Romanticism Vs Realism

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Thematic Essay: Romanticism and Realism From the mid-18th to the late 19th century, dynamic transformations in European art mirrored turbulent political and social changes, including revolutions, imperial conquests, and the emergence of the modern industrial age. The expressive, emotional aesthetics of Romantic art echoed a form of artistic rebellion against the orderly Enlightenment era to assert individuality of the artist and reject the stoic subject matter seen in the style of Neoclassicism. Romantic artists were primarily focused on exotic and tumultuous themes, often executed with loose and colorfully bold brushwork. Later in the century, proponents of the Realist movement turned to sober depictions of working people as the Industrial Revolution swept through Europe. Some Realists turned to nature, using landscape to convey a sense of direct experience of a specific place and time. Romanticism and Realism are separate artistic movements but they exhibit similar characteristics; both were movements that reflected the time period. Depicting realities of the time, rather than focusing on idealization, was an important element in both movements. Goya’s, The Third of May, 1808, offers an excellent example of the radical stylistic shift that rejected Neoclassical notions such as order, balance, and rationality. Goya presents us with a dark vision of innocent Spaniards executed by a Napoleonic firing squad. In the 19th century, civil strife had arose in Spain, and Spanish citizens, like Goya, welcomed the French who were to bring political reform. However, Napoleon Bonaparte, the emperor of the French, was not interested in aiding but rather invading the country. On the second day of May, rumors spread through Madrid about the French coming to assassinate the royal family. When the French arrived they occupied the major capitals while the Spanish rose up and
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