From Neoclassism to RomanticismBy: Wilson, Brooke and Ashli

Chapter 28, pages 824-850

• 28-58 Charles Barry and A. W. N. Pugin, Houses of Parliament, London, England, designed 1835.

  

Restoring Medieval Artisanship

•When the old houses of parliament burned down in 1834 the designs for the new building were to be either Gothic or Elizabethan.

•Barry and Pugin submitted the winning design in 1835.

•The houses of Parliament is not genuinely Gothic, despite its picturesque tower groupings.

•The clock tower at one end is Big Ben and at the other end is the Victoria Tower.

• 28-59 John Nash, Royal Pavilion, Brighton, England, 1815-1818

   

The Impact of Imperialism

•Although the Neoclassical and Neo-Gothic styles were extremely common in the early 19th century, new exotic styles of all types soon began to appear due to

•European Imperialism. English culture had been exposed to a broad range of non-Western artistic styles.

•The Royal Pavilion shows a wide range of these styles.

•This structure includes: Islamic domes, minarets, screens and palm-tree columns in cast iron to support the kitchen.

• 28-62 Joesph Paxton, Crystal Palace, London England, 1850-1851. Photo from Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 

•This completely "undraped" construction first became popular in the greenhouses of English country estates. Paxton built several structures for his patron, the duke of Devonshire. 300 feet long, using an experimental system of glass-and-metal roof construction. The Crystal Palace was built with prefabricated parts which allowed it to be erect in the then-unheard-of tine of 6 months. The plan borrowed much from ancient Roman and Christian basilicas with a central flat-roofed "nave" and barrel-vaulted crossing "transept". It was dismantled and then reassembled on the outskirts of London where it remained until a fire destroyed it in 1936.

A Crystal Palace

The Beginnings of Photography

 Artists Respond to Photography

• Demonstrates the ‘symbiotic’ relationship between painters and photographers.

• Some photographers looked to painting for suggestions about ways to compose their images. •28-63 Eugene Durieu and

Eugene Delacroix, Draped Model (back view), ca. 1854. Albumen print. 7 5/16" x 5 1/8". J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.

• Very detailed, composition of tones from black to white

• 3-D forms into high relief

• Inspired by 17th century still lifes such as those of Claesz

28-64 Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguerre, Still Life in Studio, 1837. Daguerreotype, approx. 6 ¼” x 8 ¼”. Collection Societe Francaise de Photographie, Paris

Character Portraits• Julia Margaret Cameron did not take

photography seriously until age 48.• She shot more pictures of women

than men.• Often depicted her female subjects

as characteristics in literary or biblical narratives

• Slightly blurred focus became signature of her work

• It started when she began photographing with a lens that had a short focal length which allowed only a small area of sharp focus.

• Adding on a dreamlike tone to the photographs

28-67 Julia Margaret Cameron, Ophelia Study no. 2, 1867. Albumen print, 1’1” x 10 2/3”. George Eastman House, Rochester, New York. Gift of Eastman Kodak Company: ex-collection Gabriel Cromer

Documenting War• Photographers from the

Civil War had a main focus on the actions and events that were happening.

• Corpses litter the battlefield as far as you can see, even off into the haze.

• Pictures like this informed others of what was going on during the war. 28-68 Timothy O’Sullivan, A Harvest of

Death, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1863. Negative by Timothy O’Sullivan. Original print by Alexander Gardner, 6 ¾” x 8 ¾”. The New York Public Library, New York

Conclusion

• “Because of Neoclassicism's associations with heroism, idealism, and rationality, it was invoked by leaders ranging from Napoleon to Thomas Jefferson. In contrast to Neoclassicism, with its emphasis on reason and logic, Romanticism focused on the primacy of imagination and feeling. The invention of photography shortly before midcentury was a significant milestone, as it altered public perceptions of “reality”.”