Art

    The Romantic Movement in the arts occurred from the late 18th to mid nineteenth centuries. Romanticism came about mainly as a response to the rational, scientific ideals of the Enlightenment, and focused on the artist, musician, or writers emotional response to nature, to heroism, and the ancient myths and traditions. (Jansen, Horst, Woldemar, and Janson, Anthony, F 672) Many artists became popular during this period including, William Blake, Gustave Dore, and John Henry Fuseli. While many think of the works of J.M Waterhouse, and Thomas Gainsboroughs depictions of beautiful women from mythology as being more representative of that art of this period, this is not the case. Many artists of this period focused upon the dark or macabre aspects of nature, of heroic tales from history, and of mythology rather than idealizing them in order to make them aesthetically pleasing.

The Artworks
    The first painting by William Blake is called the book of Job When the Morning Stars Sang Together. Blake painted this work in 1820. It is a watercolor painting and measures 280x179 millimeters. The primary colors in this painting are white, blue, gold, black and red. At the bottom of the painting we see the biblical character Job in the center, surrounded by his wife, and daughters. Job and his family are painted in white and gold, yet they are surrounded by darkness. Above Job in the center of the painting is God. God is the focal point of the painting, and is the largest figure in the painting. He has his arms outstretched as if to welcome Job and his family. On the left side and above the figure of God are groups of angels. One group is leading a group of horses in a charge, while the other angels are arrayed above God and appear to be singing. On Gods right hand side is the devil holding a whip, and surrounded by snakes as if to represent temptation. The devil is colored in red and black. The upper background of the painting is the evening sky in dark blue with golden white stars.

    The perspective used in this painting is linear. The placement of Job at the bottom center of the painting draws the viewers eyes upwards towards God. God is at the exact center of the painting. God is also the focal point in the painting in that he is the largest figure in the painting. With his arms outstretched God takes up a full 13 of the painting. Blake uses a stunning combination of darkness and light in this painting. He places the figures against a back ground of the starry night sky. The figures of God, his angels, and Job and his family are all painted in white, and the use of light focuses primarily on these groups of characters making it appear that they are almost highlighted. Blake also uses the atmospheric perspective in order to highlight the central figures in the painting while casting the figures to Gods left and right into a sort of darkness.

    Blakes use of color is magnificent. He uses colors that complement each other in order to bring out details that might otherwise be ignored by the viewer. The watercolor method that he uses makes the figures seem ethereal and unreal. The painting uses a brilliant combination of warm and cool colors. When the viewer looks upon this painting it inspires a sense of awe, and the viewer can literally see the story that Blake is trying to tell in this painting.

    Hecate or the Three Fates is a second well known work by Blake. The painting was created in 1795, and is created from pen, ink, and watercolor. The painting measures 430x58 millimeters. The painting uses the colors brown, peach, black, grey, and red. The figures depicted in the painting are the Fates of Greek and Roman legend. There is an owl to the right that can be interpreted as meaning wisdom or knowledge, and a donkey that can be interpreted as meaning ignorance. Above the heads of the Fates is a bat like figure, and in the background is a monster, or demon.

    Blake uses chiaroscuro effects in this painting to give it a dark and gloomy feel. The center of the painting is Hecate, one of the Tree Fates, who appears to be the main subject of the painting. She is the only one of the Fates to be clothed, and she wears a robe of black. Hecate has a hand on a book signifying her role as one of the Fates. Blake uses linear perspective by placing the other figures in a triangular shape in order to draw the viewers eyes towards Hecate in the center of the painting.

    Blake also emphasizes the subject of the painting by only using lighter colors to paint the fates. The animals and monsters that surround them are painted in darker colors indicating that that the Fates themselves are subjects of the painting. This painting causes the viewer to respond with both awe, and fear at what the Fates might be planning next.

    In comparison, the works of Gustave Dore are less frightening in terms of subject matter. They are however different in terms of the technique and materials used to create the paintings. In the painting Alpine Scene the viewer sees a dark and frightening forest that looks out onto a clear and sunny mountain scene. The painting is created from oil on canvas which gives the painting depth and texture in comparison the watercolor paints used by Blake. The painting was created in 1865 and measures 77 x 51 18 inches.

    Dore uses linear perspective by placing tall dark trees on both the left and right sides of the painting draw the viewers eye towards the sunny blue sky with only a few clouds, and the brightness of a mountain meadow. The colors used in this painting include, greens, blues, browns, grey and black. These colors can be considered complementary colors and add to the aesthetic beauty of the painting.

    Dores focus in this painting is on the wildness of nature, and the beauty of the landscape. Rather than a singular figure being the subject of the painting, Dore seems to focus upon the concept that nature, is not tame, and that it is neither darkness, nor light but a blending of the two.

    This depiction of nature can also be seen in another work by Dore. L Enigme is created with oil on canvas and measures 1.3 cm x1.955m. The main colors used in the painting are black, grey and white. The scene depicts a wild landscape damaged during a battle. The landscape is literally destroyed, there are dead bodies everywhere, and the ground appears blown apart in spots. There are two figures in the painting which appear to be mythological characters. One is perhaps a sphinx, and the other is a harpy. The viewer can see the remnants of weaponry lying on the darkened ground. The sky is filled with smoke and fumes from the battlefield.

    Dores use of dark colors emphasizes the mysterious aspect of the painting. The viewer does not know who the figures are, what the figures are, or where they came from. The contrast between the darkness of the battlefield, and the light colors used in painting the sky only emphasizes the two mysterious figures in the foreground.

    This painting inspires a sense of foreboding in the viewer, while it is fantastical, it also emphasizes that these mythological creatures are not there for any good purpose. Overall the painting is aesthetically pleasing. Dores painting is detailed and descriptive. Dore also utilizes a linear perspective by placing the two main figures in the painting somewhat off-center in order to draw the viewers eyes to the figures rather than focusing upon the carnage that surrounds them. Dore main concept appears to have been to emphasize the horrors of war.

    The work of John Henry Fuseli is both similar and dissimilar to that of Blake and Dore. The painting Oath on the Rutli measures 25 58 x 21 38, and is created from oil on canvas. The main colors the work are red, blue, and yellow. The central figure in the painting appears to be that of a man with his arm upraised holding a knife as if  he is about to attack one of the other figures in the painting. To the central figures left is a figure with red toned skin. This figure has their arm upraised as if they are being attacked. The figure on the opposite side has his arm uplifted as if to try and prevent the main character from killing the red skinned figure.

    The mood of this painting is dark and somber. The colors clash violently, and one can tell that Fuseli was not painting the story of a myth or legend with a particularly happy ending. Fuseli uses linear perspective to draw the viewers eyes towards the central figure by placing the red and blue skinned figures to his right and left. The viewer feels awe and fear when viewing this painting and wonders what the central figure is planning to do to the red skinned figure on the left.

    Fuseli creates a dramatic scene with his use of vibrant yet clashing, reds, yellows and blues. The colors that are used in this painting can be viewed as symbolic of the violence that is seemingly about to occur in the painting. This painting is not aesthetically pleasing, however it does fit into the emphasis on the fantastical and mythological that is often seen in the artworks of the Romantic era. However in other paintings, Fuseli tends to fit into the stereotype viewers have of Romantic art (e.g. Gainsborough and Waterhouse).

    This can be clearly seen in the painting Milton Dictating to his Daughter. (httpwww.artic.edu)  This painting measures 121.7x 118.7 cm and is created from oil paints on canvas. The main colors are white, black, blue, and red. The painting depicts blind, 17th century poet, John Milton dictating poetry to his daughter. Milton is on the right, and sits in an almost throne like armchair. He is dressed in traditional Puritan clothing and stares blankly holding his hands in front of him. Miltons wife sits to the left, in the background. She is dressed in a red Puritan dress, and appears to be either knitting or sewing. Miltons daughter is the focal point of the painting. Unlike her parents, she does not wear traditional Puritan garb. Her clothing is white and diaphanous and appears to be Grecian in style. She is holding a notebook and an ink quill and is paying close attention to what her father is saying.

    Miltons daughter appears to have much of the idealized beauty that one typically sees in paintings of the Romantic era. The subject matter however is not traditional in that Romantic artists did not typically paint pictures of authors, or other celebrities. The focus was more upon heroes or mythological characters. This painting is intriguing in that it diverges from what was commonly accepted as Romantic Art. It is a simply family scene that leads the viewer to wonder what is truly going one. Fuseli demonstrates an interesting use of space within this painting in that there are few other objects within the room, other than the daughters notebook and quill and the fathers chair. The majority of the painting is taken up by the three figures of Milton, his wife and his daughter. Finally, this painting is unique in terms of Fuselis use of light. Fuseli used light in such a way that it seemed to emphasize Miltons blindness, by creating a setting in which Miltons daughter was the only brightly lit, and light colored figure in the room, when all else was in shadow.