Landscape Neoclassical Painting
One unifying characteristic of the works of the English and American Romantic poets Shelley, Keats, and Whitman is that all of these writers used images of nature to further their artistic self-expression. In "Ode to the West Wind," Shelley does not merely observe the wind; he sees his own wildness and passion for life within the activity of the wind: "Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean, / Angels of rain and lightning..." Nature is not merely beautiful or something to be observed, it is a force of energy and inspiration, and is just as emotionally stormy as the poet's interior landscape. Keats' "Seep and Poetry" shows a more gentle view of nature: "What is more gentle than a wind in summer?" But it likewise looks at the natural, unadorned world, away from civilization and institutions as the ultimate expression of the poet's Self, rather than historical circumstances or abstract ideas, as was typical of the Neoclassical style. Finally, the American Whitman adopted the English Romanticism of Shelley and Keats to an American context, making poetry and the poetry of nature specifically an expression of proud, American self-reliance and individualism: "I celebrate myself, and sing myself."
Discussion 2
Until the 19th century, nature in art was usually, if present at all, merely the in background of portraits. History and human beings were considered the true, fitting subjects of art. However, as nature began to retreat from everyday life with the rise of technology, artists began to look on nature as a source of inspiration. As nature became rarer, artists gave nature more significance and importance -- nature became more symbolically significant, even as 'real' nature was being overrun by factories, cities, and railroads. Rather than something to be tamed, nature was now something precious. But although human beings may not be present in all Romantic depictions of nature, human thoughts about nature clearly are -- an artist always paints his or her own point-of-view, not a literal representation of nature. Even in the most realistic depictions of nature, the artist is always selective in what he or she chooses to include or exclude in the frame. Thus, one can never 'escape' human beings and human thoughts, even in nature.
Painting Read Monet's the Stroll Monet Monet's the Stroll, Camille Monet Her Son Jean (Woman With a Parasol) This painting epitomizes the impressionistic style and artistic philosophy in a number of different ways. If one looks closely at the painting by Monet one can see that the foreground, the sky as well as the dress and parasol are created by many short strokes of opaque paint. This gives the impression of a moment captured
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Is this a simple soldier pulling away the cadavers of his companions or death itself taking away dear individuals into the unknown? Who is connecting the physical bodies with the symbolic meaning of the stripes painted with their blood? The characters in the background also play an important role in the creation of the painting. With their presence, they create an antithesis to the characters in the foreground. They are
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