Leo Martínez
The nineteenth century was a period of rapid and profound change in the world of art. Artists moved away from the structured confines of Neoclassicism, which depicted mythological or historical themes, and instead chose to infuse their canvases with passion, feeling, and high visual drama. This shift in style reflected the societal attitudes and issues of the time, including the growth of the British and German empires, the Industrial Revolution, and the birth of science as a profession. The Romantic movement, which originated in 18th-century England, focused on subjective emotion rather than objective nature, with bold, linear drawings and strong juxtapositions of light and shadow. Realism, which gained popularity in the latter half of the century, depicted scenes of everyday life, seeking to appeal to the general public. Impressionism, which took hold by the end of the century, was characterised by expressive swirls and dots.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Dominant style at the start of the century | Neoclassicism |
| Subject matter | Historic events, mythology, the Bible |
| Most important genre | History painting |
| Second-most important genre | Portraiture |
| Third-most important genre | Genre painting |
| Fourth-most important genre | Landscapes |
| Least important genre | Still life |
| Style that became popular in the middle of the century | Realism |
| Focus of Realism | Common laborers and everyday people |
| Style that became popular towards the end of the century | Impressionism |
| Impressionist painters | Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase |
| Other notable painters | John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Abbott Thayer, Winslow Homer, Ilya Repin, Eugène Delacroix, Ivan Shishkin, Hokusai, Caspar David Friedrich, J.M.W. Turner |
| Notable works | Raft of the Medusa, Tiger Devouring a Gavial, Impression, Sunrise, The South Ledges, Appledore |
| Notable collections | George Catlin’s Indian Gallery |
| Technological advances | Premixed paints in tubes, new developments in colour theory |
| Issues with paints | Fading of colours, colour change due to pollution |
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What You'll Learn
- Romanticism: emotional, tragic, and dramatic subjects, with bold, linear drawing
- Neoclassicism: derived from classical antiquity, with smooth surfaces and well-lit figures
- Realism: truthful depictions of everyday life, including common labourers
- Impressionism: expressive swirls and dots, capturing light and colour
- Gilded Age: capturing the brilliance and wealth of turn-of-the-century society
Romanticism: emotional, tragic, and dramatic subjects, with bold, linear drawing
Romanticism, which emerged as an artistic movement in the early nineteenth century, was characterised by a focus on emotional, tragic, and dramatic subjects, with bold, linear drawing. This movement was a direct rejection of the prevailing Neoclassical style, which emphasised order, reason, and classical ideals. Romantic artists instead celebrated imagination and emotion, seeking freedom from the constraints of traditional forms and rules. They embraced individualism and emotional freedom, exploring themes of passion, heroism, mystery, and nature's sublime power.
Romantic painters favoured subjects that evoked strong emotions, such as bizarre, pathetic, or extravagantly heroic themes. They often depicted scenes of man's struggle against nature, including shipwrecks and other representations of nature's uncontrollable power. These scenes reflected the Romantic fascination with nature and its raw, untamed energy, as well as its ability to inspire deep reflection. Romantic artists also explored individual psychological and emotional states, reflecting a heightened examination of human personality and its moods.
The French painter Théodore Géricault, for example, created portraits of psychiatric patients and unconventional portrayals of children, delving into the darker side of the human experience. His painting "The Raft of the Medusa" (1819) is considered a landmark work of Romanticism, portraying the suffering and heroism of its subjects with emotional intensity and a lack of idealisation. Eugène Delacroix, another prominent French Romantic painter, became known for his bold use of colour, energetic compositions, and expressive brushwork. His paintings often featured dynamic compositions and exotic subject matter, reflecting his interest in exploring the depth of human experience.
In England, William Blake emerged as a principal early Romantic painter, creating powerful and unique visionary images. J.M.W. Turner and John Constable, who comprised the next generation of English Romantic painters, emphasised transient and dramatic effects of light, atmosphere, and colour to portray the dynamic natural world. Their works often depicted landscapes that evoked awe and grandeur, reflecting the beauty and unpredictability of nature.
Romanticism in art reflected a shift towards subjectivity and individual expression, valuing the artist's creative spirit over strict adherence to formal rules. This movement not only shaped painting but also influenced literature and architecture, leaving a lasting impact on the artistic landscape of the nineteenth century.
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Neoclassicism: derived from classical antiquity, with smooth surfaces and well-lit figures
Neoclassicism was the dominant style of painting in Europe at the turn of the 19th century. The movement, which began in the 1760s, reached its peak in the 1780s and 90s and lasted until the 1840s and 50s. Neoclassicism in painting declined with the rise of Romanticism, Realism, Naturalism, and Impressionism. However, academic artists continued to employ classical styles and subjects throughout the 19th century.
Neoclassicism in painting generally took the form of an emphasis on austere linear design in the depiction of Classical themes and subject matter. It is based on the art of ancient Greece and Rome and invokes harmony, clarity, restraint, universality, and idealism. Neoclassicists preferred line over colour, straight lines over curves, and frontality and closed compositions over diagonal compositions into deep space. They also idealised faces and bodies into Classical heroes and transformed costumes into tight-fitting attire to avoid references to time.
The discovery of the ancient sites of Herculaneum and Pompeii in Italy in the mid-18th century inspired Neoclassicism. The movement also flourished under Napoleon I in the early 19th century. In the middle years of the 19th century, prominent American sculptors who worked in the Neoclassical style included Horatio Greenough, Hiram Powers, Thomas Crawford, and William Wetmore Story. A circle of American women sculptors in Rome in the 19th century, including Harriet Hosmer, Anne Whitney, and Edmonia Lewis, also worked in the Neoclassical style.
Neoclassical painting is generally a form of history painting, a genre that traversed many styles but depended on historical subject matter. History painting was seen as one of the most important genres in the hierarchy of genres that artists had to conform to since the establishment of the Royal Academy in the 17th century. In the 19th century, Realism emerged as a reaction to history painting, seeking to portray common labourers and everyday people in art.
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Realism: truthful depictions of everyday life, including common labourers
Realism emerged in France in the 1840s as a reaction to the dominant styles of Romanticism and History painting. Realist painters rejected the idealism of Romanticism and the backward-looking nature of History painting, instead focusing on depictions of 'real' life. They sought to portray real and typical contemporary people and situations with truth and accuracy, avoiding any form of idealisation. This included people of all social classes, from the middle and lower classes to peasants and labourers.
Realism was particularly concerned with how things appeared to the eye, rather than containing ideal representations of the world. Artists attempted to portray the lives, appearances, problems, customs, and mores of ordinary people, focusing on the commonplace and contemporary. This often included depictions of humble peasants and labourers, such as in Gustave Courbet's Burial at Ornans (1849–50) and the Stone Breakers (1849). Courbet was strongly opposed to idealisation in his art and urged other artists to make the commonplace and contemporary the focus of their work. He viewed the frank portrayal of scenes from everyday life as a truly democratic form of art.
The Realist Ilya Repin was another prominent painter of the movement, responsible for bringing Russian visual art to the attention of European audiences. His large canvas Barge Haulers on the Volga (1870-73) celebrated the strength of Russia's lowest-ranking physical labourers. Similarly, in the United States, Winslow Homer’s powerful and expressive paintings of marine subjects and Thomas Eakins’s portraits, boating scenes, and other works are frank, unsentimental, and acutely observed records of contemporary life.
Realism was also influenced by the naturalist literature movement of the time, with writers like Honoré de Balzac, Champfleury, and Émile Zola recognising in the artistic movement a shared desire to divorce from tradition. The Macchiaioli artist group in Italy was also influenced by Realism, rejecting the formalities of the Florentine Accademia di Belle Arti in favour of painting realist scenes of rural and urban life.
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Impressionism: expressive swirls and dots, capturing light and colour
Impressionism emerged in the 19th century as artists increasingly sought to capture the brilliance and wealth of turn-of-the-century society. Impressionist painters were particularly interested in expressive swirls and dots, capturing light and colour.
The Impressionist movement coincided with significant advances in paint technology. Artists could now access premixed paints in new, vibrant colours that came in tubes, allowing them to work more spontaneously, especially outdoors. The Impressionists also utilised new developments in colour theory, such as the perfect harmony of contrasting colours, which made one another more vivid when used together. These advances in paint technology and colour theory allowed artists to experiment with expressive brushstrokes and dots to capture the play of light and colour.
One of the most celebrated Impressionist painters was Claude Monet (French, 1840-1926). The entire movement was named after his work, 'Impression, Sunrise', painted in 1872. Monet is renowned for his vibrant, pastel landscapes and garden scenes, particularly his paintings of waterlilies.
Another notable Impressionist was Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), an American expatriate who lived in France. Cassatt's work included paintings, pastels, and prints, and she is best known for her scenes of mothers and children. Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, and William Merritt Chase are other examples of prominent Impressionist artists.
Impressionism emerged as a departure from the dominant Romantic and Neoclassical styles of the early 19th century. Romanticism emphasised emotion and intuition, while Neoclassicism focused on historic subjects and archaeological exactitude. Impressionism, in contrast, sought to capture fleeting moments and sensations through the expressive use of colour and brushwork.
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Gilded Age: capturing the brilliance and wealth of turn-of-the-century society
During the 19th century, several innovative and original art movements and styles emerged, with some being short-lived and localised, while others gained widespread popularity and profoundly influenced the evolution of art. One of the notable styles of the early 19th century was Romanticism, which emphasised emotion and intuition, marking a departure from the Enlightenment's focus on reason. This movement found expression in the works of artists such as Théodore Géricault and Antoine-Louis Barye. Caspar David Friedrich, a German Romantic painter, created contemplative scenes from nature, sometimes including figures. Eugène Delacroix brought the Romantic movement to France, with his oeuvre including dramatic events from history.
Another significant style of the 19th century was Neoclassicism, which was a predominant artistic style in Europe and North America during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Neoclassicism, with its emphasis on archaeological exactitude, was a counterpoint to the frivolity of the Rococo style. History painting, a genre associated with Neoclassicism, depicted scenes from classical history, mythology, or the Bible.
Towards the late 19th century, Realism gained popularity, particularly in France. Artists such as Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin, and Winslow Homer embraced this style, focusing on everyday subjects and common labourers in their works. Realism revolted against the dominant Romantic style by seeking truthful representations of subjects without artistic embellishments.
The Impressionist movement also emerged during this time, coinciding with advancements in paint technology, such as premixed paints in tubes, which allowed artists to work more spontaneously outdoors. Artists like Claude Monet, Childe Hassam, John Twachtman, Mary Cassatt, and William Merritt Chase captured the beauty of light and colour in their paintings. The Impressionist movement utilised new colour theories and incorporated natural elements like sand and grass into their works.
In the decades preceding World War I, a period dubbed the "Gilded Age" by Mark Twain, artists such as Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, and Abbott Thayer depicted the brilliance and wealth of turn-of-the-century society. Their works brought a new level of sophistication to American art, with Sargent's portraits reflecting his association with socially prominent circles. Whistler, born in Lowell, Massachusetts, incorporated his military background into his artistic style. These artists captured the opulence and splendour of the time, showcasing the sophistication and wealth of American society as it transitioned into the 20th century.
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Frequently asked questions
Neoclassicism was the dominant style of painting in Europe at the turn of the nineteenth century. Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism were also popular art movements in the nineteenth century.
History painting was seen as one of the most important genres in the well-established hierarchy of genres. It was followed by portraiture, genre painting, and landscapes. History painting depicted several figures enacting a scene normally drawn from classical history, mythology, or the Bible.
Artists in the nineteenth century explored themes like the settlement of the American frontier, the American Civil War, and contemporary Russian life.
Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, James McNeill Whistler, Abbott Thayer, Ilya Repin, Eugène Delacroix, and Claude Monet were some popular artists of the nineteenth century.
