Neoclassic/Romantic Art
Jan 04, 2016
Neoclassic/Romantic Art
Neoclassical Art
• Severe and objective form of art – harkening back to the grandeur of ancient Greece and
Rome. • Reaction to the feminine, over refined and
decorative Rococo style and emotional charged Baroque style. – Form : balanced, restrained– Color: rich – Figures: realistic
• Part of a general revival of interest in classical thought, important in the American and French revolutions.
Jacques Louis David
• Repetition of line: balanced composition
• Realistic figures• Expresses, however,
Romantic nationalism• “Napoleon Crossing
the Alps”
• “Death of Marat”
• Violent subject portrayed in restrained manner
• Restrained use of chiaroscuro
Ingres
• Student of David
• Balance
• Classical poses
• Restraint
• Romantic nationalism
Romanticism
• Counterbalance to Neoclassic style
• Emotion
• Freedom: no rules
• Romantic nationalism
• Subject matter: weird, supernatural, exotic as well as patriotic, genre paintings (pastoral, sublime of the ordinary)
Blake
• Romantic idealism– “I do not behold the
outward creation... it is a hindrance and not action.”
• Showed Social injustice
• Imagination, individualism
• Engraver: “drawn” figures
Nebuchadnezzer
Whirlwind of Lovers
Friedrich (this one is Gothic)
• Fascination with odd, weird
• Exotic settings in time and space
Constable: genre painting
• Peaceful genre scene
• Idealized nature
Delacroix: “Liberty Leading the People”
Gericault “The Raft of the Medusa”
Francisco Goya (Spain)
• Straddles Romantic Realistic/naturalistic
• Disillusioned Romantic• Realistic portrayal of
what he saw• Technique: Romantic• Romantic nationalism• Family of Charles III
– Charles looks foolish
– His wife looks hard and domineering
– Others look self satisfied
(Goya)
• Disasters of War: “This is Terrible”
• Romantic composition and freedom
• Realistic subject matter
2nd of May 1808
• Napoleonic wars massacre he actually witnessed in Madrid• Romantic composition and nationalism
3rd of May 1808
• Note use of chiaroscuro, composition and symbolism• Faceless enemy, Christ-symbol of insurrectionist
Beethoven• Bridged Classical and
Romantic periods– Form used contextually– Motifs– Works as attempts for
perfection
• Manifested Romantic ideal– Pastoral, Symphony No. 6– Symphony 9, Ode to Joy– Eroica – Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor,
Pathetique
Franz Schubert • Vienna Austria• Child prodigy• Wrote lieder—songs with
emotional theme based on folk tradition
• Song cycle• Wrote for fewer instruments
– Unfinished Symphony– Symphony in C major
• Many works were lost
Felix Mendelssohn
• Tried to preserve Classical style– Brought Bach out of obscurity
• Symphonies were classical form and romantic tone
• Midsummer Night’s Dream
Frederic Chopin
• Child prodigy• Sickly his whole life: died young• Ultimate romantic love story• Made money by giving piano
concerts • Composed mazurkas, preludes and
polonaises: nationalistic, emotional– Etude Opus 10– Polonaise in A flat major– Minute Waltz
Franz Liszt
• Hungarian child prodigy• Great showman• Kind to other musicians• Several love affairs:
– Romanticism– Individualism
• Les Preludes• Hungarian Rhapsody
– Nationalistic– Used folk themes
Richard Wagner
• German nationalism – Nazis loved him
• Not a prodigy• Immoral life• Opera
– Leitmotif
• Depicted Germanic myths and heroes– Die Walküre (Ride of the Valkyries)– Tannhäuser (end of the overture)– Tristan and Isolde (Unresolved – Liebestod)
Giuseppe Verdi
• Greatest Italian style opera– Aida– La Traviata– Rigoletto
• La Donna e Mobile
• Innovation– Focus on human emotion– De-emphasis on bel-canto style
• Rossini: Barber of Seville
– Excellent librettos (stories)– Orchestra an important component
Johann Strauss
• Father was excellent composer
• Played in father’s orchestra• More popular than his father• Waltzes
– Embodiment of Viennese life– Blue Danube Waltz– Tales of the Vienna Woods
Johann Brahms
• German• At first imitated Beethoven
until developed own style• Mentored by Robert and Clara
Schumann• Emotional compositions
– Hungarian Dance #5– Lullaby
Russian Composers
• Moussorgsky,Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov– Russian Easter Overture
• Used Russian themes• Helped each other• Flight of the Bumble Bee• Night on Bald Mountain
Almaty, Kazakhstan
Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky
• Russian• Used French style• Ballets are most famous
– Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty– Romeo and Juliet
• Deep emotion for his sad life– Symphony No. 6 – Pathètique