Romantic Era: The Dark and The Light

When I hear the word “romantic,” I automatically associate it with love, happy feelings, etc. So I was surprised to find that a number of Romantic artists painted scenes that were dark, grim, and outside of the realm of anything I’d deem “romantic.” This blog will relate two dark works from Romantic artists Francisco de Goya and Théodore Géricault with two lighter works from Impressionist artists Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Francisco de Goya

Art Elements

This is a dark painting, not only in subject matter, but color as well. Goya’s use of blacks and greys sets an ominous tone for the painting, which is fitting seeing as it is a scary scene being depicted. There are not many sharp lines throughout the group of women in the painting, instead, lines seem to almost run together without much distinction between them. This causes me to feel overwhelmed because I keep looking throughout the group, but my eyes never truly settle on one distinct figure. The figure that has the most distinct outlining is the black goat. This outlining, in conjunction with the dark, almost completely black, color of the goat, draws our attention to the figure. Additionally, the women in the painting are looking at the goat, further pointing to him as the center of attention. The almost texture-less aspect of the background further exacerbates the eeriness of the painting. To me, this background makes it seem like the scene in the painting is happening in some type of void, giving me an uneasy feeling.

Story behind Las pinturas negras (The Black Paintings)

The Witches’ Sabbath (The Great He-Goat) is part of a larger collection of 14 paintings commonly referred to as “Las Pinturas Negras” or “The Black Paintings.” These were some of the last paintings that Goya created. He painted towards the end of his life, directly onto the walls of his house, a villa just outside of Madrid. These paintings weren’t created with the purpose of public consumption in mind, so little is known about Goya’s intentions for creating the dark works. Goya had lived a tumultuous life, suffering numerous illnesses (both mental and physical), eventually going deaf, and some say eventually went mad (which is perhaps reflected in the disturbing nature of his final paintings). I’ve seen The Black Paintings in person and was left deeply unsettled not only from the content of the paintings, but the idea of the potential mental anguish Goya may have been going through when he created them.

Théodore Géricault

Art Elements

This is undoubtedly a gruesome painting. Géricault uses dark tones to help exemplify the fact that the subjects of the painting are deceased. The greys and blacks being used for the skin tone convey a sense of decay and coolness. While most of the skin is black or grey, there is a small section of a red/brown color used in the neck portion of the man, giving a sense of blood due to him being recently guillotined. For the man’s head, Géricault effectively creates the look of hallow cheeks by using a darker black in the center of the cheek, creating that sunken look. We can tell that the idea of a light source is being shown here due to Géricault’s use of lighter, brighter tones on some of the sections of the faces, giving the illusion of light. Not much detail is present in the form of line, texture, color, etc. outside of the faces. This is because the sole purpose of this painting was for practice at painting dead and decaying bodies, which is why Géricault focused his energy mainly into the painting of the heads.

Borrowing Body Parts

As is noted in the title of the painting, Géricault created this painting as a study for his famous painting, The Raft of the Medusa. The Raft of the Medusa is a painting that was inspired by a true shipwreck that left many dead and resulted in the survivors suffering a perilous journey, which ultimately culminated in dehydration, starvation, and cannibalism. The shipwreck became famous and a source of contention in French politics, which is why Géricault decided to paint it. To make sure that he captured the true essence of the horror, Géricault spent time preparing by painting studies of dead and dismembered bodies. A hospital near his studio allowed him to attend autopsies and other procedures to paint the dead and dying. Additionally, he participated in a program where morgues would check body parts out to people who wished to study them for anatomical purposes. Basically a dead body part library.

Claude Monet

Art Elements

In comparison to the two works above, this painting by Monet is notably more colorful. The woman’s outfit contains the brightest colors throughout this painting, setting her apart from the more muted background consisting of cooler blue colors. Her dress is also painted with more detail than the background, with the outfit having sharper lines, and a more saturated look to it in general. The background, on the other hand, is not as sharp looking, with all of the fans having a scene being shown on them, but none of them being overtly clear or eye catching. This further emphasizes the woman as the sole and most important center of attention in the painting. Perhaps my favorite bit of detail is the use of a lighter (maybe white) color in the lower section of her outfit. Coupled with the use of darker colors, this creates the look that the outfit is extremely plush and cushy. It makes me feel like I could reach out and touch the bottom of the skirt.

Japanese Influence

Until this class I was unaware of the influence that Japanese culture had on impressionist art. While the influence is subtler in other paintings, it is extremely apparent in Monet’s portrait of his wife. Trade had recently been opened between Japan and the west in 1854, and Europe was saturated with Japanese goods, such as wood block prints, of which Monet was an avid collector. To play into the fad of Japanese culture that was rampant in Paris, Monet painted his wife, Camille, in this beautiful outfit. However her identity as a western woman is apparent through her deliberate choice in wearing a blond wig. This portrait was outside of Monet’s usual style of painting, and some say this is because Monet was poor at the time and needed a way to pander to an audience that was enamored with all things Japan.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Art Elements

I absolutely love the colors that Renoir utilizes in this painting – to say it all in very few words: they make me feel happy. The pink in her cheeks gives her a flushed look while also serving as a tie to the background of the portrait, which consists of some of the same pink hue. Throughout the painting, Renoir shifts between using lighter and darker tones of the same colors to help create the illusion of light. For example, for her bangs, there are a couple of sections lighter in tone, making it appear as if light is reflecting off of them. Another example of this effect is in the arm that she is touching her face with. You’ll notice that near the crook of her elbow appears darker in tone, giving that arm a more three-dimensional look. This is also true for her bottom lip and the bust of her dress. This portrait also contains that more free form texture that is well known and associated with impressionist art. There are no harsh lines, rather areas blend from one to the next, giving the painting an overall softer and peaceful look.

One of Renoir’s Women

Renoir is well known for his many excellent paintings of women, having painted many. Depicted in this portrait is Jeanne Samary, a young woman who posed for Renoir a handful of times. She was well known in Paris at the time for her performances in the Comedie-Française. Renoir would occasionally attend shows to watch her perform (although he did not care for the Comedie-Française itself). Upon the completion of this portrait, Samary kept it displayed in her home. Although it may have seemed inevitable, a serious relationship between Renoir and Samary never blossomed away from the canvas.

In Conclusion

The first two Romantic paintings, while not being my favorite, are extremely well done paintings nonetheless. I find it hard to comment on Goya’s intentions for creating The Black Paintings since I believe he never meant for them to be publicly displayed. The paintings were created in the privacy of his own home, allowing him to fully unleash his inner dialogue, however disturbing it may have been.

My favorite painting from this blog is Renoir’s portrait of Jeanne Samary. The colors, the texture, the peaceful look on her face; I love everything about it, and would love to own a copy of it. Monet’s portrait of his wife is interesting as is gives insight into the historical context in which the painting was created, however to me, the painting seems a bit contrived and not something that I would care to display in my home.

Works Cited

“La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume)” Museum of Fine Arts Boston. 2019. https://www.mfa.org/collections/object/la-japonaise-camille-monet-in-japanese-costume-33556

“La Japonaise, 1857 by Claude Monet” Claude Monet Paintings, Biography, and Quotes. (2010) https://www.claude-monet.com/la-japonaise.jsp

“Jeanne Samary in a Low Necked Dress” Pierre-Auguste Renoir. (2017) http://www.pierreaugusterenoir.net/jeanne-samary-in-a-low-necked-dress/

“Art Models and Renoir. Jeanne Samary” Blog of an Art Admirer. (n.d.) http://www.artistsandart.org/2009/12/renoir-and-his-models-jeanne-samari.html

“Witches’ Sabbath (The Great He-Goat)” Totally History. (n.d.) http://totallyhistory.com/witches-sabbath-the-great-he-goat/

“Witches’ Sabbath, or the Great He-Goat” Museo del Prado. (2019) https://www.museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/witches-sabbath-or-the-great-he-goat/09559184-cfeb-48fe-8acc-89b070b64d92

Davis, Matt. “The horror and mystery behind ‘the Black Paintings'” Big Think (6 Dec, 2018). https://bigthink.com/culture-religion/mystery-of-the-black-paintings?rebelltitem=3#rebelltitem3

Strangermains. “The artistic de-compositions of Theodore Géricault” Strange Remains (16 Aug, 2015). https://strangeremains.com/2015/08/16/the-artistic-de-compositions-of-theodore-gericault/