ballet, opera, and intimate scenes.
- Pissarro and Sisley: Pissarro explored light filtering through trees, while Sisley painted serene landscapes.
Spanish Impressionist Joaquín Sorolla is renowned for his beach and lagoon scenes, incorporating human figures and compositional elements.
After 1880, some artists moved beyond Impressionism. Pointillism emerged, characterized by short dots of pure color.
Post-Impressionism revived drawing and sought to capture not just light but also the expressiveness of figures and objects, exploring spiritual and emotional experiences. Key figures include Cézanne, Gauguin, and Van Gogh.
Cézanne emphasized volume through geometry and form, laying the groundwork for Cubism.
Gauguin prioritized expressive color over light, using flat planes and black outlines. His themes included Tahitian exoticism and Breton primitivism.
Van Gogh employed passionate, tortuous brushwork, bold colors, and swirling forms. His subjects included cypresses, sunflowers, and self-portraits, reflecting his emotional intensity. He transitioned from early Impressionistic landscapes to his distinctive style in Arles, culminating in emotionally charged works painted in Saint-Rémy and Auvers-sur-Oise before his suicide in 1890.