KEY ARTISTS:
Gericault & Delacroix
KEY MEANINGS:
Depictions of men/women (portraits/figures etc.)
Contemporary Events
Conflict & Suffering
KEY CONTEXTS:
Political |
Social |
Philosophical |
The political instability continued.
In March 1814, Napoleon was forced to surrender. The Fall of Napoleon came as the failure of the Enlightenment for many French people. Then followed repressive rule of the subsequent monarchies: in July 1830, discontent with the rule of Charles X resulted in a violent uprising in Paris known as the July Revolution. Louis Philippe succeeded his cousin and installed the July Monarchy. |
France, like Britain, experienced the effects of increasing industrialisation - this new context prompted a sense of nostalgia for nature and escapism.
The fascination with the exotic Orient continued as the French colonised Algeria in 1831, as well as a growing interest in the Medieval Ages. The newspapers highlighted contemporary events, shifting the Romantic minds from the classical subjects. |
Romanticism emerged in the late 18th century as a philosophical movement in literature, art and music. It was a reaction against the Enlightenment values of reason and idealism in Neoclassicism, so the emphasis shifted to the imagination and emotion. Writers and artists sought to convey the notion of sublime. They took on a highly personal view focused on the expression of individuality, which was an important principle of Romanticism.
|
France's Many Revolutions: the Timeline |
The Industrial Revolution |
|
|
Understanding the notion of Sublime |
HISTORY OF IDEAS: Romanticism |
|
|
Passion vs. ReasonThe rivalry between Delacroix and Ingres was one that epitomized the difference between Neoclassicism and Romanticism. Here we see Delacroix (left) challenging Ingres (right) with a paint brush, hinting on his preoccupation with colour - while Ingres defends himself with a pen, symbolising his obsession with line.
|
ROMANTIC ARTISTTheodore Gericault (1791-1824)Frail, brooding and sensitive, Géricault was as romantic as a Romantic painter could be. While he began his career with grand military statements for the Emperor Napoleon, it was his later works, with their emotional brutality and raw empathy that captured the hearts of audiences for generations.
His masterpiece, The Raft of the Medusa was iconic in the era in which he lived, forging a new emphasis on raw emotion and sharply veering away from the refined compositional studies of Neoclassicism. Gericault did not leave behind a large body of work, as he died at such a tragically young age. What he did leave, however, was impressive in its variety and what ties all of his work together is an interest in the present tense, rather than the depiction of historical events or classical themes that characterized Neoclassicism such as horse races, shipwrecks and portraits of the mentally ill. All clearly break away from the typical subject matter of Classical or Neoclassical artists, bringing the new ideals of Romanticism into play. https://www.artble.com/artists/theodore_gericault |
|
ROMANTIC ARTISTEugene Delacroix (1798-1863)Eugene Delacroix had a profound influence on the Romantic movement.
Known as a "master of colour," Delacroix became a pupil of the English Romantic landscapists and extracted from their techniques, to develop a unique and memorable approach to colour. Delacroix fine-tuned Romanticism, incorporating the influences of great masters such as Michelangelo and Rubens. He developed his own personal style, with an affinity for showing pain and suffering in his work through brightly coloured canvases. The impact of literature and both historical and contemporary events, coupled with his innate artistic technique created an explosive viewing experience on canvas. The settings around him also shaped his work; he travelled throughout Europe but Morocco seemed to have the greatest impact on him of all the places he visited. In 1832 Delacroix toured Morocco with King Louis-Philippe's representative of the Sultan. He was refreshed by a culture that was so vastly different to the French: the brightly coloured, flowing costumes, the Arabs and their women, and the enchanting horses. Delacroix used Arab subjects in his work for the remainder of his life. Delacroix enjoyed a long and successful career, receiving countless commissions from the government. His violent subject matter, intense passion, and bright colours puzzled and offended some contemporary critics but earned the admiration of others. Delacroix's paintings changed the art world forever and his technique had a lasting impact on the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist movements. http://www.eugene-delacroix.com |
DELACROIX AND COLOUR
|
For Delacroix, colour was more important than drawing.
Whereas David used colour to tint his drawings, Delacroix used colour to celebrate its brilliance. Delacroix was, no doubt, aware of the work of Newton in the 17th century which showed that colour was created by light and suggested the importance of complementary colours. Various colour circles came into existence in the early 19th century. The German scientist Goethe published his Theory of Colours in 1810 and the French chemist, Chevreul, published Memoir on the influence that two colours may have on each other when they are seen simultaneously in 1828, followed by public lectures and his Law of Simultaneous Contrast published in 1839. Many artists, notably Delacroix, were interested in his observation that colours are modified by the colours that surround them. Four main concepts in Delacroix's use of colour: • The juxtaposition of colours for particular effects • The use of optical mixing • The use of coloured shadows • The use of pure colours rather than earth colours artsonline.tki.org.nz/content/download/7529/41445/version/1/file/FrenchArtWorkbook2.pdf (p.24) |
DELACROIX AND THE EAST
It took just one trip to the Orient to change Eugene Delacroix's work forever. In 1832 he toured Morocco with King Louis-Philippe's representative of the Sultan and was refreshed by a culture so vastly different to the French.
The brightly coloured, flowing costumes, the Arabs and their women, and the enchanting horses captivated the artist and consequently, many later themes of Delacroix's canvases reflected scenes of the Orient. Women of Algiers (left) is his first artwork resulting from his time in Morocco and is based on Delacroix's visit to a Muslim Harem. Muslim harems were heavily guarded and so it was difficult to enter one. Delacroix was fortunate enough to meet a man who owned a private harem and so he was allowed to enter and stay for some time and was even given permission to painted several watercolour sketches. From these sketches Delacroix painted Women of Algiers upon his return home and aimed to convey its serenity and sacredness to the outside world. The sensuous atmosphere captivated modern painters such as Van Gogh, Gauguin, Picasso and Matisse. This work was exhibited in the 1834 Salon. www.artble.com/artists/eugene_delacroix/paintings/women_of_algiers_in_their_apartment |