Romanticism Flashcards
Francisco Goya, Los Caprichos, 1798- Frontispiece- “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters” self-portrait
series of etchings & aquatints showcasing his inventive imagination; etching=scratching into metal plate- resembles drawing, relaxed & irregular lines, communicates emotional substance; aquatint- etching + rosin powder, bites unevenly into acid- causes tonal variations=nocturnal scene
owls=folly, bats= ignorance
inventive scenes- people engaged in macabre activities (woman pulling gold teeth from dead man); mocking superstitions (donkey giving medicine)
Francisco Goya, The Third of May 1808, 1814- Napoleon ousts king and queen of Spain, but puts brother Joseph on the throne instead of Ferdinand, Spanish revolt, French retaliate & massacre civilians
presented emotionally, romantic historicizing of contemporary event, loosely painted, tenebrism, Baroque techniques vs. neoclassical
brightest figure in white, hands up, unarmed, reminiscent of Christ vs. mechanical, godless, French atheist soldiers
Theodore Gericault,The Raft of Medusa,1818-19
modern history painting dramatized- inflammatory, political story, Medusa frigate crashes off African coast, only 15 of 150 survive, 1816- not a classical subject
Maximize drama, Baroque exuberance: raft tilted away from picture plane, rescue boat is tiny on horizon, corpse into our space, counter diagonal figural arrangement, offset pyramidal composition with slave at apex, threatening weather, tenebrism, realistic portrayal of dead flesh
includes classical motifs of mastery of anatomy and melancholic pose to justify as history painting
Eugene Delacroix, Death of Sardanapalus, 1826
excellent example of Orientalism- Western fascination with “exotic”- Near East and North African coast
inspired by Lord Byron’s poetic drama- ancient Assyrian king whose decadence and poor gov’t results in rebellion- spites the rebels by burning down palace with him and all he owns in it
dynamic composition, free brushwork, vivid colors, sweeping diagonals; Romanticism= Oriental thematics+ sublime horror and dynamism
labelled as Satanic at the time
Joseph Mallord William Turner, The Slave Ship, 1840
precursor to the Impressionists, virtually frees brush strokes from mimetic responsibility; ship barely visible, in midground backlit against horizon
uses palette knife, thick layering (impasto)- technique is loose and suggestive- t/w pictorial freedom & illustrates sublime (we are safe but enraged and moved to action)
episode from Clarkson’s (1783) book - episode in British history- slave ship owner throws slaves overboard to collect insurance, argument for abolitionist movement, man’s inhumanity to man
