Neoclassicism and Romanticism
...h it grew alongside Neoclassicism and the Enlightenment, Romanticism allowed one to concentrate more on the emotional and sentimental aspects of humanity and to ignore the constricted rational views of life. It also believed strongly in the practice of individualism. It provided a way to do some real soul searching using feelings and vision while excluding control and rules. According to Romanticist, emotion and intuition should at least be on the same plane as reason, if not above it. Romanticism dealt not only with reality but also with what wasn’t. Many of the movement’s painters, like Goya and Wm. Blake, painted very mystical and nightmarish scenes. Some were even into the spiritually of the Gothic. Many of these paintings were done in order to cause the viewer to use their imagination or to cause a stir of great feeling. This was totally opposite of the Neoclassicism movement, which didn’t require one’s emotions. At first I had a hard time trying to find two paintings that I thought would be easy enough for me to write about. Most of the time I could find one that I liked for one movement but not the other. Luckily I finally stumbled upon the two paintings that follow. In keeping with what I did above, I will start with the Neoclassicism painting and end with the Romanticism one. Madame Moitessier Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Oil on Canvas, 1.470 x 1.000 m National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. This painting by Ingres is a good example of the Neoclassicism movement. Ingres’ subject is one who he seems to be familiar with and she seems to be very calm and at ease. Madame Moitessier what the daughter of a government official and was married to a lace merchant. In this painting she is wearing a black velvet evening dress with white lace at the neck. Ingres has overlaid the top of the dress with a black lace shawl. The black of the dress and shawl help the peachy cream color of her skin offset her jewelry. Ingres decided to simplify Madame Moitessier’s features for this painting. He did this by using a Greco-Roman ideal for her facial features. Her rose haloed hairstyle helps to relay that her face is perfectly oval and her features symmetrical. Madame’s figure is rather flat thus drawing one’s attention to the idea that the figure-ground relationship in this painting is brought about by a combination of shapes and lines. Ingres painted Madame in this manner to help convey her beauty to the viewer. This painting is very simple and to the point. Ingres painted Madame in a rather plain yet elegant setting. This was done to insure that nothing took away form her beauty. The brushstrokes are almost invisible and the dark colors compliment each other well. The Marquesa de Pontejos Francisco de Goya Oil on Canvas, 2.103 x 1.270 m National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. This painting by Goya is a very good example of Romanticism art. Unlike the Ingres painting, it has light colors, which create a cheerier air. Its setting is outside, which also helps to set a lighter mood. The delicate, pink carnation in the Marquesa’s hand also helps to set the mood of the painting because it is an emblem of love that is often associated with brides. Her hand clasps the stem in a very soft, delicate manner as if to convey the fl...