Contrast Between Romanticism and Realism

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Representation v. Abstraction and Art & Society
Section 1: Representation v. Abstraction
Part 1: Contrast Between Romanticism and Realism
* Napoleon at the Penthouse (1804), Antoine-Jean Gros (France)
* Stone Breakers (1849), Gustav Courbet (France)
Across the history of art, art movements emerged in response to the existing artistic approaches. Romanticism, for instance, rejected the formalities of neoclassicism and instead focused on emotion. An example of such work is Napoleon at the Penthouse, painted in 1804 by Antoine-Jean Gros. On the other hand, realism rejected the notions of exotic subject matter and the perceived exaggeration of drama and emotionalism typified by the Romantic movement. Instead, realism was characterized by subjects painted while in day-to-day activities in a naturalistic manner. Such work is Stone Breakers, painted in 1849 by Gustav Courbet. A contrast between these two paintings should reveal distinctions between artists, art, and the culture in which they were valued.
Romanticism art's key distinctive features include painterliness, expressiveness & individualism, vividness and intensity, inspiration, emotion, presence of sensuous or religious themes, and interest in nature (Davies et al. 786). In Napoleon at the Penthouse, elements of painterliness are manifested through the use of color, light strokes, and smooth texture. The painting has distinctive colors, including red, white, brown, green, black, orange, and sky blue, with subtle strokes enhancing detail. The painting shows Napoleon visiting a penthouse where plague victims were being housed. Here, there is the portrayal of commanding and poignant feeling whose product is empathy for the victims. Further, the visit of Napoleon to such a place, if anything, is a show of gloried emotion both for the plague victims and the audience. In the background is a cloudy sky with orange shades that suggest sunset coupled with heavy grey clouds; an appreciation of nature as a trait of romanticism art.
Romanticism, scholars argue (Davies et al. 787), was inspired by revolutionary events like the American and French revolutions, emerging as a response to the disillusionment with the enlightenment values of order and reason and the artistic nostalgia of classical art that dominated the neoclassical era. The interest in individuals, such as the focus on Napoleon and plague victims, was a response to the need to address the individual needs of people, such as liberty, dignity, and independence, that had become necessary and dominated public discourse, especially in the aftermath of the French revolution. Nevertheless, addressing the needs of individuals called for understanding their emotions and the environment in which they lived. This is why Napoleon at the Penthouse attempts to capture emotional support, typify empathy, and appreciate the natural world's presence, as shown by the sky in the background. The cultural shift to the individual's needs, emotions, and needs became the central focus of Romanticism.
On the other hand, realism strived to capture the naturalistic manner of everyday life. This notion was influenced by the rise of photography and journalism, which inspired a ...