FREE ESSAY ON SURVEY OF ROMANTIC VERSUS REALISM PAINTINGS

SURVEY OF ROMANTIC VERSUS REALISM PAINTINGS

A Survey of Romantic and Realistic Paintings
Fantasy and reality occupy our worlds everyday. One sees this world around himself and he
retreats to what he wishes it was. Why shouldn't he paint about it? The portrayal of
fantastic and realistic notions occupied the activity of painters from the mid 1800's to
the 20th century. The period of Romantic painting lies roughly from the mid 1700s to the
mid/later 1800s, while paintings from the movement of Realism are grouped from the mid
1800s to the 1900s. 
The aspect of a Romantic composition's balance is characterized by diagonals and tension.
Disproportion, imbalance and a feeling of pushing and pulling within the depth of the
composition can also be observed. While movement and activity is characteristic of
Romantic paintings, a still, quiet, stationary behavior epitomizes Realism paintings. In
Eugene Isabey's Boat Ashore at Calas (1851), simple romantic elements comprise the piece:
diagonals and smoke. A main diagonal line emphasizes the downward slope of a shore lined
with beached boats resting upon the sand. A challenging inferior diagonal line of a small
group of people and their dinghies cross the main diagonal flow. The two lines of tension
resolve at the lower center of the composition highlighting the main, looming subject - a
dark massive apparition of a docked, freight boat enshrouded by blackening smoke. This is
in contrast to Gustave Courbet's depiction of sea life in The Calm Sea (1869). The
painting resembles a high resolution black and white photograph. Realistic elements are
the stationary flatness of the horizon and the solitary presence of two single beached
boats. The portrayal of the shoreline, horizon and cloud formation is horizontally
stable, thus emphasizing the calmness of the sea. Baron Antoine-Jean Gros' Murat
Defeating the Turkish Army (1805) is a composition which presents an overwhelming flow of
diagonal tension. Murat is centered in the composition uprightly astride on his horse,
while the Turkish army surrounds him in every conceivable contortion of agony. The
Turkish general faces Murat, yet he is positioned diagonally right below Murat in an
inferior military pose. Compared to Murat, Courbet's Bonjour Monsieur Courbet (1854)
finds a very stable balance in the subject of two men saying good-bye to another man. The
subject can be divided by the two men on the left and the backpacked man on the right.
Stability is emphasized by the strong vertical presence of the men in direct contrast to
the flat planed background. The use of balance and tension in Romanticism and Realism is
not restricted to it's compositional flow but also to the the painter's use of his
palette.
The use of color in Romantic paintings is bold visually and figuratively. It's usage is
implemented to represent a feeling or an ideal. The presence of a color may not be
realistically representative. For example, if the blood of a corrupt official is painted,
it might be painted black or green, rather than red. There is also a heavy application of
paint from the brush. The presence of a blurring smoke is also present in much of
Romantic paintings. Blurring smoke has many uses, although it's usual function is to
detach and glorify the main subject from the rest of the background. Color in Realism is
highly refined. Color defines the object and is representative of colors in real life - a
person's blood will usually be red. Lighter brushstrokes are implemented conservatively
to represent a true visual representation of reality. The use of color representation can
be observed in Gros' Murat and Courbet's Bonjour. The victorious Murat is clothed in blue
and white upon a white horse, surrounded by the perishing Turkish swirls of orange and
red. Anything that is orange or red around Murat is in a pose of impaled misery. All
orange and red is contorted to reveal the imposing presence of Murat. In Bonjour, colors
stay inside their lines. The colors used on the men's clothing are very specific to
reveal the texture of the clothing. This restriction of color succeeds in giving the
painting a quaint realistic candidness. The contrasting use of clouds and smoke can be
noted in the romantic works of Gros' Murat and Francois Boucher's Venus and Mars (1754)
and The Rape of Europe (1732) against the realistic works of Courbet's The Calm Sea. 
In Europe, Boucher's purpose of the clouds is to make comfortable the reclining baby
cherubs. What type of clouds can support one infant baby let alone three? - not realistic
clouds, but romantic clouds. Obviously it is an unrealistic perception of the behavior of
clouds. Also note the treatment of clouds in Murat and Europe to the Sea. In Murat,
clouds conveniently converge identically and symmetrically from the shore and the sea to
separate Murat upon the Turks from the fantastic background. The clouds intentionally
converge over certain scenes of violence over others. While in the Sea, specific details
are stippled to create the lining and forming of a cumulonimbus. The clouds are clearly
separated from the horizons of the seashore and sealine. Courbet seeks to recreate
perceptually what one would actually see at this dismal sight and persuades convincingly.
The contrast of colors in reality and fantasy are also affected by the intensity of their
hue.
The use of light in Romantic paintings presents a stark contrast between light and very
dark shadows. The source of light in Romanticism is usually artificial and intentional.
It's purpose is to highlight the main subject. In Realism, many shades of a color are
used to present the object as it is truly perceived. The light is a reproduction of a
natural source and forms the outline of the object. There is very little blurring or
smoke. Gros' Napoleon Bonapart Visits the Plague Stricken at Jaffa can be contrasted to
Courbet's Deer in the Forest (1868). The Romantic technique of stark contrast between
light and dark is used to separate Napoleon from the plague stricken. Opposite of
Realism's use of a natural light source, the main subject of Napoleon and two naked men
are artificially and purposefully spotlighted in an otherwise very dark hallway. The Deer
of Courbet finds an interesting use of light upon the triangle relationship between the
two deer and the large tree. The main subject is a dear climbing up a tree, yet, the deer
is completely covered in shadow. The interest lies in the use of bright spots of light
speckling the deer's backside from the dense collection of tiny leaves above. The touch
is realistically effective. The shadows in Deer are also more realistic than romantic.
When one perceives something far away, the blurring of the detail turns into a bluish -
green hue. Courbet recaptures that hue in the backgrounds of trees. The picture looks
like a high resolution photograph. Also note the realistic behavior of light in John
Singer Sargent's Venetian Interior (1850-2). In this painting two modestly dressed
Italian ladies walk toward the painter arm in arm down a relatively bare hallway with two
sources of light present: one behind the ladies leading to outside activity and one out
of the picture between the painter and the ladies, casting light upon their feet. The
women are dark and they somewhat recall impressionist technique, yet the intriguing
element of realism is the effect of light upon whatever it touches in the hallway. The
light source behind the ladies radiates detail unto an armoire at the beginning of the
hallway yet fades. The presence of darkness is not in stark romantic contrast but the
effect of less light in a darkened hallway. The figures obviously become more shadowy.
Yet as their feet step into the second light source, great detail is placed on the
portion of their feet and skirts. This contrast of light, combined with the contrasts of
color and balance effect the total composition of the Romantic and Realistic painting.
The subjects of realism are very different. Romantic themes appeal to the emotions and
are determined by the ideals of the sublime, or sensual liberation, the fantastic, and a
German ideal known as Sturm und Drung or storm and stress. Emotional tension is portrayed
dramatically in people's faces and their environments. Another very popular unrealistic
Romantic icon is the presence of nudity. The themes of Realism are reactions against
Romanticism. They picture the daily life. Picking up fruit, saying good-bye to a friend
and interiors of hallways are examples of realistic themes. The contrast is easy to
observe with Isabey's Wreck versus Courbet's Calm Sea. The tension of diagonal lines
against the tall seashore inn combined with the despair on the beached survivors' faces
create an tumultuous effect. Whereas in the Calm Sea, detail is emphasized on the texture
of the inactive sand, the glimmering stillness of the sea and the presence of the clouds.
Take Gros' Murat and Courbet's Bonjour. Murat gloriously tramples and impales the Turkish
army, while friends say good bye to each other on a dirt road in Bonjour. Observe
Boucher's Daphnis and Chloe (1743) and Adolph William Bauguereau's The Nut Gatherers
(late 1800's). The bodily outlines of the scantily clad Daphnis and Chloe create
diagonals which meet intimately at their faces. Obviously, an overt emphasis on Romance
is depicted in this painting: completely comfortable naked youth upon a jagged mountain
outcrop. Whereas in Nut Gatherers, two little girls lie down and pick up nuts in a field.
Romance is not everyday. Picking up nuts could quite possibly be an everyday activity.
Lastly, Boucher's Venus and Mars to John Singer 
Sargent's Venetian Interior. A naked man and women exchange coy glances in a heavenly
state surrounded by eleven cherubs playing with harps and military weapons. This is
Romantic. Two discontent ladies with no men walk down a hallway arm in arm. I see this
almost everyday at school. This is real. 
The "conflict" between the ideals of romantic and realistic paintings are not primarily
at opposition to each other, yet rather a reflection of the time and culture of the
people who painted them. There is great appreciation for both styles and an inherent
beauty in both. Their lasting beauty is a testament to the continuing practice of each of
the styles today.
Romanticism
Francois Boucher (1703-1770)
? Daphnis et Chloe (1743)
? The Rape of Europe (1732)
? Venus and Mars (1754)
Baron Antoine-Jean Gros (1771-1835)
? Murat's Defeating of the Turkish Army(1805) 
? General Napoleon Visits the Troops
? Napoleon Bonaparte Visits the Plague Stricken at Jaffa
Eugene Isabey 1803 - 1886
? Boat Ashore at Calas (1851)
? The Wreck (1854)
? Court Reception at Chateau (1852)
Realism
Gustave Courbet (1819 - 1925) 
? Bonjour Monsieur Courbet (1854)
? Deer in the Forest (1868)
? The Calm Sea (1869) 
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
? Venetian Interior (1850-2)
? Madame X (1883)
Adolph William Baugueareau (1825-1905)
? The Nut Gatherers (late 1800's)
A Survey of Romantic and Realistic Paintings
Brian Velasco