Preferences and Perspectives - The Romantic Era

               Preferences and Perspectives - The Romantic Era 

 

Introduction 

            For this week’s installment, I will be looking at two different ends of the artistic spectrum, portraits and landscapes. But before we jump into breaking down these very different styles, however, I feel it is important to talk a little about the Romantic era and its background. This era of art emerged shortly after the turn of the 19th century and would go to contribute a myriad array of absolute classics. The art from this period mainly focused on imagination and emotion, allowing its audience to walk away with their own interpretation of each piece. This was something that I personally very much appreciated when sampling works from the time period. Another aspect of the Romantic era that stuck out to me, was the rejection of Neoclassicism inside the pieces I viewed. Gone were the previous uniformed lines, symmetry, and order. Instead in their place grew the art that would become known as the Romantic era. Now, with that away, I will be highlighting my preferred artistic genre from this time, landscapes.   

The Lonely Tree  

 The Lonely Tree was something that I knew I had to highlight for this blog from the moment I saw it. This painting, also known as the Solitary Tree, was created “in 1822 on an oil-on-canvas by German painter Caspar David Friedrich measuring 22 by 28 inches and is currently located in Berlin” (Gurney).  

 The first thing that stood out to me about this piece, was of course, the “lonely tree.” The powerful symbolism of holding true to yourself even in the face of desolation and embracing your inner strength really spoke to me. You can tell by looking closely at the tree, that it has been through many seasons, both good and bad, but continued to persevere. Symbolism aside, Mr. Friedrich created an absolutely stunning piece here, truly capturing the regal beauty of nature at its finest. He was able to accomplish this by expertly utilizing different artistic elements such as line, space, and value.  

Line is on display here, in the diagonal variety across the painting's horizon giving dynamism and movement. This further adds to the feeling that the tree has watched countless seasons come and go giving additional antiquity. Spacing here is also impeccable, with the placement of the “lonely tree” overlapping the horizon giving depth that would otherwise not be found. Finally, the use of value to accentuate the land behind our leaf clad protagonist with light while having the Solitary Tree covered in shadow further pushes home the previously discussed symbolism. I can't resist motioning that this painting reminded me of the great book Tree in the Trail by Holling Clancy Holling. Anyone who appreciates this painting would love the book and its great illustrations also.  

The Hay Wain 

This next piece, The Hay Wain, really opened the door for me to the wonderous work of John Constable. As someone who was unfamiliar with his work, I’m so glad I discovered him for this blog. It was hard to choose but one of his landscapes for this week's assignment, but after some deliberation I decided to go with his legendary painting, The Hay Wain. “The Hay Wain was created in 1821 New England standing at 51 by 73 inches, and now resides in the National Gallery of London” (Pickeral). 

The aspect that I most love about this piece, aside from its serene beauty, is the wonderful simplicity of the depicted scene. This painting takes the viewer back to a time before soaring skyscrapers and sprawling suburbs. The Hay Wain depicts a much more uncomplicated and honest way of life. It also represents hard work and drawing subsistence from the land through the focus on the hay wain (a traditional English cart used for hauling hay). Overall, this is up there with some of my favorite landscapes of all time, and deservedly so.  

What elements does Mr. Constable employ to achieve this effect you might you ask? Well, John used a combination of color, space, and texture to transform his blank canvas into a work for the ages. Color is something that jumps out at the viewer instantly. Everything from the vivid green of the trees to the subdued red on the house’s roof comes together for a striking snapshot of the countryside. As with The Lonely Tree, spacing in the form of overlapping is on great display. This can be seen with both the clouds and trees resulting in a truly deep-filled landscape. Texture, although slightly harder to see, is just as impactful. Examples of this include the work worn hay wain and weathered cottage exterior. These small details add so much to the overall feel (pun intended) and imagery of the work.  

Napoleon on His Imperial Throne    

Now, it is time to look at a style that I personally didn't highly enjoy from the Romantic Era, portraits. The first of these that I will be analyzing is Napoleon on His Imperial Throne. This piece was “painted by Jean-Auguste-Dominique in 1806 with dimensions of 260 by 163 cm” (Zygmont).  

Although normally I’m both a fan of portraits and Napoleon (with Napoleon Crossing the Alps expertly highlighted by my fellow student Jack Witt, being one of my favorite paintings from its time), but this certain piece comes across as negative to me. This is mainly because of his alien appearance in the piece which evokes distrust and wariness in me rather than awe or other positive feelings. This was intentional, however, with Jean wanting to portray Napolean as something greater than just a mere man. Everything from the items around Napolean to the artistic elements used throughout lend a hand to this imagery.  

    Of the art elements, value has the largest role. The contrast between the pitch-black background and Napolean’s pale bright face and garb both make the portrait’s sole subject distinct and divine in appearance. Other elements such as texture and color continue to build on the previously discussed theme, helping push it higher. This can be seen in the extreme detail, texture, and coloring of Napoleon’s clothes. Although I’m not a fan of the piece as a whole, the individual elements and skill put into it are incredible.   

Alexander von Humboldt  

This next and final work is a bit of an oddity to review. The Alexander von Humboldt portrait “was painted by Friedrich Georg Weitsch in 1806 Germany, on an oil canvas measuring 49 by 36 inches” (Smithsonian). My biggest dislike of the painting is the lack of emotions it evokes. While I wasn’t a huge proponent of Napoleon on His Imperial Throne, the work still conveyed powerful emotions, albeit negative ones. While in this piece, although I enjoy the artistic elements on display it fails to make me feel anything. Which is unfortunate because the painting’s subject, Mr. Humboldt, was an incredibly interesting individual. The man spent years traveling and writing about botany, so it could have been compelling to see his likeliness rendered in a more adventurous location.

However, with that aside let us take a deeper look at the artistic elements Mr. Weitsch used when creating this piece. The first thing I noticed was the small but refined use of pattern on both Alexander’s clothes as well as on the leaves above him. This was accompanied by space to help create a more extended and scaled background. Finally, light and shadow are on display highlighting Alexander’s face and possessions against the dark backdrop of leaves above him.  

Comparison and Conclusion        

      When looking at both styles side by side, many differences crop up because of the vastly differing ends of the artistic spectrums they occupy. So of course, there are obvious differences like subject and composition. But, for this section, I will instead be contrasting the different artistic elements used in these four pieces. One of the first things I noticed was just how much romantic portraits loved to use value. The landscapes used this element as well, but to a much lesser degree. Whereas the portraits contrasted light and shadow constantly to draw attention and highlight the pieces primary focus. Very much like tone in the portraits, space was a constant in the landscapes. This element was expertly portrayed to add depth and scope. This was mostly lacking in the portraits (although some was used in Alexander) who rather wanted to detail a sole individual. Finally, as one would expect, things such as color were universal through these pieces, although used in a unique way every time. 

Overall, this was a remarkably interesting assignment to tackle. Both styles I chose to look at were fun and enlightening to research (even the pieces I didn't quite enjoy as much). As with almost every time I post, I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be in this class and write about all these incredible artists. Without fail I continue to find new works that I would never have seen without the prompt from our professor. My classmates push my learning experience even further, by highlighting works previously unknown and unseen to me. Making each blog feel like a true artistic adventure. Thanks for reading and see you next time!   

 

Sources  

Gurney, T. (2020, June 19). The Lonely Tree. The Lonely Tree by Caspar David Friedrich. https://www.thehistoryofart.org/caspar-david-friedrich/lonely-tree/ 

Pickeral, T. (2024, May 13). The Hay Wain. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Hay-Wain  

Smithsonian. “Friedrich Georg Weitsch.” Smithsonian American Art Museum, Friedrich Georg Weitsch | Smithsonian American Art Museum (si.edu) Accessed 11 July 2024.  

Zygmont, B. (n.d.). Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Napoleon on his Imperial Throne. Smarthistory. https://smarthistory.org/ingres-napoleon-on-his-imperial-throne/