Art History: Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism & Modern Movements

Neoclassicism

Inspired by classical antiquity; reason, order, moral clarity; Enlightenment, French Revolution, archaeology (Pompeii).

Romanticism

Reaction; emotion, individualism, nature, sublime; Industrial Revolution, subjectivity (Kant), literature (Byron), nationalism, pantheism.

Differences between Neoclassicism and Romanticism

Style (sharp/precise vs. loose/expressive), Mood (stoic/inspirational vs. passionate/melancholy), Subjects (civic virtue vs. exotic/supernatural).

Overlaps between Neoclassicism and Romanticism

Respond to political turmoil/revolutions; historical themes; Rousseau's influence; religion (moral parables vs. spiritual awe).

Jacques-Louis David, Oath of the Horatii, 1748, france neoclassicism

Rigid poses, Roman brothers swearing loyalty; moral austerity, revolutionary politics.

Angelica Kauffman, Cornelia Presenting Her Children as Her Treasures, 1785, english neoclassicism

Huge history painting; mother of future Roman statesmen; cult of republican motherhood.

Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808, spain, romantic

Massacre at night; opinion piece, nationalistic/pro-Spain, celebrates underdog/horror; heavy impasto (feels 'shot with paint'); Christ-like wounds on central figure.

Caspar David Friedrich, Abbey in the Oak Forest 1809, german romanticism

Sublime in God's creations; ruined gothic abbey, eerie/supernatural; nature as God's cathedral; feel lost, reveals universe secrets.

J.M.W. Turner, Slave Ship, 1840, english romanticism

Sublime storm; swirling vortex of color/air/atmosphere/foam; tiny rickety ship; subversive anti-slavery message.

Théodore Géricault, Raft of the Medusa, 1840, english romanticism

Academic body studies; statement against France (abandoned shipwreck survivors); miraculous/sublime.

Realism

Rejects Romantic idealism; objective everyday life; industrialization, social unrest, 1848 revolutions.

Impressionism

Light/color, fleeting moments; avant-garde.

Gustave Courbet, The Stone Breakers, 1849, french realism

Unidealized laborers; grit, economic inequality post-1848, positivism.

John Everett Millais, Christ in the House of His Parents , 1850, english realism

Proletariat Jesus; elegance, International Gothic (sheep as wall); defiant of church/academic traditions, not strictly religious.

Claude Monet, Impression, Sunrise, 1872, french impressionism

Loose brushwork, urban harbor light; avant-garde, modern rapid change.

James McNeill Whistler, Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, 1875, impressionism

Atmospheric fireworks abstraction; challenges representation, aestheticism.

Post-Impressionism

Bold/distorted, personal emotion; Nietzsche, photography.

Symbolism

Dreamlike/allegorical, inner worlds; religious decline.

Art Nouveau

Organic/flowing, harmony; gesamtkunstwerk, iron tech, Primitivism.

Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, post impressionism

Swirling skies; existential anxiety, psychological depth.

Edvard Munch, The Scream, 1893, symbolism

Symbolic existential anxiety/alienation/inner turmoil; not literal.

Antoni Gaudí, Sagrada Família, 1882, barcelona, art nouveau

Natural/organic forms; optimistic harmony, urbanization response.

Henri Matisse, Woman with a Hat, 1905, Fauvism

Bold non-natural colors; emotional/optimistic vitality, colonial influences.

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Street, Berlin, 1913, expressionism

Angular urban scenes; anxiety from modernization/alienation.