Realism vs. Impressionism - Two Styles of the 19th Century
The 1800's marked the emergence of a variety of sharply contrasting genres including Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Luminism, and Art Nouveau. For this analysis I've chosen to focus on Realism and Impressionism, two styles that could hardly be more at odds in their ideas and technique.
Picking a winner and loser wasn't easy. All of the styles of the Romantic era are dear to me, particularly the medievalist paintings of the Pre-Raphaelites and the Luminism of the Hudson River School. But Impressionism holds a special place in my heart for how radically it disrupted the art world. With Impressionism, artists began to tap into a realm of sensations that are almost too abstract to otherwise describe. Impressionism opened the doors for Expressionism, Cubism, Visionary art, etc.— styles that transform our perception of reality.
To that end, I've pitted my chosen champion against Realism. I don't by any means dislike Realism--the movement's preferred subject matter of everyday life was arguably as groundbreaking as the Impressionist style. But I've decided to make this a matter of visual impact. In terms of the types of images they produced, I see Realism as a refinement of the popular traditions that preceded it, whereas Impressionism was the beginning of something altogether new and exciting. The Realists took the techniques of their predecessors to their logical conclusion, making paintings more realized and effective than ever before. The Impressionists cast conventional wisdom aside, unleashing a whole new paradigm in which novel forms of expression could flourish. As an iconoclast at heart, I have to side with the Impressionists.
Ilya Repin, Barge Haulers on the Volga (1870-1873)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Remember what I said about the Realists creating paintings more realized and effective than ever before? I think the expressions on the haulers' (or, "burlaks") faces speak for themselves:
Barge Haulers on the Volga is quintessentially Realist in its depiction of the everyday lives of working class people. While the work is clearly sentimental, it doesn't resort to romanticizing or dramatizing the workers' plight. While the imagery is carefully chosen and composed, there's nothing unrealistic about its depiction. Its effect comes as a result of its realism, as opposed to artificial enhancements.
Bear in mind that the Realists were by no means Photorealists. They didn't seek to recreate reality exactly as we see it, but to capture the "truth" of reality through natural depictions of the ordinary world.
To that aim, Repin used the elements of art to great effect. Darker tones are used to contrast the subjects against the background, and signify the undervalued burden of their labor. The composition is carefully balanced. The perspective, level with the horizon, puts the burlaks front and center. That Repin chose to emphasize their expressions over the greater spectacle of the ship they are hauling speaks to his Realist values. The use of tone, color, and perspective here are great examples of how the Realists used creative elements in order to elucidate the "truth" of reality without introducing artifice into their work.
Having grown up in the Ukraine, Repin witnessed firsthand the plight of the working class and made a point of drawing attention to it in his work. He belonged to a group of Russian Realists called the Peredvizhniki, or The Wanderers, who were critical of social injustice. Barge Hunters on the Volga was inspired by actual events Repin witnessed on the Volga River in 1870. While he painted several studies in preparation while staying near the Volga, the final version was most likely painted in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where he lived.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1917-1919)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1919)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Claude Monet, Water Lilies (1919)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
The three versions of Water Lilies above are just a few of many paintings Monet made of the same pond in his garden in Giverny, France. Working in the outdoors, or en plein air, painting nature directly from observation, was still a relatively novel concept at the time the Impressionists began to make popular use of it. Working in this manner outdoors, Monet was able to capture loose impressions of fleeting moments in nature, often painting the same scene over and over to document changes in lighting. He completed 250 paintings of his water garden between 1896 and 1926.
In each version, a different color palette creates a different sense of light and atmosphere. I think of Monet's water lily paintings as a kind of precursor to Abstract Expressionism—without even thinking about the lilies at all, the colors strike a mood. The first painting, with its colder hues, is serene. The second has a glowing warmth, a liveliness. The third is more settled and glum with its darker tones and duller contrast. All of them use thick, expressive strokes to capture mood and aesthetic, rather than focusing on detail. Everywhere, the lines are loose and flowing. Some of the lily pads appear to be comprised of no more than a single brush stroke.
At the time of producing these paintings, Monet suffered from cataracts that affected his perception of color and tone. He had to label his paints, and his characteristically thick strokes became even more so. He became depressed after the death of his second wife and oldest son in 1911 and 1914, which, along with his failing eyesight, led to him becoming withdrawn. From that period onward he primarily painted his water garden at home.
Laura Auricchio, writing for The Metropolitan Museum of Art, takes note of the numerous ways in which Monet overturned centuries of tradition: "His quest to capture nature more accurately also prompted him to reject European conventions governing composition, color, and perspective. Influenced by Japanese woodblock prints, Monet’s asymmetrical arrangements of forms emphasized their two-dimensional surfaces by eliminating linear perspective and abandoning three-dimensional modeling. He brought a vibrant brightness to his works by using unmediated colors, adding a range of tones to his shadows, and preparing canvases with light-colored primers instead of the dark grounds used in traditional landscape paintings."
Of his pioneering style, Monet said, "I like to paint as the bird sings."
John Everett Millais, Ophelia (1851-1852)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Millais' work here differs markedly from the kind of Realism on display in Barge Hunters on the Volga. Ophelia portrays royalty from centuries past in a highly dramatic situation. Furthermore, the subject and events depicted are fictional, belonging to Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ophelia, driven mad after her father was murdered by Hamlet, sings before drowning in the river.
I've chosen to include Millais here as a representative of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, a collective of artists known for their unique branch of Realism. While striving for similar accuracy in imitating the natural world, the Pre-Raphaelite's had their own set of principles and values. They idolized the artistic . They rejected the predominant influence of Renaissance-era painters such as Michelangelo and Raphael, seeking to return to the more detailed compositions of the Quattrocento Italian art that bridged the gap between the Middle Ages and Renaissance. The Pre-Raphaelites preferred subjects of history, religion, myth, and medievalism over the ordinary. They sought to make idealistic art of spiritual value.
Millais painted the natural environment in Ophelia en plein air on the banks of the Hogsmill River in Surrey, England in 1851. The following year, he finished the painting with artist Elizabeth Siddal modeling for Ophelia. Siddal lay clothed in Millais' London studio while he completed his work over a period of five months.
The result is a piece that is equal parts believable, haunting, and eerily beautiful. The beauty of the natural scenery and of Ophelia herself have a disarming affect. I find myself almost lulled into forgetting that I'm looking at a portrayal of death, and in remembering, her image takes on a ghastly quality. The stippled patterns of the foliage, and the rich colors of the flowers drifting downstream become evocative of her madness. Ophelia's expression and posture suggest she suffers a great pain in her heart, and I find something piercing and swordlike about the rushes beside her. Their strong lines and crossing shapes give me a sense of downward, driving movement. Appropriately, the brightest and darkest tones contrast Ophelia and the surrounding river—she is on the cusp of sinking into the abyss.
Vincent van Gogh, Prisoners' Round (1890)
Public domain image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Van Gogh, working for only a short period during the late 19th century, falls into the category of Post-Impressionism. As I championed Impressionism for taking a step back from artistic convention, I felt it appropriate to include the Post-Impressionists because they took an even further step back. Whereas the Impressionists sought to create fleeting impressions, the Post-Impressionists incorporated symbolic content and used unnatural light and color to evoke aesthetic moods.
Prisoners' Round was made during Van Gogh's stay in the Saint-Paul Asylum in Saint-Rémy, France, months before his death by suicide. Lacking subject matter within the asylum, Van Gogh based Prisoners' Round on an engraving by Gustave Doré. Like many of his latter works, it expresses the severe loneliness and depression he suffered from during that time. The cold hues of green and blue evoke melancholy sadness. The alternating patterns of vertical and horizontal lines—made with thick, expressive strokes—create a sense of maddening unease. It feels as if reality within this prison is uneven.
Van Gogh led an infamously troubled life. He was 28 at the time he began painting, living with his parents and relying on his brother for financial support. Five years later he moved to France, where he befriended the painter Paul Gauguin. The two of them worked together, but their friendship was strained by Van Gogh's mental instability. Amid rising tensions, Van Gogh suffered a psychotic episode in which he confronted Gauguin with a razor blade. Later that night, Van Gogh cut off his own ear and mailed it to a young woman who worked in a brothel he often visited. Shortly after returning from the hospital, he was evicted from his home. He soon admitted himself into the Saint-Paul Asylum, where he completed a number of paintings including The Starry Night and Prisoners' Round. In July of 1890, Van Gogh shot himself in the chest and died 30 hours later. He was just beginning to receive recognition as an artist at the time of his death.
This is very much a piece where you can see the artist in the work, not only in its depressive mood but in the thick, expressive brush strokes which hide nothing of their nature. Van Gogh did not just set out to create a particular image he had in mind, but to express himself through the painting process itself. He used color in an unnatural but effective fashion.
Influenced by Impressionism, Van Gogh took Monet's rejection of tradition a step further, opening the doors for Expressionism. In her article for ThoughtCo, Marion Boddy-Evans writes, "Van Gogh's influence is evident in many Expressionist works as painters emulated his use of pure, bright colors, his emphatic brushwork, and his contrasting color combinations in their own paintings."
Works Cited
Alex, I loved your comparison of realism and impressionism in this blog. I also really like how impressionism disrupted the art community as a whole. Realism is great too, as honestly I cant even imagine having the talent to make what realist artists can make, but the break of status quo is just tantalizing in impressionism. I had never heard of the painting Prisoners Round before, but after reading your input on it, I researched it. It, coupled with Van Gogh's mental instability is both fascinating and tragic to me. I look forward to your next post.
ReplyDeleteAlex,
ReplyDeleteYour comparison between realism and impressionism was very well done! Impressionism was also the period within this era that I found the most interesting. It was really facsiniating how it was able to change the entire art community. Being a Psych major I really like how Van Gough puts his mental instability into his paintings. It allows for you to really get a good look into his mind which can be a very horrifying place to be. Thank you for all the insight and different opinions that you provided in you blog!