In today’s remote class we covered the last -ism, Romanticism. Romanticism was a movement that dominated the West. The dramatic change in art was a result from the French revolution, Napoleonic wars and beginning of industrialization and urbanization. The conflict and uproar from the wars caused writers and artists to put a sense of emotion into their writings and paintings. Emotions of violence, suffering, war, chaos were exemplified into an “ideal beauty”. The creations produced in the Romanticism movement were not only exotic but extreme and terrorizing.
Grande Odalisque an exotic painting, created by Jean-Auguste- Dominique Ingres is a painting of a Turkish women. The elongated neck, is a tie to the mannerist style along with the small feet and the scarf wrapped around the women’s face. This painting was made to make viewers dream rather than think.
On the other hand we looked at a painting with a different type of setting. “The Raft of Medusa” created by Theodore Géricault. The suffering, and gruesome portrait of all the men trying to stay afloat on the sunken ship is the other style of romantic art. It allows the viewer to feel for the people portrayed rather than depict symbols out of it.