Romanticism and the Birth of Realism

Romanticism and the Birth of Realism
Romanticism was an artistic movement that swept through most of the civilized world during the late 1700th and early 1800th centuries. Romanticism became a way of cultural expression in response to the previous movement of Classicism, which had been a period of order and rule as well as being long-winded and traditional. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the root word of Romanticism, “romantic” as being marked by the imaginative or emotional appeal of what is heroic, adventurous, remote, mysterious, or idealized. (Merriam-Webster, 2014) This is very much a summary of the entire period.
The Romantic period has several significant contributions to the arts. Comedy was added to the drama as well as folk tales being part of entertainment. Poetry became shorter and less intense. Famous poet Robert Blake, who was largely overlooked during the Romantic period, donated several of his writings. Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection from Blake that has gained a popular notoriety in our current day. Mary Shelly wrote Frankenstein which was a macabre story of crude medical experiment that put life into pieces of cadavers that were sewn together that eventually come to life. The meaning of the story is extremely fantastic considering the age that it was written. It is considered one of the earliest examples of science fiction.
The Romanticism was also a reaction to the industrial revolution that was beginning. The Industrial revolution began to make the lives of people change.
Realism was the answer to the cries from the Romantic age. Largely, the cultures across the world were yearning for independence. Life was hard and people worked long tedious and physically taxing jobs to support their families. The ministry was undergoing an upheaval and people were beginning to question what they had been taught during their short lives. The Romantic era, that had ushered in the Industrial Age, was gone and had left its bitter taste in the mouths of the middle class working people. The art that was conceived in this period was Real, hence the title of Realism. Deviation from the arts that had become the standard, was a way of showing contempt and distance from the Romantic period. Paintings such as Gustave Courbet’s A Burial at Omans(Courbet, 1849-1851), showed the reality of death for the everyday individual. His simple style allowed the realness of the art to show when it was on display. Art works such as these became smaller as the middle class began to become larger and took these creations into their home. The use of the palette knife was also introduced and used by many artists as a new technique and a way to show texture.
Romanticism and Realism both created wondrous works of art. Theodore Gericault painted Alfred Dedreux as a Child. (Gericault, 1819-20, figure 16). His painting of the boy he spent so much time with was meant to be lifelike. The colors were not bright and the detail was not intricate. The outside setting was not indicative of the time of year nor is the boys age discernable. The portrait, while widely acclaimed is not extremely detailed.

Romanticism greatly influenced Realism. The inventions and principles of the people in these ages adapted and changed and the styles of art changed with them. An attitude of acceptance changed to wistful mind state which transformed into the revolution of these people. A society who were driven to their depths by the upper class and exhausted of the fabricated art and poetry as well as the social hierarchy. These influences carried on through the times and can still be appreciated for their historical and educational value. Realism has left quite an impression in our modern day world. Examples can be seen in drawings presented from an newly rising artist known as Vishwesh who has created the portrait titled, “ Longing.” (Vishweshsant, 2014, p. 1) As change is inevitable and adaptation provides a learning experience, the humanities continuously adjust, accept and become refined all for the wellbeing of the movement to come.

References
Courbet, G. (1849-1851). A Burial at Ornans . [Painting]. Musée d’Orsay, Paris: Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
Gericault, T. (1819-20). Alfred Dedreux (1810–1860) as a Child [Oil on Canvas]. Retrieved from http://www2.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/436454?pos=15&rpp=60&pg=1&gallerynos=801&ft=*&where=Europe
Merriam-Webster . (2014). Romantic. In Merriam Webster Dictionary-Romanticism. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/romantic
Millet, J. (1856-1857). Woman with a Rake [Oil on Canvas]. Retrieved from http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/38.75
Simkin, J. (2014). James Hargreaves. Retrieved from http://spartacus-educational.com/SChargreaves.htm
Vishweshsant (2014). Longing [Pencils on tinted paper]. Retrieved from http://vishw.deviantart.com/art/Longing-265910960