Napoleon in Egypt vs Manet Gypsy with Cigarette - Term Paper Example

? Gerome (Napoleon in Egypt) v/s Manet (Gypsy with Cigarette) A comparative Study between the two paintings Academia-research.com Meghana Gerome (Napoleon in Egypt) v/s Manet (Gypsy with Cigarette) Introduction to French Artistic Movement: The artistic movement in France has a prolonged history. Most of the provinces in France are rich in impressive monuments, art and architecture. The artistic life of France flourished in 12th century. Right from the school of Fountainebleau to figuration Libre, every period has become rich and given something unique to the respective artistic movement. Romanticism and Impressionism were among these artistic movements. The paintings of two major painters of these two movements have been taken for discussion in the paper. The first painter is Jean-Leon Gerome from Romantic Movement, and the second painter is Edouard Manet from impressionist movement. The masterpieces of these two painters we have taken are “Napoleon in Egypt,” and “Gypsy with Cigarette.” Before discussing the two masterpieces of these painters from two movements, it is necessary to understand the background of these two movements. Keywords: artistic movement, France, romanticism, impressionism, Napoleon in Egypt, Gypsy with Cigarette Romanticism and impressionism: The period of Romanticism has the element of heroism. This heroic element was combined with revolutionary idealism to produce a style. The painting called “Napoleon in Egypt,” has the qualities of a typical romantic movement painting. Impressionism or impressionist movement started first in France at the end of 19th Century. The major concern of impressionists was the effect of light on an object rather than the exact presentation of the form. Vivid colours were basically used than the dull or dark colours. This movement is also known as optical realism as it focuses on actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of object. Equation 1Napoleon in Egypt Napoleon in Egypt Middle East and Northern Africa had been the centre of attraction for many artists from romantic era. The artists such as Delacroix, Jean-Leon Gerome (1824–1904), Theodore Chasseriau (1819–1856), Alexandre-Gabriel Decamps (1803–1860), and William Holman Hunt (1827–1910), travelled to the near East such as Egypt, and other Arab countries. Orientalist painting was the popular form of art and painting in the nineteenth century and it was greatly influenced by artists' direct experience of everyday life in Cairo and other Near Eastern cities and settlements. The genre of the painting is associated with heroism. Jean-Leon Gerome was a French painter as well as sculptor. He strongly opposed the movement of impressionism started by Monet and Manet. He continued to cherish and develop the French Neo-classicism. Like other artists in 19th century Jean- Leon Gerome had attracted towards East. Somewhere the superiority complex of the Western painters reflects in their painting. That might be the reason why Gerome has painted the picture of Napoleon as a warrior. Somewhere the painting represents the obsession of imperialism and establishing complete dominance on East. Jean- Leon Gerome belongs to the romantic era of art and sculpture. Some of the major attributes of Romanticism has been represented by the painting of Napoleon in Egypt. The major characteristics of Romanticism are as follows: Nationalism and Exoticism Subjectivity Vivid and passionate artwork Heroism The painting of Napoleon in Egypt has almost all the characteristics of the romantic era. It represents the nationalism as well as exoticism. Nationalism was one of the important vehicles of Romanticism. It was the era of major political changes in France. Napoleon became the inspiration for the painters like Jean- Leon Gerom. The pride of winning the world is reflected on the face of Napoleon which must be the pride of the painter. While painting Napoleon, Jean- Leon Gerome might have been patriotic. It was because Napoleon belonged to the same country where Jean- Leon Gerome was born and brought up. It can also be categorized in term of Orientalism. The term Orientalism had been used to refer the eastern culture especially North African, Middle Eastern, and East Asian cultures by European and American artists. Gerome first visited to Egypt in 1856 resulted into depiction of Near East and Arab religion, scenes and North African landscape. The painting of Napoleon is made on the background of Egypt. He is shown in the attire of a General with sword in his hand and ready for the battle. He is standing on the desert, where we can see the typical Muslim tombs. It is a picture of the Persian and Arabian culture. In this painting Gerome has drawn full-scale sketches. The painting is extremely polished, very detailed and it is portrayed in cold colours. The painting depicts a pure historic genre style. It is a classical painting which includes elegant portrayal of Napoleon. His Orientalist approach is seen in this painting whose subject matter is people, places, and lifestyle of Near East (Especially Northern Africa). This is one of Gerome’s paintings which is fascinating for historians and novelists. Gypsy with Cigarette: The second painting here we are discussing is “Gypsy with a cigarette,” which is also known as Indian Woman Smoking. The painting has been made by Edouard Manet (1832-1883). In it an Indian woman is shown in a modern way. She has been shown with a cigarette in her mouth which was a revolutionary concept in contemporary conservative society. The immense boldness is there on her face and she seems to be the symbol of freedom, a real feminine freedom. His approach towards modern life is revealed from this painting. Manet was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Manet is also supposed to be the first modernist painter. Unlike Gerome, Manet is not much keen in painting historical figures or events. Neither has he shown the Near East figures in this painting. But still somewhere the obsession of Eastern or Asian people is still there. He chose an Indian lady for his painting. The lady is bold and beautiful having cigarette in her mouth representing that she has broken all the social barriers and living a free life. The confidence of freedom is reflected on her face which is really appealing. Manot was a French painter. He was from Impressionist School. The painting style of influenced by Dutch artist Frans Hals in Holland, who taught him how to liberate brushstrokes with more energy and vigour. This technique helped him to become the founders of the Impressionist movement. Impressionism is related to the style of painting which is characterized by concentration on the general impression produced by a scene object and the use of unmixed primary colours and small strokes to simulate actual and reflected light. No use of black colour is one of the characteristics of impressionism. But in this painting we see black colour. I think It can be regarded as having the characteristics of realism more than impressionism. The major characteristic of realism is the depiction of accuracy and aiming towards natural tone. Gypsy with cigarette and Napoleon in Egypt: A comparative discussion On the basis of the some major points mentioned below we can correlate the two paintings which belong to a totally different period as well as movement. Both of these paintings depict a person of different genders, race and status. Manot has sketched a painting of a gypsy lady who is a common woman and whose life is not constrained in the Royal image. Gerome on the other hand has depicted a picture of a French Emperor so it has had an essence of embellishment. Napoleon was very conscious about his own image and he tried to maintain it. The romantic artists and painters depicted all the positive view of the Emperor at any cost. Being a sketch of a common person, the gypsy lady is more realistic and the sketch has accuracy. Manot’s Gypsy lady painting has been depicted more honestly with all her negative aspects, such as her free life, her addictions etc. rather than hiding things behind distortion or opinion. Unpleasant facts are depicted as they are. Ordinariness is one of the characteristics of Gypsy lady. The depiction of ordinary people is the major characteristic of Gypsy lady. Gypsy lady smoking is the painting that can be categorized under the concept of Social Realism. The movement had developed as a reaction against idealism and the exaggerated ego which can be seen in Napoleon’s character in Gerome’s painting. The industrial revolution became apparent which resulted into the growth of urban centres and slums grew on a new scale contrasting with the display of wealth of the upper classes. The focus of the Gypsy woman with cigarette is on the reality of life. Conclusion: Two of the paintings represent the era from which they belong to. Gerome had immense talents which reflect in “Napoleon in Egypt,” whereas Manet had immense genuine qualities that reflect in “Gypsy with cigarette.” The lifestyle of romanticism and impressionism is depicted through the paintings of these two painters. I would rather say the Gerome is quite conventional and reluctant to break the established values of the contemporary movement, whereas Manet has been a revolutionary by sketching a painting of a bold and rebellious woman. He is one step ahead of his period. The beauty of both of these paintings is no doubt unquestionable. To apprehend the beauty of these paintings the critics should have opposite temperaments. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Read More