Neoclassic/Romantic Art

Neoclassical Art

• Severe and objective form of art – harkening back to the grandeur of ancient Greece and

Rome. • Reaction to the feminine, over refined and

decorative Rococo style and emotional charged Baroque style. – Form : balanced, restrained– Color: rich – Figures: realistic

• Part of a general revival of interest in classical thought, important in the American and French revolutions.

Jacques Louis David

• Repetition of line: balanced composition

• Realistic figures• Expresses, however,

Romantic nationalism• “Napoleon Crossing

the Alps”

• “Death of Marat”

• Violent subject portrayed in restrained manner

• Restrained use of chiaroscuro

Ingres

• Student of David

• Balance

• Classical poses

• Restraint

• Romantic nationalism

Romanticism

• Counterbalance to Neoclassic style

• Emotion

• Freedom: no rules

• Romantic nationalism

• Subject matter: weird, supernatural, exotic as well as patriotic, genre paintings (pastoral, sublime of the ordinary)

Blake

• Romantic idealism– “I do not behold the

outward creation... it is a hindrance and not action.”

• Showed Social injustice

• Imagination, individualism

• Engraver: “drawn” figures

Nebuchadnezzer

Whirlwind of Lovers

Friedrich (this one is Gothic)

• Fascination with odd, weird

• Exotic settings in time and space

Constable: genre painting

• Peaceful genre scene

• Idealized nature

Delacroix: “Liberty Leading the People”

Gericault “The Raft of the Medusa”

Francisco Goya (Spain)

• Straddles Romantic Realistic/naturalistic

• Disillusioned Romantic• Realistic portrayal of

what he saw• Technique: Romantic• Romantic nationalism• Family of Charles III

– Charles looks foolish

– His wife looks hard and domineering

– Others look self satisfied

(Goya)

• Disasters of War: “This is Terrible”

• Romantic composition and freedom

• Realistic subject matter

2nd of May 1808

• Napoleonic wars massacre he actually witnessed in Madrid• Romantic composition and nationalism

3rd of May 1808

• Note use of chiaroscuro, composition and symbolism• Faceless enemy, Christ-symbol of insurrectionist

Beethoven• Bridged Classical and

Romantic periods– Form used contextually– Motifs– Works as attempts for

perfection

• Manifested Romantic ideal– Pastoral, Symphony No. 6– Symphony 9, Ode to Joy– Eroica – Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor,

Pathetique

Franz Schubert • Vienna Austria• Child prodigy• Wrote lieder—songs with

emotional theme based on folk tradition

• Song cycle• Wrote for fewer instruments

– Unfinished Symphony– Symphony in C major

• Many works were lost

Felix Mendelssohn

• Tried to preserve Classical style– Brought Bach out of obscurity

• Symphonies were classical form and romantic tone

• Midsummer Night’s Dream

Frederic Chopin

• Child prodigy• Sickly his whole life: died young• Ultimate romantic love story• Made money by giving piano

concerts • Composed mazurkas, preludes and

polonaises: nationalistic, emotional– Etude Opus 10– Polonaise in A flat major– Minute Waltz

Franz Liszt

• Hungarian child prodigy• Great showman• Kind to other musicians• Several love affairs:

– Romanticism– Individualism

• Les Preludes• Hungarian Rhapsody

– Nationalistic– Used folk themes

Richard Wagner

• German nationalism – Nazis loved him

• Not a prodigy• Immoral life• Opera

– Leitmotif

• Depicted Germanic myths and heroes– Die Walküre (Ride of the Valkyries)– Tannhäuser (end of the overture)– Tristan and Isolde (Unresolved – Liebestod)

Giuseppe Verdi

• Greatest Italian style opera– Aida– La Traviata– Rigoletto

• La Donna e Mobile

• Innovation– Focus on human emotion– De-emphasis on bel-canto style

• Rossini: Barber of Seville

– Excellent librettos (stories)– Orchestra an important component

Johann Strauss

• Father was excellent composer

• Played in father’s orchestra• More popular than his father• Waltzes

– Embodiment of Viennese life– Blue Danube Waltz– Tales of the Vienna Woods

Johann Brahms

• German• At first imitated Beethoven

until developed own style• Mentored by Robert and Clara

Schumann• Emotional compositions

– Hungarian Dance #5– Lullaby

Russian Composers

• Moussorgsky,Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Rimsky-Korsakov– Russian Easter Overture

• Used Russian themes• Helped each other• Flight of the Bumble Bee• Night on Bald Mountain

Almaty, Kazakhstan

Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky

• Russian• Used French style• Ballets are most famous

– Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty– Romeo and Juliet

• Deep emotion for his sad life– Symphony No. 6 – Pathètique