Romanticism and Realism in European and American art from 1800 to 1870 saw the rise of Romanticism as an artistic style focusing on emotion, nature, and the irrational. It contrasted with earlier Neoclassicism. Realism emerged in the mid-19th century focusing on contemporary social themes and lives of the working classes in a realistic style. Major artists included Goya, Delacroix, Courbet, Manet, and Eakins. Landscape painting flourished. Photography was invented in this period, documenting society in a new realistic medium. Architecture revived historical styles like Gothic. The Pre-Raphaelites focused on medieval themes.

1. Romanticism and Realism
Art in Europe and America, 1800 to 1870
Gardner’s Art Through the Ages
13th ed., Chapter 30
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2. Napoleonic Europe 1800-1815
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3. 3

4. Goals
• Discuss Romanticism as an artistic style. Name some of its
frequently occurring subject matter as well as its stylistic qualities.
• Compare and contrast Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
• Examine reasons for the broad range of subject matter, from
portraits and landscape to mythology and history.
• Discuss initial reaction by artists and the public to the new art
medium known as photography
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5. From Neoclassicism to Romanticism
• Understand the philosophical and stylistic differences
between Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
• Examine the growing interest in the exotic, the erotic, the
landscape, and fictional narrative as subject matter.
• Understand the mixture of classical form and Romantic
themes, and the debates about the nature of art in the 19th
century.
• Identify artists and architects of the period and their works.
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6. Neoclassicism in Napoleonic France
• Understand reasons why Neoclassicism remained the preferred
style during the Napoleonic period
• Recall Neoclassical artists of the Napoleonic period and how
they served the Empire
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7. JACQUES-LOUIS DAVID, Coronation of Napoleon, 1805–1808. Oil on canvas, 20’ 4 1/2” x 32’ 1 3/4”. Louvre, Paris.
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8. PIERRE VIGNON, La Madeleine, Paris, France, 1807–1842.
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9. ANTONIO CANOVA, Pauline Borghese as Venus, 1808. Marble, 6’ 7” long. Galleria Borghese, Rome.
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10. Foreshadowing Romanticism
• Notice how David’s students retained Neoclassical features in
their paintings
• Realize that some of David’s students began to include subject
matter and stylistic features that foreshadowed Romanticism
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11. ANTOINE-JEAN GROS, Napoleon at the Pesthouse at Jaffa, 1804. Oil on canvas, 17’ 5” x 23’ 7”. Louvre, Paris.
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12. ANNE-LOUIS GIRODET-TRIOSON, The Burial of Atala, 1808. Oil on canvas,. 6’ 11” x 8’ 9”. Louvre, Paris.
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13. JEAN-AUGUSTE-DOMINIQUE INGRES, Apotheosis of Homer, 1827. Oil on canvas, 12’ 8” x 16’ 10 3/4”. Louvre, Paris.
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14. JEAN-AUGUSTE-DOMINIQUE INGRES, Grande Odalisque, 1814. Oil on canvas, approx. 2’ 11 7/8” x 5’ 4”. Louvre, Paris.
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15. The Rise of Romanticism
• Examine the exotic, erotic, the landscape, and fictional
narrative as subject matter.
• Understand the mixture of classical form and Romantic
themes
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16. Features of Romanticism : P. I. N. E.
• P. I. N. E.
– Past – longing for the medieval past, pre-industrial Europe
(Gothic architecture will be revived)
– Irrational/ Inner mind / Insanity – Romantic artists
depict the human psyche and topics that transcend the use
of reason. One Romantic artist, Gericault chose to do
portraits of people in an insane asylum.
– Nature – longing for the purity of nature, which defies
human rationality
– Emotion/ Exotic – Romantics favored emotion and
passion over reason. Exotic themes and locales were also
popular because they did not adhere to European emphasis
on rationality.
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17. HENRY FUSELI, The Nightmare, 1781. Oil on canvas, 3’ 4 3/4” x 4’ 1 1/2”. The Detroit Institute of the Arts (Founders
Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Bert L. Smokler and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Fleishman).
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18. WILLIAM BLAKE, Ancient of Days,
frontispiece of Europe: A Prophecy, 1794.
Metal relief etching, hand colored,
9 1/2” x 6 3/4”.
The Whitworth Art Gallery,
Pierpont Morgan Library, New York.
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19. Drama, Action, and Color in
Spanish Romanticism
• Examine the issues of drama, action, and color in the art of
Francisco Goya.
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20. FRANCISCO GOYA, The Sleep of Reason Produces
Monsters, from Los Caprichos, ca. 1798.
Etching and aquatint, 8 1/2” x 5 7/8”.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gift of M.
Knoedler & Co., 1918).
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21. FRANCISCO GOYA, The Family of Charles IV, 1800. Oil on canvas, approx. 9’ 2” x 11’. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
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22. FRANCISCO GOYA, Third of May, 1808, 1814. Oil on canvas, 8’ 9” x 13’ 4”. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
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23. FRANCISCO GOYA, Saturn Devouring One of His Children,
1819–1823. Detached fresco mounted on canvas,
4’ 9 1/8” x 2’ 8 5/8”. Museo del Prado, Madrid.
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24. The French Debate: Color vs. Line
• Understand the French debate over theories related to color
(expression) vs. line (drawing or form) as appropriate to
artistic expression.
• Realize that this debate has roots in the paintings and ideas
of Nicolas Poussin, considered to have set the canon for
French academic paintings, and the works of Peter Paul
Rubens, most famous for his rich and sensuous colors.
• Differentiate between Poussinistes and Rubenistes.
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25. THÉODORE GÉRICAULT, Raft of the Medusa, 1818–1819. Oil on canvas, 16’ 1” x 23’ 6”. Louvre, Paris.
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26. THÉODORE GÉRICAULT,
Insane Woman 1822–1823.
Oil on canvas, 2’ 4” x 1’ 9”.
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Lyons.
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27. EUGÈNE DELACROIX, Death of Sardanapalus, 1827. Oil on canvas, 12’ 1 1/2” x 16’ 2 7/8”. Louvre, Paris.
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28. EUGÈNE DELACROIX, Liberty Leading the People, 1830. Oil on canvas, 8’ 6” x 10’ 8”. Louvre, Paris.
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29. EUGÈNE DELACROIX, Tiger Hunt, 1854. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5” x 3’. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
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30. FRANÇOIS RUDE, Departure of the
Volunteers of 1792 (La Marseillaise),
Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France,
1833–1836. Limestone, 41’ 8” high.
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31. CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH, Abbey in the Oak Forest, 1810. Oil on canvas, 3' 7 1/2" X 5' 7 1/4". Nationalgalerie,
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Berlin.
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32. JOHN CONSTABLE, The Haywain, 1821. Oil on canvas, 4’ 3” x 6’ 2”. National Gallery, London. 32

33. Romantic Landscape Painting
• Understand the romantic interest in the landscape as an
independent and respected genre in Germany, England, and
the United States.
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34. JOSEPH MALLORD WILLIAM TURNER, The Slave Ship (Slavers Throwing Overboard the Dead and Dying, Typhoon Coming On),
1840. Oil on canvas, 2’ 11 11/16” x 4’ 5/16”. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Henry Lillie Pierce Fund). 34

35. THOMAS COLE, The Oxbow (View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm), 1836.
Oil on canvas, 4’ 3 1/2” x 6’ 4”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (gift of Mrs. Russell Sage, 1908). 35

36. ALBERT BIERSTADT, Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California, 1868. Oil on canvas, 6’ x 10’. National Museum of
American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
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37. FREDERIC EDWIN CHURCH, Twilight In the Wilderness, 1860s. Oil on canvas, 3’ 4” x 5’ 4”. Cleveland Museum of Art,
Cleveland (Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 1965.233).
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38. Modernism and Realism
• Examine the meanings of “Modernism” and “Realism” and
the rejection of Renaissance illusionistic space.
• Understand the changes in Realist art in form, style, and
content.
• Examine the use of art – especially photography and
printmaking -- to provide social commentary.
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39. The Art of Realism
• Understand Realist art in its forms, styles, and content.
• Examine the social commentary, shocking subject matter,
formal elements, and public reaction to Realism.
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40. GUSTAVE COURBET, The Stone Breakers, 1849. Oil on canvas, 5’ 3” x 8’ 6”. Formerly at Gemäldegalerie, Dresden
(destroyed in 1945).
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41. GUSTAVE COURBET, Burial at Ornans, 1849. Oil on canvas, 10’ 3 1/2” x 22’ 9 1/2”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
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42. JEAN-FRANÇOIS MILLET, The Gleaners, 1857. Oil on canvas, 2’ 9” x 3’ 8”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris. 42

43. HONORÉ DAUMIER, Rue Transnonain, 1834. Lithograph, 1’ x 1’ 5 1/2”. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia
(bequest of Fiske and Marie Kimball).
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44. HONORÉ DAUMIER, Third-Class Carriage, ca. 1862. Oil on canvas, 2’ 1 3/4” x 2’ 11 1/2”. Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York (H. O. Havemeyer Collection, bequest of Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, 1929). 44

45. ROSA BONHEUR, The Horse Fair, 1853–1855. Oil on canvas, 8’ 1/4” x 16’ 7 1/2”. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New
York (gift of Cornelius Vanderbilt, 1887).
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46. ÉDOUARD MANET, Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), 1863. Oil on canvas, 7’ x 8’ 10”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
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47. The French Academy and Other
Classical Models
• Examine the importance and influence of the French Royal
Academy of Art, the artists it trained and the styles it
promoted.
• Understand the popularity of other classical models in art.
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48. ÉDOUARD MANET, Olympia, 1863. Oil on canvas, 4’ 3” x 6’ 2 1/4”. Musée d’Orsay, Paris.
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49. ADOLPHE-WILLIAM BOUGUEREAU,
Nymphs and Satyr, 1873. Oil on canvas,
approx. 9’ 3/8” x 5’ 10 7/8” high.
Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute,
Williamstown, Massachusetts.
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50. German and American Realism
• Examine German artist’s interests in regional and national
characteristics, folk customs and culture.
• Identify the American artists and key works of Realist art.
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51. WILLIAM LEIBL, Three Women in a Village Church,
1878-1882. Oil on canvas, 2’ 5” x 2’ 1”.
Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
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52. WINSLOW HOMER, Veteran in a New Field, 1865. Oil on canvas, 2’ 1/8” x 3’ 2 1/8”.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (bequest of Miss Adelaide Milton de Groot, 1967).
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53. THOMAS EAKINS, The Gross Clinic,
1875. Oil on canvas, 8’ x 6’ 6”.
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia.
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54. JOHN SINGER SARGENT, The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882. Oil on canvas, 7’ 3 3/8” x 7’ 3 5/8”.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (gift of Mary Louisa Boit, Florence D. Boit, Jane Hubbard Boit, and Julia Overing Boit, in
memory of their father, Edward Darley Boit). 54

55. HENRY OSSAWA TANNER, The Thankful Poor, 1894. Oil on canvas, 2’ 11 1/2” x 3’ 8 1/4”.
Collection of William H. and Camille Cosby. 55

56. EDMONIA LEWIS, Forever Free, 1867.
Marble, 3’ 5 1/4” high.
James A. Porter Gallery of Afro-American Art,
Howard University, Washington, D.C.
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57. Pre-Raphaelites
• Examine the Pre-Raphaelites’ choice of subject matter in
contrast to the Realists.
• Understand the influences of the literary world and of the
critic John Ruskin in the art of the Pre-Raphaelites.
• Identify artists and styles of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
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58. JOHN EVERETT MILLAIS, Ophelia, 1852. Oil on canvas, 2’ 6” x 3’ 8”. Tate Gallery, London.
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59. DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI,
Beata Beatrix, ca. 1863. Oil on canvas,
2’ 10” x 2’ 2”. Tate Gallery, London.
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60. 19th Century Architecture
• Examine the variety of revivalist styles in architecture, the
origins of the designs and their impact.
• Discuss how the availability of new building materials will
affect the structure and appearance of architecture
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61. CHARLES BARRY and A. W. N. PUGIN, Houses of Parliament, London, England, designed 1835.
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62. JOHN NASH, Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England, 1815–1818.
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63. CHARLES GARNIER, the Opera, Paris, France, 1861-1874 63

64. HENRI LABROUSTE, reading room of the Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve, Paris, France, 1843-1850.
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65. JOSEPH PAXTON, Crystal Palace, London, England, 1850-1851; enlarged and relocated at Sydenham, England, 1852-1854.
Detail of a color lithograph by ACHILLE-LOUIS MARTINET, ca. 1862. Private collection.
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66. Photography
• Examine the origins of photography and its impact in visual
art.
• Discuss initial uses of the new art medium known as
photography.
• Recognize the artists and the works of early photography.
• Examine artist’s use and response to the technology of
photography.
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67. HONORÉ DAUMIER, Nadar Raising
Photography to the Height of Art, 1862.
Lithograph, 10 3/4” x 8 3/4”.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
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68. LOUIS-JACQUES-MANDÉ DAGUERRE, Still Life in Studio, 1837. 6 1/4” x 8 1/4”. Daguerreotype. Collection Société
Française de Photographie, Paris.
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69. JOSIAH JOHNSON HAWES and ALBERT SANDS SOUTHWORTH, Early Operation under Ether, Massachusetts General
Hospital, ca. 1847. Daguerreotype. Massachusetts General Hospital Archives and Special Collections, Boston.
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70. NADAR, Eugène Delacroix, ca. 1855.
Modern print, 8 1/2”x 6 2/3” from original
negative in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris.
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71. JULIA MARGARET CAMERON,
Ophelia, Study no. 2, 1867. Albumen
print, 1' 1" x 10 2/3".
George Eastman House, Rochester
(gift of Eastman Kodak Company;
formerly Gabriel Cromer Collection)
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72. TIMOTHY O’SULLIVAN, A Harvest of Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863. Negative by Timothy O’Sullivan.
Original print by ALEXANDER GARDNER, 6 3/4" x 8 3/4". New York Public Library (Astor, Lenox and Tilden
Foundations, Rare Books and Manuscript Division), New York.
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73. EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE, Horse Galloping, 1878. Collotype print, 9” x 12”. George Eastman House, Rochester, New York.
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74. Discussion Questions
 Identify the formal artistic differences between
Neoclassicism and Romanticism.
 Describe the debate over 19th century aesthetic theory, as
characterized by the Poussinistes vs. the Rubenistes.
 What is meant by French academic art? How did the works
of the Realists factor into French academic standards?
 How would you describe the work of Eduoard Manet?
 What were major developments in 19th century
architecture?
 What was the impact of photography during the 19th
century?
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