Essay Example on Difference Between Neoclassic Art and Romantic Art

Difference Between Neoclassic Art and Romantic Art

The Neoclassical era existed before the Romantic era; it lasted from 1660 to 1798, while the Romantic era existed between 1798 and 1837. During the Neoclassical era, the style used in art emphasized on objectivity, structure, and restraint, whereas Romanticism emphasized on subjectivity, imagination, and emotions. The theme of Neoclassic art was the history of the Greek and Romans, bravery, and restraint; however, the theme of romantic era art was pastoral life, nature, and legends. Also, the art of the Neoclassical period drew inspiration from the Classical age, while the art of the Romantic period was inspired by the Medieval period and the Baroque era. The Romantic period art used many colors to come up with well-defined details, such as landscapes and other elements of nature. However, the Neoclassic painters used only a few colors to observe simplicity in their work.

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The Neoclassical painting style used a linear style (which defines the sharp outline of objects); On the other side, the Romantic era painters used the painterly style, which allows freedom of color but does not produce sharp outlines. The difference between the two styles arises from the restraint of brush strokes; while brushstrokes are not visible in the linear style, brushstrokes are not restrained in the painterly style. Therefore, the edges of objects in Neoclassic art are well defined, making the objects appear like they are obtained from a different source and glued to the image, whereas the edges of objects in Romantic-era arts fade into the surrounding space ("Neoclassical/Romantic Painting").

Difference Between the Goals of the Romantic and Neoclassic

The art made during the romantic era majored on expressing nature through imaginations, emotions, and spirituality; therefore, the painters during this period incorporated landscapes in their work. The landscapes depicted mountains, oceans, rivers, seas with sea creatures, whose color varies; therefore, the painters had come up with accurate color, texture, and light for a clear illustration of the details. Also, the need to express emotions and imaginations made the painters to illustrate their ideas through relatable nature and landscape painting. On the other hand, the focus of the Neoclassical painters was on expressing the Greco-Roman culture through art. The Neoclassic painters observed symmetry, order, and simplicity in their arts. Therefore, the style used well-defined straight lines, simplicity just like other classical art, limited use of color, and clear definition of objects. Also, the painters produced art whose theme was Greco-Roman history, culture, mythological events, and the architecture of ancient Rome ("Neoclassicism | Boundless Art History"). Hence, the Neoclassic painters aimed at preserving the past through art, whereas the Romantic period painters aimed at romanticizing the past through art.

Jacques-Louis David and Eugene Delacroix

Jacques-Louis David and Eugene Delacroix are two famous painters who used different styles; David painted using the Neoclassic style, and Delacroix used the Romantic art style. David and Delacroix are icons of their respective eras. Both of the artists made several masterpieces during their lifetime; some of the popular pieces are The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons (1789) by David and Leading the People (1830) by Delacroix. Both The Lictors Bring to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons and Leading the People are oil on canvas paintings. While Delacroix's painting holds a political meaning to promote nationalism, David's painting addresses political history.

In David's painting, the outlines of the objects are drawn using distinct straight lines; all the images of people, curtains and pillars have distinct colors which do not spread to the neighboring background. Also, the tiles on the floor are carefully defined to appear different from each other, similar to how the chairs are drawn to appear on top of the floor. The objects in the painting are smooth with invisible brushstrokes due to the use of linear style. Moreover, light and shadows are well-defined in the painting by altering the contrast of colors.

Delacroix's Leading the People is a Romantic period art painted using the painterly style; the brushstrokes are not restrained. Some of the edges are not sharp; instead, they mix with the neighboring objects diminutively. For instance, the clouds fade into the dark sky, the white color of flag merges with the clouds, and some people in the painting fade to the cloudy background. Leading the People is inspired by imagination; the figure of a half-naked woman holding a flag symbolizes liberty.

Works Cited

Harris, Beth and Steven Zucker. "David, The Lictors Returning to Brutus the Bodies of His Sons - Smarthistory." Smarthistory, 20 Nov. 2015, smarthistory.org/jacques-louis-david-the-lictors-returning-to-brutus-the-bodies-of-his-sons/. Accessed 27 May 2019.

"Neoclassicism | Boundless Art History." Lumen Learning - Simple Book Production, courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-arthistory/chapter/neoclassism/.

"Neoclassical/Romantic Painting." Essential Humanities, www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/painting/neoclassical-romantic/

Zygmont, Brian. Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People - Smarthistory, 22 Nov. 2015, smarthistory.org/Delacroix-liberty-leading-the-people/.