Romantic Era

  

Romanticism in Germany

Caspar David Friedrich, Monk by the Sea, c. 1809, oil on canvas, 43″ x 67 1/2″ / 110 x 171.5 cm  (Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen, Berlin)

Friedrich, Abbey in the Oak Forest, 1809 or 1810, oil on canvas, 110.4 x 171 cm (Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin)

    German painter Caspar David Friedrich was labeled as Hitler's favorite artist. His work was also considered too meticulous, precise, and finely detailed compared to the fathers of modern art, the impressionists. However, that opinion has now changed about his brilliance in his work. The picture of the Abbey in the Oak Forest is a companion piece to the Monk by the Sea. The placement of the Monk in the photo is about a third of the way over, to a ratio of 1:1.6, considered the golden ratio. Friedrich deliberately changed the style of his work from that of the typical German landscape paintings of the time. He didn’t use cheap tricks like a river snaking off into the distance and trees in the foreground to create perspective. The following quote (which I love) by his friend Heinrich von Kleist: “Since it has, in its uniformity and boundlessness, no foreground but the frame, it is as if one’s eyelids had been cut off.”

Art historians believe that these works were used as political statements. Napoleon's army was occupying Prussia at the time, and the funeral procession in the ruined abbey was a hit on the French occupation. The monk by the sea shows strength against the incoming storm and turbulent waters, symbolizing Prussia’s strength to stand against the invading army.

“A painter should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within himself.” Friedrich. The color and form he used to depict emotions in the artwork made him a true Romantic.

 

    I've never had a favorite artist; honestly, the idea was absurd. But I now have come to appreciate Friedrich so immensely. The feeling of the encroaching storm feels dark and menacing. The dark blues and greens washed together to create an eerie sky and open water that worked together. The clouds flow and wave, and there appears to be only one solid line, that of the horizon, so low in the photo, making the monk seem so small, the vast sky and water eternal. Little detail is created on the monk, and you can feel yourself there in his place. The space and distance of this photo is incredible. I absolutely want to collect his artwork. The Abbey in the Oak Forest also has similar feelings and emotions. Both stick to essentially one color or tone, and they become shades darker or lighter.

  

Ben Pollitt, "Caspar David Friedrich, Monk by the Sea," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed July 15, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/friedrich-monk-by-the-sea/.

 

Romanticism in Spain

Francisco Goya, Plate 43, The sleep of reason produces monsters from Los Caprichos, 1799, etching, aquatint, drypoint, and burin, plate: 21.2 x 15.1 cm (The Metropolitan Museum of Art)

    This work has owls and a lynx  (the monsters) behind a sleeping man. The words on the desk are, “Imagination abandoned by reason produces impossible monsters; united with her, she is the mother of the arts and source of their wonders.” Goya is known as a transitional figure between the Enlightenment and Romanticism. In the early years of his career, he worked in the court of King Carlos the Third, who adhered to the principles of the Enlightenment. The Sleep of Reason was a warning that reason alone isn’t enough to govern us; this was central to the Romanticism against the Enlightenment doctrine.

    In this work, Goya uses a technique called aquatint, like etching. Etching is when a metal plate is covered in waxy, acid-resistant resin. An image is drawn directly on it, removing the wax in those spots, and then submerged in an acid bath. With aquatint, the artist sprinkles layers of powdery resin on the surface of the plate, heats it to harden, and then dips it in an acid bath. After all that is done, ink is put on the recesses and stamped on a piece of paper.

    The ideas behind the work and the message it conveys have such depth, and it is fun to read about the history of it. This work is odd to me, and I am not a fan. I appreciate it more knowing the history and mainly because of how the actual work was done. I had assumed all the lines were done with a pencil or ink or something; I didn’t know the aquatint style. It seems so chaotic, though, and almost unfinished. There is a washed-out background and lines in every direction; I know the owls are behind him, but there isn’t a good feel of space or depth to the image. The light of the owls and the lynx are the same as much of his jacket, which confuses me from a depth perspective. The lynx looks possessed. I would have liked this photo better if just one dark monster lurked in the depths while he slept; this is too silly for me.

Sarah C. Schaefer, "Francisco Goya, The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed July 15, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/goya-the-sleep-of-reason-produces-monsters/.

 

Realism

Jean-François Millet, L’Angélus, c. 1857-1859, oil on canvas, 21 x 26 (53.3 × 66.0 cm) (Musée d’Orsay, Paris)

    Millet was known for painting peasant subjects. The Angelus was one of the most widely reproduced images in the 19th century. It depicts two peasants reciting the Angelus, a prayer done traditionally three times a day in Roman Catholic households. Millet painted this due to nostalgia. He came from a life of peasantry and remembered his childhood prayers.

    This work was originally done for an American, Thomas Gold Appleton, who never took possession of the piece. Millet included the steeple later and changed the name from Prayer for the Potato Crop to The Angelus. There has also been speculation that the two people were originally praying over a deceased child. X-rays of the photo somewhat corroborate this by revealing what appears to be a small coffin between them.

    I absolutely love this painting. I love the era of realism, giving the ordinary, the peasants, and the lower members of society a place to be seen. No longer capturing Christ, the bible, or wealthy nobles, everyday life can be seen. The washed-out colors, large fields, and sky remind me of Friedrich's paintings. What is interesting to note is the horizon line. The horizon line is low in The Monk by the Sea, making the world seem empty, vast, and scary. However, the high horizon line in the Angelus brings the subjects to the foreground into focus. Even though there is a vast empty space behind them, it's still an intimate and personal painting of two people. There aren’t really lines, but the background feels like there are rows. The further back you go, the less detail there is that creates that depth. I can feel their emotions and hard work as they pray. There are a lot of different washed-out colors, but they all seem to blend beautifully. I would love to own a copy of this.

 

Zaczek, Iain. "L’Angélus". Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Oct. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/art/LAngelus. Accessed 15 July 2024.

L’Angélus | Description, History, & Facts | Britannica

 

 

Millet, Jean-Francois. “The Angelus, 1857 - 1859 - Jean-Francois Millet.” Www.Wikiart.Org, 1 Jan. 1970, www.wikiart.org/en/jean-francois-millet/the-angelus-1859.

The Angelus, 1857 - 1859 - Jean-Francois Millet - WikiArt.org

Édouard Manet, Music in the Tuileries Gardens, 1862, oil on canvas, 76.2 x 118.1 cm (The National Gallery, London)

    Manet is called an analytic painter by writer Emile Zola. Manet took a radical stance when creating this piece. Modern urban life was not appropriate for artwork. This piece shows a group of music lovers in the Tuileries Gardens. There is a connection between this work and Manet's friend, the poet Baudelaire. He wrote an essay that modern life was heroic and a worthy subject. He believed that modern life should be the artist's favored subject. Their friendship and the many things in the picture that depict what was in the essay show how close they were. This painting has focused and fuzzy faces and parts, which is a new form of perspective.

 

    I do not like this work; it feels sloppy and distorted. There's too much going on, and too blurry and muddy. My eye keeps going to the left side, where multiple men in black coats and top hats seem like clones. There are many curves and movements, but at the same time, there are many stiff and rigid people. Some seem frozen, and some appear in movement. There is a small patch of the sky showing, which is interesting. The contrast between the green trees and the yellow, black, blue, and a little red clothing doesn’t mesh well with me. I wouldn’t own this. It doesn’t compare at all to the work done by Millet.

 

Cite this page as: Ben Pollitt, "Édouard Manet, Music in the Tuileries Gardens," in Smarthistory, August 9, 2015, accessed July 15, 2024, https://smarthistory.org/manet-music-in-the-tuileries-gardens/.

This period has so many different styles of work and Artists. I really feel that this era was when artists could expand into new realms of work. No longer chained by wealthy nobles and the Bible, they were free to express emotions, the common man, new techniques, clothing, and colors. Revolutions were happening, and leaders and conquerors were making names for themselves. New ideas, technology, and philosophies were coming forth. What a time to be an artist!