A Similar Theme in Works of Neoclassical and Romantic

The genesis of Neoclassical Art and that of wild-eyed Art thrived in close proximity as far as chronology was concerned.Neoclassicism or Neo-Classicism marked the revival meeting of Classical interests in literature, visual contrivances, music, theater and architecture between the mid-eighteenth and the nineteenth ampere-second. Mainly canonical full treatment of ancient classic and Roman times were reproduced by the neoclassicists, but not without experimenting with their own impressions and improvisations. Maintaining the tradition of a culture which was rich and opulent in the past was a major objective of the neoclassical craftsmen.But the romantic genre of decorative and performing art, which hit the scene in the eighteenth century Western Europe, was a trend investter in its own rights. While neoclassicism dealt with the resurgence of the antique ideal that was conceived of by Virgil, Raphael and many other(a) lofty artists, the wild-eyed Movement was a reaction against the severities of reality and rationalization. Naturalistic heathenish expressions were regained and given newer dimensions by the neoclassicists.On the contrary, the romanticists take flight from the sternness of routine life by delving into fanciful musings on nature in its untamed form. The invest of resemblance between both these movements can be found in their dealing with aesthetics of art and subjective virtues. This strive is going to compare and telephone line between two archetypal arts from the eighteenth century Neoclassical and Romantic genres.The eighteenth century Europe was woken up from a slumber of inertia when the German art historian Johann Joachim Winckelmann showered accolades on the ingenuity and authenticity of the ancient Greek sculptor in his essay Gedanken ber die Nachahmung der Griechischen Werke in der Malerei und Bildhauerkunst (Thoughts on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture), published in 1755. While this treatise concerned o nly the Neoclassical frameworks of art, our proposed course of study in this paper is going to be based on finding a common theme from the Neoclassical and the Romantic era.The basic bother in doing so is to excogitate a way to match the sublimities of ancient Greek tastes and preferences with the realism of the Romantic Europe. Subject matter, ardour and power point played a pivotal role in shaping the mess of the neoclassical artist.1 Moreover, fastidiousness over maintaining the class is a definitive neoclassical approach. Now if we take into account the cultural influence as well as the artistic nuances of a given work of art, we are marvellous to appreciate it insightfully.2 These two parameters are independent of each other in that the former has nothing to do with the artists vision and objective.The cultural precondition exists in the subconscious of the creator while he goes about his business with the brush and the canvas. The same holds true for the Romantic artist a s well. Sublimity, as claimed by Prager,3 is essentially a romantic quality. The Romantic preoccupation with aesthetics analyzes the underlying meaning of the theme which is be worked upon, and makes a differentiation between sublime and beautiful. But the paradigmatic cases of neoclassical painting do not distinguish between these two viewpoints. By and large, what stands out in any typical neoclassical artwork is its chastity of emotion and lofty ideals that are reflective of the root source and time.Mother of the Gracchi by Angelica Kauffmann is widely regarded to be a re fork upative work of the eighteenth century neoclassical age. Being a accomplished and well-cultivated painter, Kauffmann was extremely scrupulous about the bafflingties of expression and proper treatment of the theme.Hence, Mother of the Gracchi goes beyond the lifeless phoney of a Classical theme at a latter period. Drawing inspiration from the classical Greek and Roman history and literature, Kauffmann r epudiated the ancient characters and replaced them with modern ones. The settings too were changed so that the modernistic charm of the neoclassical period could be retained.Revered as an exemplum virtutis (example or model of virtue),4 this artwork superseded the more flaunty and playful rococo style both in the gravity of theme as well as in taste. This painting thematically concerns the virtue of Cornelia, mother of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus. It displays motherly affection in its most profound manner as Cornelia is seen bring her two sons as jewels to a visitor who is seated.The Romantic artwork we have picked up in our present study is Alexander Cozens paintings. Just as Kauffmann belonged to a learned community of painters, Cozens too was aware of the magisterial and accurate drawing procedures from the very beginning of his career as a painter.His works were largely influenced and make by his prolonged academic tenure in Italy, where he had to make topographical pen and wash off drawings in oil. The salient features of Cozens works included speed and spontaneity in execution along with a firm focus on the subject at hand.5While it is a daunting task to compare and contrast between two entirely different schools of painting, it would be worth taking a look, first of all, at the similarities. In many ways, Cozens works captured the pastoral beauty of nature in its unblemished form. Albeit Kauffmann addressed to a historical theme, she portrayed Cornelia as emblematic of Mother Nature.Moreover, Cozens drawings continue to evoke a sense of devotion and bewilderment among contemporary critics for their taste and sublimity. Like Kauffmann, he too was able to convey his powerful feelings by using select washes of a few basic colors.Now if we are to look into the contrasting aspects of the Neoclassical and the Romantic artworks, we should be beginning with the cultural remnants of the Classical times that shaped the neoclassical attitude towards painting. It was imperative that Kauffmann should make up the Roman architectural patterns in Mother of the Gracchi a compulsion Alexander Cozens did not have to move over attention to.Again, the spontaneous flow of emotions, which is so typical of the Romantic movement at large, are wanting in the neoclassical paintings. It was as if the neoclassicists were more preoccupied by the exactness of form than by absorb a sense of freedom and expressionism into their works.Much in sync with the prerequisites of the Romantics, Cozens was a visionary poet who could blend colors with subtle use of light and shade to render a mystic charm to his works. But Kauffmann had to follow stricter rules and norms set by the earlier trends of the Classicism. However, the use of symbolism was more prominent and effective in Mother of the Gracchi and other neoclassical works than what was observed in the works of Cozens.1 Kleiner et al., p. 767 2 Binkley, p. 12 3 Prager, p. 93 4 Kleiner et al., p. 767 5 Murr ay, p. 227