Neo-Classicism & Romanticism

1. Neo-Classicism & Romanticism

2. NEOCLASSICAL ARTS

3. Influences on Neoclassicism • Reaction against Rococo • Philosophies of Enlightenment • Archaeological discoveries • Herculaneum/Pompeii • Greek vases at Naples by Sir Wm Hamilton • Artistic theory of Johann Winckelmann: On the Imitation of Greek Works

4. Three phases of Neoclassical arts • Until 1770: Influenced by Renaissance classicism more than Greek & Roman firsthand; i.e., borrowed from Palladio • 1770-1825: More directly classical • 1825-1850: Late phase. Simultaneous with Romanticism

5. Allusions to classical Reason, rules Symmetry, order, harmony, unity, clarity Restraint, good sense Decorum, good taste, correctness Society rather than individual Human nature rather than natural world Urban rather than rural Intellectual rather than emotional or spiritual Urbane, witty: satire General Characteristics

6. David • Style * Severe * Drawing(line) more important than color * Clear light and shadow * Sculptural figures * geometry important • Content * Didactic * Roman Republic, Greek * Devotion to Duty * Self Sacrifice

7. David, Death of Socrates, 1787

8. David’s Death of Marat, 1793

9. Ingrés Portrait of Napoléon on the Imperial Throne. 1806

10. Ingrés Portrait of Napoléon Bonaparte, The First Council. 1804

11. Compare

12. Romanticism • General Features • Nature (idyllic or awesome, sublime) “organic unity” (music) • Supernatural, demonic • exoticism • “ancient” (Medieval (not Greek)) - rejection of Classicism & Renaissance • folklore and Das Volk (Nationalism)

13. Factors leading to Rise of Romanticism • Proliferation of Protestant denominations • independence in religion and politics • egalitarianism • rise of representative government • expansion in the “new world” • evil of industrialism and urbanization • significant rise in literacy • and…

14. The Romantic Spirit • Artist as bohemian • “Eternal longing, regret for the lost happiness of childhood, and indefinable discontent that gnaws at the soul. These were the ingredients of the Romantic mood.”

15. The Misunderstood Genius “To be a genius is to be misunderstood” – Emerson The artist out in front, ahead of the audience, the advanced guard (a military metaphor) – the avant garde

16. Society Reason Intellect Extroversion, balanced, didactic The normative, the social, the citizen. Reason and social issues. Poet’s skill and adherence to formal rules and traditional procedures. Study of Classical Poetic and Dramatic forms. Interest in the verifiable, the commonsensical, the familiar. Nature Emotion Senses and sensuality Introversion, moody, self interrogative Genius, Hero, the Exceptional Passions and inner struggles Artistic Creativity and feeling. Folklore, national and ethnic origins. Interest in the Medieval, the Exotic, the Mysterious, the Occult, the monstrous, the remote. Neo-Classicism vs Romanticism

17. There was a move to city for industry and a corresponding romanticizing of the country. • Cities were often filled with congestion, poverty, and misery. • Educated men and women expressed a nostalgia for rural landscapes.

18. Constable The Hay Wain 1821

19. Friedrich Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, c. 1818

20. The Romantic period saw a Gothic revival that included the imitation of Gothic architecture and the use of Gothic settings in literary works.  One striking example of the Gothic revival in England Fonthill Abbey, begun in 1796, which grew into an elaborate Gothic fantasy.  The mock Gothic tower collapsed in 1825, leaving a ‘‘Gothic ruin’’ that symbolized to Romantics both organic growth and decay.  Many such buildings were erected, that intentionally left towers or walls unfinished, to give the ghastly appearance of decay and ruin.

21. Power of the “unconscious” Where Enlightenment rationalists expected evil to be defeated by moral diligence, the Romantics found it to be as mysterious and irrepressible as the human imagination itself.  The Spanish artist Francisco Goya provided the most succinct image of the Romantic fascination with evil and the macabre.  As the man slumbers at his work-table, the demons of his imagination are liberated and rise above him with triumphant energy.  Notice that many are owls, symbols of wisdom and reason in the West since the time of the ancient Greeks, at least.         The enigmatic caption suggests that behind wakeful reason the destructive fiends of the human imagination are lurking.  With such insights, the Romantics prefigured the discoveries of modern psychology and ideas about dreams and the power of the unconscious. 1796-1798

22. Fussli, Johann Heinrich (Henry Fuseli) The Nightmare, 1781

23. Gericault The Raft of the Medusa, 1819

24. Delacroix Greece on the Ruins of Missolonghi, 1826

25. Delacroix The Massacre at Chios, 1824

26. Goya The Shootings of May Third 1808, 1814

27. Enlightenment: “society is good, curbing violent impulses” Romanticism: “civilization corrupts; institutions have rippling effects Primitivism (“noble savage”) • The child raised with the greatest possible freedom will develop in more admirable ways. • Youth and infancy are valued above wisdom of old age; holy wisdom is lost as we age. • Innocence is more valued than experience. • Humans are born into innocence, not innately depraved.

28. Romanticism in Music • Improved musical instruments • Industrial advances created a means by which cheaper and more responsive musical instruments. • Addition of valves to brass instruments • New Instruments • Saxophone • Tuba • New Conservatories of Music

29. Use of folklore • Increased use of folk songs and dances. • National idiomatic music • Contributed to new melodic and rhythmic language for music. • Music of the East • Puccini’s Madame Butterfly

30. The Musician in Society • Musical life centered around the concert halls • Musicians were supported by middle class • Musicians became stars idolized by the public • Felix Mendelssohn • Franz List • Nicolo Paganini • Permanent Orchestras were developed • Musician educators in the academy.

31. Beethoven Model Romantic genius-type Not a servant – an independent creator! Concerts very long – a new audience; amateurs left behind Music’s Trinity: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven

32. Chopin Famous pianist, but gave only 14 public performances in his 39-year life!

33. Frédéric Chopin Nocturne in F minor, Opus 55, No. 1 -- introspective mood; psychologically probing? -- as if "spontaneous" or improvised (in fact neatly structured) -- a distant view of folk music (note the veiled suggestion of dance music), which relates to the Romantic interest in ethnicity and Nationalism -- expanding use of chromatic harmony -- use of dissonance for color

34. Richard Wagner OPERA INNOVATOR The Ring – over 18 hours of music

35. Aspects of Romanticism in music & art • THEARTIST APART FROM SOCIETY • THE ARTIST AS SOCIAL CRITIC/REVOLUTIONARY Beethoven’s 9th Symphony • THE ARTIST AS GENIUS/CULTURAL HERO BEETHOVEN: “Why bow to social status?”

36. Aspects of Romanticism in music & art • Nature (idyllic or awesome, sublime) “organic unity” (music) BEETHOVEN SYMPHONY No. 5 • Supernatural – Berlioz, WAGNER TRISTAN • dream world, interior world CHOPIN NOCTURNE • exoticism – Beethoven Symphony No. 9 • “ancient” (Medieval) WAGNER TRISTANold – Bach • folklore and Das Volk (Nationalism) WAGNER The Ring

37. Review:Qualities of Romanticism • Love of Nature • Idealization of Rural Living • Faith in Common People • Emphasis on Freedom and Individualism • Spontaneity, intuition, feeling, imagination, wonder • Passionate individual religiosity • Live after death; Organic view of the World