Art, Interpretation, and the Inspirational Cycle: Exploring Art's Subjectivity - Essay Sample

Introduction

Artistic movements inspire societies in self-expression. These movements themselves have been inspired by social, cultural, and even economic or psychological factors and thus bring in the notion of a cycle created when the inspired becomes the inspirer and vice versa (Adams, 2010). Intellectually speaking, it has come to my observation that art is subjective as it is objective. This, talking in regards to interpretation and understanding, shows just how different forms of art, be it poetry, painting, sculptures, or even music, will be perceived from one person to the next, even though a large group may regard it negatively or positively. This paper will seek to look into two artistic movements to understand them, if possible; to understand the machinations of said movements and what were their motivations for existence. This will be done by comparing and contrasting two paintings, each from one of a few selected movements.

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Before we commence, it is imperative to mention that these artistic movements also served as intellectual movements, and as such, had key tenets, beliefs, and proponents that stood by them. They also had a number of critics that offered evaluation when art was presented. With this in mind, let us jump right in.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1:John William Waterhouse, The Soul of the Rose, 1903

The first piece this paper will seek to dissect will be the Soul of the Rose by John William, a romantic piece that came into society in 1903. As fore-stated, this was a romantic piece, romantic in that it was painted with tenets that uphold romanticism in mind.

Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2: Gustave Courbet, A Burial at Ornans, 1849-50

The second piece we will look at will be one from Frenchman Gustave Courbet. A Burial at Ornans was painted in the 1800s with realist notions in mind.

With these two paintings presented, it is now clear that we will be comparing romanticism and realism, two spectacularly different movements that both embodied beauty and truth. A quick dissection of both paintings will show just how different they are from each other. Let us begin with Waterhouse's The Soul of the Rose.

The Soul of the Rose depicts a beautiful woman smelling a pink rose. She stands in what looks like a courtyard and is completely lost in the fragrance of the flower. She has auburn hair, clean and tucked in a neat bun with strands of pearls tied to hold the bun in place. Her dress is not fitting; it is a comfortable gown suitable for vacations or work-less days (Stern, 1977). The background is that of a beautiful sunny environment like southern Italy or Spain, or even the Caribbean, again cementing that notion of a vacation of a life that is steeped in worriless days. There seems to be a strong connection between the woman and the rose, a complete submission of the woman to nature. She is lost in her emotion, and there is perhaps a spiritual and mysterious side to this enthralling piece. The woman seems pure. This is seen through her pale skin, rosy cheeks, and ambient surrounding. Her inclusion in the painting is perhaps only overshadowed by her environment, which is not only beautiful but also very loose in terms of brushwork.

The second painting, Courbet's A Burial at Ornans, appears to be the complete opposite of Waterhouse's painting. Courbet's work, as the name suggests, depicts a gathering at a burial of his great-uncle in the deep of Ornans, his home town (Wu, 2012). The first thing noticeable here is the grim nature of the painting, the harsh tone present. The figures in the painting are pushed close to each other. Although heavily realist, the painting itself, from this point of view, mirrors classical works. Like Waterhouse, Courbet uses a background of nature as well. But his is not of beauty and enthrallment, his sets to foreground what is happening in the painting (Wu, 2012). He uses a ridge of cliffs that are lackluster and dull compared to Waterhouse's elegant rooftops, which are beautiful and opulent in color. The painting itself seeks to show the distractions that usually happen in a funeral, the despair, and sadness, the acceptance that death comes for every man. This painting offers grief and the dark nature of death, and there is no depiction of hope or an afterlife.

Pitting these two paintings together shows just how much of the polar opposites they are. While one brings in emotion, sensuality, and mysticism, the other offers a look at pain and the truth of sadness. Courbet's painting brings in the sense of a community coming together in times of hardship. Ornans at the time was a small town of about 3000 inhabitants, where everybody knew each other (Adams, 2010). The painting shows this; there are clergymen, children, town officials, and even children present. Courbet believed in depicting the truths of the world, and that is seen in The Burial at Ornans. Waterhouse's painting, on the other hand, shows a woman entranced by nature; it allows us to view the world with optimism.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these differences present in these pictures tie to the differences between these two artistic movements: realism and romanticism. Where one shows beauty and nature, the other focuses on the beauty of individuals or characters rather than their surroundings. There is no purity or grandeur in realism, but these are the tenets that steer romantism. These two artistic movements are different (as they should be), but as different as they are, they offer different perspectives on the realities around us.

References

Adams, D. (2010). Alternative paradigms of literary realism (p. 234). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Stern, J. (1977). On realism (p. 544). Taipei: Cheng Wen.

Wu, D. (2012). Romanticism, (p. 542). Chichester, West Sussex: John Wiley & Sons.