Revolutions in the Arts Chapter 8 PDF

Revolutions in the Arts. 1 ; Tj·· ~'- I - 1..... 1 , ; /!',I '-. r I r ' ' I t ~-1 CULTURAL INTERACTION Romanticism and realism are...

Revolutions in the Arts. 1 ; Tj·· ~'- I - 1..... 1 , ; /!',I '-. r I r ' ' I t ~-1 CULTURAL INTERACTION Romanticism and realism are romant1c1sm Artistic and intellectual still found in novels, dramas, impressionisrn realism movements both reflected and and films produced today. fueled changes in Europe during the 1800s. SETTING THE STAGE During the first half of the 1800s, artists focused on ideas of freedom, the rights of individuals, and an idealistic view of history. After the great revolutions of 1848, political focus shifted to leaders who practiced realpolitik. Similarly, intellectuals and artists expressed a "realistic" view of the world. In this view, the rich pursued their selfish interests while ordinary people struggled and suffered. Newly invented photography became both a way to detail this struggle and a tool for scientific investigation. The Romantic Movement l!!~ttttit'.:~ Use the graphic organizer At the end of the 18th century, the Enlightenment idea of reason gradually gave way to another major movement in art and ideas: romanticism. This movement reflected deep interest both in nature and in the thoughts and feelings of the indi- online to take notes on vidual. In many ways, romantic thinkers and writers reacted against the ideals of movements in the arts. the Enlightenment. They turned from reason to emotion, from society to nature. Romantics rejected the rigidly ordered world of the middle class. Nationalism also fired the romantic imagination. For example, George Gordon, Lord Byron, T Romantic poet Lord one of the leading romantic poets of the time, fought for Greece's freedom. Byron fought The Ideas of Romanticism Emotion, sometimes wild emotion, was a key ele- with Greek ment of romanticism. However, romanticism went beyond feelings. Romantics nationalists. He did not liveto expressed a wide range of ideas and attitudes. In general, romantic thinkers and see their victorf artists shared these beliefs: emphasized inner feelings , emotions, and imagination focused on the mysterious, the supernatural, and the exotic, \ grotesque, or horrifying loved the beauties of untamed nature idealized the past as a simpler and nobler time glorified heroes and heroic actions cherished folk traditions, music, and stories valued the common people and the individual promoted radical change and democracy Romanticism in Literature Poetry, music, and painting were - the most influential arts because they were able to capture the emotion of romanticism. To romantics, poetry was the highest 264 Chapter 8  -- form of expression. The British romantic poets William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge both honored nature as the source of truth and beauty. Later English romantic poets, such as Lord Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and John Keats, wrote poems celebrating rebellious heroes, passionate love, and the mystery and beauty of nature. Like many romantics, many of these British poets lived stormy lives and died young. Byron, for example, died at the age of 36, while Shelley died at 29. Germany produced one of the earliest and greatest romantic writers. In 1774, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (YO hahn-VUHLF gahng-fuhn-GER tuh) published The Sorrows of Young Werther. Goethe's novel told of a sensitive young man whose hopeless love for a virtuous married woman drives him to suicide. Also in Germany, the brothers Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm collected German fairy tales and created a dictionary and grammar of the German language. Both the tales and the dictionary celebrated the German spirit. Victor Hugo led the French romantics. His works also reflect the romantic fascination with history and the individual. His novels Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame show the struggles of individu- als against a hostile society. The Gothic Novel Gothic horror stories became hugely popular. These novels often took place in medieval Gothic castles. They were filled with fearful, violent, sometimes supernatural events. Mary Shelley, wife of the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, wrote one of the earliest and most success- ful Gothic horror novels, Frankenstein. The novel told the story of a monster created from the body parts of dead human beings. Composers Emphasize Emotion Emotion dominated the music produced by romantic composers. These composers moved away from the tightly controlled, formal composi- Ludwig van Beethoven tions of the Enlightenment period. Instead, they celebrated 1770-1827 heroism and national pride with a new power of expression. A genius of European music, As music became part of middle-class life, musicians _Beethoven suffered the most tragic and composers became popular heroes. Composer and disability a compbser can el""!dure. At pianist Franz Liszt (lihst), for example, achieved earnings the age of 30, he began to go deaf. and popularity comparable to those of to~ay's rock stars.. His deafness grew worse for 19 years. By 1819, it was total. One of the composers leading the way mto the Romantic At first, Beethoven's handicap period was also its greatest: Ludwig van Beethoven barely affected his career. By 1802, (LOOD vihg-vahn-BAY toh vuhn). His ~ork evolv~d from ·however', he knew that his hearing the classical music of the Enlightenment mto romantic com- would only worsen. He suffered from positions. His Ninth Symphony soars, c~l_ebrating freedom, bouts of depression. The depression would bring him to the brink of dignity, and the triumph of the human spmt. suicide. Nonetheless, he would Later romantic composers also appealed to the hearts and rebound: souls of their listeners. Robert Schumann's compositions It seemed unthinkable for me to sparkle with merriment. Like many romantic composers, leave the world forever before I Felix Mendelssohn drew on literature, such as had produced all that I f elt called Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream, as the in~pi~a- upon to produce. 111111arizing tion for his music. Polish composer and concert ptam_st ~ What are some "7i' hmhsocialstudies.c om 0 lhe themes that Frederic Chopin (SHOH pan) used ~olish dance rhythms m rare keYtO romantic. h 1s. G. music. msepp e ''erdi' v, and Richard Wagner brought. h' h. RESEARCH WEB LINKS Go online for more on Ludwig van Beethoven. Jterature and art7. European opera to a drama t1c and theatrtca 1 1g pomt. ~v, Nationalist Revolutions Sweep the West 265  The Shift to Realism in the Arts By the middle of the 19th century, rapid industrialization deeply affected everyday life in Europe. The growing class of industrial workers lived grim lives in dirty, crowded cities. Industrialization began to make the dreams of the romantics seem pointless. In literature and the visual arts, realism tried to show life as it was, not as it should be. Realist painting reflected the increasing political importance of the working class in the 1850s. Along with paintings, novels proved especially suitable for describing workers' suffering. Photographers Capture Reality As realist painters and writers detailed the lives of actual people, photographers could record an instant in time with scientific precision. The first practical photographs were called daguerreotypes (duh GEHR uh TYPS). They were named after their French inventor, Louis Daguerre. The images in his daguerreotypes were startlingly real and won him worldwide fame. British inventor William Talbot invented a light-sensitive paper that he used to produce photographic negatives. The advantage of paper was that many prints could be made from one negative. The Talbot process also allowed photos to be reproduced in books and newspapers. Mass distribution gained a wide audience for the realism of photography. With its scientific, mechanical, and mass-produced features, photography was the art of the new industrial age. Writers Study Society Realism in literature flourished in France with writers such as Honore de Balzac and Emile Zola. Balzac wrote a massive series of almost 100 novels entitled The Human Comedy. They describe in detail the brutal struggle for wealth and power among all levels of French society. Zola's novels exposed the > Analyzing Photographs..· i · ~~,-, _., Motion Studies Eadweard Muybridge had a varied career as a photographer. He devoted part of his career to motion studies. These photographic studies froze the motion of an object at an instant in time. They allowed scientists to study motion and to better understand time. The equipment he built helped lead to the development of motion pictures. This series of photographs take n in 1878, titled "The Horse in Motion," was designed to discover if all of a running horse's legs ever left the ground at the same time. SKILLBUILDER: Interpreting Visual Sources 1. Drawing Conclusions What do the series of photographs reveal about the question of whether all the legs of o horse ever left the ground at the same time? 2. Developing Historical Perspective What reaction do you think these pictures would have g enerated among the g eneral p ublic? (} See Skillbuilder Handbook, page R23. 266 Chapter 8  - miseries of French workers in small shops, factories, and coal mines. His revela- tions shocked readers and spurred reforms of labor laws and working conditions in 0 you France. The famous English realist novelist Charles Dickens created unforgettable be characters and scenes of London's working poor. Many of the scenes were humor- in ous, but others showed the despair of London's poor. In his book Little Dorrit, rrns- Dickens described the life of a working-class person as sheer monotony set in a or gloomy neighborhood. e Impressionists Read Against Realism Beginning in the 1860s, a group of painters in Paris reacted against the realist style. Instead of showing life "as it really was," they tried to show their impression of a subject or a moment in time. For this reason, their style of art came to be known as impressionism. Fascinated by light, impressionist artists used pure, shimmeri ng colors to capture a moment seen at a glance. Life in the Moment Unlike the realists, impressionists showed a more positive view of the new urban society in western Europe. Instead of abused workers, they showed shop clerks and dock workers enjoying themselves in dance halls and cafes. They painted performers in theaters and circuses. And they glorified the delights of the life of the rising middle class. Claude Monet (moh NAY), Edgar Degas (duh GAH), and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (ruhn WHAR) were leaders in the movement that became very popular. Composers also created impressions of mood and atmosphere. By using differ- ent combinations of instruments, tone patterns, and music structures, they were able to create mental pictures of such things as flashing lights, the feel of a warm summer day, or the sight of the sea. French composers Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy are the most notable members of the impressionist music movement. Changes in political, social, artistic, and intellectual movements during the 19th century signaled important changes in daily life. One of the most significant causes of change was industrialization, which you will learn about in Chapter 9. 1. For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its significance. realism impressionism - - -~ R NOTES MAIN IDEAS CRITICAL THINKING & WRITING th e goal of realist 3. What was the key element of 6. COMPARING AND CONTRASTING How are the movement s romanticism? of romanticism and realism alike and different? 4. What characteristics did 7. ANALVZING CAUSES How might a realist novel bring photography have that made it about changes in society? Describe the ways by which the art of the industrial age? this might happen. 5. What was the goal of 8. SUMMARIZING How did nationalism influence the artistic impressionist painters? movements you read about? _O - C-TI 9. WRmNG ACTMTY c::-:u=LTU=-RAL-::-:--:1-,--,NTE=RA r.l --.! Listen to a _N piece of music by Beethoven , and then listen to a piece of contemporary music that you like. Write a compariso n- and-contrast essay on the two pieces of music. ----'ii~ Creating an Arts Chart Paper listings for films being shown today. Make a chart showing which of them tegorized as romantic and which might be categorized as realistic. Present reasons. rn fell int o t h e designated category. Nationalis t Revolution s Sweep the West 267