Preferences and Perspectives: Romantic Era

La Grenouillère by Claude Monet

La Grenouillère was painted by Claude Monet and was made in 1896 at a resort on the Seine River near Paris. Monet uses the style impressionism which is shown in the colors, brushworks, light, and reflection. Monet captures the play of light on water, using various shades of blue, green, and white to depict reflections which adds a shimmering effect. Monet uses short, loose brushstrokes to convey a sense of movement and the vanishing nature of light. The reflections in the water show features of boats, people, and foliage creating lively interplay of shapes and colors. This painting gives me emotions of relaxation and peace. The carefree summer day and overall atmosphere captured through the people enjoying a day by the river and the main focus of the vibrant light on water makes me feel calm and at peace. This painting really meets my presentation preference by creating such a happy atmosphere with light and color. I do wish the composition was zoomed out a little more to get a bigger picture of the river and beautiful location. 

The historical intentions of impressionism is to paint a composition that appears as a certain moment in time. Monet wanted to capture pleasant activities of the middle class and explore his interest in water effects. Monet and many other artists work didn't necessarily depend on realistic image. The philosophical intentions of impressionism is we don't really see the natural world because everything we see, is perceived through our minds, our emotions, and our memories which means everyone perceives things differently, not ever being the exact same as one another. Monet's philosophical intentions in the La Grenouillère painting was to represent light and emotions about the power of nature. In my opinion, I think Monet was trying to achieve a happy moment in real time with normal, middle class people. Monet wanted to show what he was seeing in that exact moment as simple as people enjoying a nice day by the river in the summertime. 

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Édouard Manet

A Bar at the Folies-Bergère was made by Édouard Manet in 1882 in his studio located in Saint-Petersbourg in Paris. Manet used the impressionism style in this painting shown in the colors, texture, and space. Manet used cool dominant colors like blue, purple, and greens to contribute to the atmosphere of the bar. For example, the darkest color is of the woman's dress, drawing the audience's focus to her. The bar counter, bottles, and fruit bowl are depicted with different brushstrokes to show the different materials and their surface qualities. The mirror in the background reflects the figures and activities behind the barmaid creating depth and complexity in the space. This expands the scene beyond the foreground. This painting gives me emotions of sadness, tiredness, and boredom. The barmaid's facial expression gives me feelings of sadness or tiredness because she is about to end her long night shift and may not enjoy her job. I predict that women served as barmaids to be a pleasing object for men to look at while they enjoyed their drinks at the bar. I also believe that this job was boring in this day in age. The bar may have been filled with higher class people as shown by the fancy clothing and chandler hanging from the ceiling in the reflection from the mirror. Many believed these people to be of social groups who liked to gossip and although that sounds like it wouldn't be boring, I'm sure not many people made conversation with the barmaid in the 1800s. My presentation preference for this painting is that I would prefer the reflection in the mirror to match with what is happening in the painting. The figures to the right of the composition are either not there or they depict a different moment in the painting. Instead of the barmaid reflection being right behind her, it's to the far right. I think it does make it interesting and provides a sense of curiosity but it is kind of confusing why Manet painted it that way. 

The historical intentions of impressionism again, is to paint a composition that appears as a certain moment in time. Manet painted A Bar at the Folies-Bergère with the historical intentions of showing complex gender roles and the relationships between social classes in modern urban life. The philosophical intentions of impressionism is nobody sees the "real" world because everybody sees the world through their own perspective which can never be the exact same as another's. Manet's philosophical intentions were to create a complex and opening viewpoint for the audience. The mirror in the background gives many different viewpoints and makes it hard to put a straightforward narrative on what is going on, leaving the viewer's position uncertain. I believe Manet was trying to achieve what working in the 1800s was like for women. The barmaid looks tired and unhappy, meaning she looks a long shift and may not enjoy the bartending job but didn't have as much freedom in the 1800s to find a job she was interested in. 

Ophelia by John Everett Millais

Ophelia was made by John Everett Millais in 1851-1852 in two separate locations. The landscape was painted by the Hogsmill River in Surrey, United Kingdom and the other location was Millais's studio on Gower Street in London. Millais painted Ophelia in the style known as realism. Realism is shown through the lines, colors, and symbolism in the painting. Millais used a color palette of bright, vibrant reds, greens, yellows, and purples in the flowers and foliage against Ophelia's pale skin to highlight her vulnerability. The flowers around Ophelia's body such as poppies for death and water lilies for purity symbolize her emotional and psychological state. Millais uses lines and soft curves in the water to create movement and current of the river around Ophelia's body, adding a sense of her descent. This painting gives me emotions of grief, insanity, and love. I find it sad that her father was murdered by the man she loved and it drove her into such a madness that she drowned in the river. Ophelia loved Hamlet and Hamlet had killed her father by accident during an argument with his mother. I feel sad that Hamlet killed her father by accident but it is crazy to fall or purposely throw yourself into a river and drown based on the incident. I'm sad things did not work out better in the story but the painting Millais created of Ophelia's death is beautiful. My presentation preference would to be to have included Hamlet in the painting some how. I feel he was a big part of Ophelia's story and especially her death. Otherwise, I love the detail put into the painting and the expression on Ophelia's face as she seems calm and peaceful as she's excepting her fate. 

The historical intentions of realism is to create a painting of everyday life for people. Millais's historical intentions in Ophelia are to capture that even though humans die eventually that dying can be beautiful. The philosophical intentions of realism is cognitive representations like Ophelia's madness and the reality of the world. Millais's philosophical intentions in this painting was to show that Ophelia went insane over her father's murder and the cause of that was her death. Her mentality was not sane which happens in the real world. Most people do face life's complexity head on but some do not and that can lead to a terrible reality in the future. In my opinion, I think Millais was trying to achieve that death isn't always dark or filled with sadness and grief but can be beautiful and a chance to remember and rejoice in the life of a person who was innocent and loved had been taking to a "better" place, as some would call it. 

The Nightmare by Henry Fuseli

The Nightmare was created by Henry Fuseli in 1781 in London. Fuseli used the style realism shown through colors, composition, and symbolism in The Nightmare. Fuseli uses colors such as white to represents innocence, black to represents the unknown, and red to represents potential danger. The women's body is laying diagonally across the composition, giving a sense of tension and imbalance. The figure, known as the "incubus", on the women's chest symbolizes repressed sexual desire and the horse in the curtains symbolizes the intrusion of the unconscious mind. Fuseli also includes a technique called chiaroscuro in this painting. Chiaroscuro technique uses light to illuminate a specific area, creating shadows and the outline of the woman's body. This painting gives me emotions of horror, anxiety, and sexuality.  The demon figures in this painting look scary and terrifying. It definitely paints an image of creatures out of a horror movie. The "incubus" in the painting gives a depiction of feminine desire and ecstasy. When I look at this painting, I picture my own nightmares and the terrifying creatures my mind pictures which gives me the feeling of anxiety. It's the anxiety of the unknown; Where did these creatures come from? Are their intentions to harm me? My presentation preferences is the creatures might be placed differently. I feel as though for a nightmare, the creatures should be in the dark, in the corner of the composition, not the center. I do not personally like the style realism, I prefer impressionism. I like to look at a painting and feel as though I'm away from everyday life. The paintings I look at are pleasant, bright, and you are able to create your own interpretation of what is going on.  

The historical intentions of realism is to create an image of everyday events that happen to everybody. Fuseli historical intentions in this painting were to create something different, a new kind of horror image. The Nightmare is considered an icon in the romantic era, inspiring many future writers like Edgar Allen Poe. The philosophical intentions of realism to create an image of reality, events or moments that happen to people good and bad. Fuseli's philosophical intentions were to create an image of unresolved feelings for his lost love and his deepest desires. In my opinion, I believe Fuseli was trying to achieve the idea of love lost or revenge. I think he wanted to picture his love for a woman and how she was thinking of him. I believe he wanted to create sexual desires in a darker image because not many people had created paintings like The Nightmare in the 1700s.  I also believe it could go the other way and be seen as revenge. Fuseli had love for this woman but she did not feel the same, so he created an image of her dreaming of sexual horror creations possibly going to harm her. 

Work Cited 

                        "“La Grenouillère (Monet).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 Oct. 2024,                                             https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Grenouill%C3%A8re_(Monet)."

"“La Grenouillère, 1869 by Claude Monet.” Claude Monet, https://www.claude-monet.com/la-grenouillere.jsp#:~:text=As%20in%20his%20earlier%20picture,retain%20a%20strong%20descriptive%20quality. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024."                       

        "“Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergere.” Manet’s Bar at the Folies-Bergere (Getty Center Exhibitions),                           https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/manet_bar/." 

           "“A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, 1882 by Édouard Manet.” Édouard Manet, 

 https://www.manet.org/a-bar-at-the-folies-bergere.jsp  ."       

            "Tate. “The Story of Ophelia.” Tate, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/millais-ophelia- n01506/story-ophelia Accessed 28 Oct. 2024."

                      "“Ophelia (Painting).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Oct. 2024,                                                              https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ophelia_(painting)" 

            "“The Nightmare.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc.,                                                     https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Nightmare. Accessed 28 Oct. 2024."

                    "“The Nightmare.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Oct. 2024,                                                                      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nightmare."