Factors That Affected Baroque and Romanticism Art Periods
Art is dynamic and changes with fluctuations in the environment. It adapts to the lifestyles of the society and as a result, communal, political, and economic factors are capable of changing its nature and meaning. For instance, social conditions dictate how art is understood by society, economic factors point towards art that has already been produced, while political factors determine how art is produced. I strongly concur with the fact that communal, political, and economic factors can change the nature and implication of art (Jacob, 1995). This paper will discuss the effect of these factors on two art periods, that is, Baroque and Romanticism.
Artists in the Baroque era were influenced by social conditions and religion was the most influential. This is because the era was highly typified by religious actions especially the proliferation of western Christianity following its dramatic fragmentation from Roman Catholic. “The Crucifixion of Saint Andrew” by Michelangelo is a good example of artwork done during the Baroque period. The artwork describes the basics of Christian principles by emphasizing the salvaging power of Jesus Christ (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985).
Features such as eccentricity, subjectivism, and beliefs dominate Romanticism art. Art done during the period explicates the efforts of human beings when trying to achieve their passions. “Odalisque with a Slave” by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres is a good example of art done during the period. The painting is full of emotions and the sculpture appears posed in a standard manner. The artist by making the sculpture meant to indicate a woman’s steady awakening from an indolent stupor to a more fervent mood (Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1985).
The above two works of art depict great disparities in art as a result of communal, political, and economic factors of mankind during the periods. These factors are, therefore, influential when it comes to the imagination and cultural demands of artists (Preble & Frank, 2005).
References
Jacob, M. (1995). From art to politics: how artistic creations shape political conceptions. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press
Metropolitan Museum of Art. (1985).The Age of Caravaggio. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Preble, D., & Frank, P. (2005). Preble’ Art forms: An Introduction to the Visual Arts. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Publishers.