Romanticism and Impression
During the Romantic period, there was a great change in urbanization, sciences, transportation, and industrialization. The changes came with a wide range of styles from Romanticism to Imperialism. Romanticism was primarily influenced by the changes experienced in the society such as the invention of gas lamps, bicycles, and trains. Although Romanticism and Impression used different styles, there are also notable similarities. For instance, both Raft of Medusa and Impression Sunrise are highly valued of the originality, beauty, and innovation in the world of history (Silka,2016). Additionally, both paintings captives the imagination and has altered how people think about art. However, the paintings help to demonstrate the differences between Romanticism and Impression.
Theodore Gericault’s painting “The Raft of Medusa” is regarded as one of the classic representations of the Romantic Movement. In its realism, brutality, as well as raw emotion it demonstrated the essence of the historical event that frustrated the French public. The story behind the painting is overwhelming as the worry on the canvas. The formalism of the painting involves the color palette of dead and decaying flesh that the painter studied first hand at the mortuary (Silka,2016). The painting is used to condemn the restoration of a government that gave the command of the ship to an unqualified naval officer. The characteristics of Romanticism found in this painting include struggle humankind and nature, light/dark color, and some painterly style.
Impression Sunrise is one of the most famous paintings that is used to reflect the Impression Movement. Monet is considered as the father of Impression. The painting uses a painterly style with subjective effect, which is commonly referred to as an impression in academic practice. The movement was heavily influenced by J.M.W Turner (Silka,2016). The outstanding characteristic of the painting is its nearness of execution as well as the mature it captures juts the perceived instant (Silka,2016). Additionally, the strong color and clear shape of the sun gives the significance of the work. The dark note of the adjacent boat finds and stabilizes the color key.
References
Silka, P. (2016, November 19). French paintings that marked history. Retrieved from https://www.widewalls.ch/french-paintings/